Capitol Hill Democrats escalated their broadsides against President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE’s role as businessman-in-chief on Tuesday, accusing the billionaire president of profiting illegally from private dealings with foreign dignitaries.

Led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the Democrats contend that Trump, by refusing to extract himself fully from the global business empire he commanded before taking office, has violated a section of the Constitution barring federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign leaders without congressional approval.

On Tuesday, a handful of lawmakers gathered in the basement of the Capitol to press their case. If there was any mystery about the direction they were headed, the sign on the podium quickly put it to rest.

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“#TrumpForSale,” it read.

“The bottom line is that we have no clue as to most of the investments and partnerships of Donald Trump around the world … because he has made no disclosures,” said Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Constitution subcommittee.

“The American people have a right to know if the president of the United States … is putting the national interests before his own.”

Last week, almost 200 Democrats representing both congressional chambers filed a lawsuit accusing Trump of leveraging his political stature to churn profits, including payments from foreign dignitaries newly eager to stay at Trump’s name-branded hotels around the world.

That arrangement, the Democrats charge, violates the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which proclaims that “no Person holding any Office … shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

Blumenthal, the lead plaintiff in the suit, said Trump’s refusal to disclose his taxes has made the suit necessary.

“We cannot consent to what we don’t know,” he said.

Also last week, the attorneys general in Maryland and the District of Columbia filed a suit contesting what they consider to be similar conflicts of interest by the president. A third suit, filed earlier in the year on behalf of businesses alleging they compete with Trump’s own, is also working its way through the courts.

The Democrats in Congress think their challenge may stand the best chance, because the Constitution grants the legislative branch the explicit responsibility of sanctioning any foreign gifts.

The suit has attracted the endorsement of 196 lawmakers — 166 House members and 30 senators, according to Conyers. None of them are Republicans.

“Trump was right when he said there’s a cloud over his presidency,” Conyers said. “But it’s his own cloud.”