A group of congressional Democrats accusing 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 of illegally profiting off his businesses while in office asked an appeals court on Tuesday to uphold a district judge's decision to allow their court battle to move forward.

Nearly 200 Democratic lawmakers signed onto the lawsuit accusing the president of violating the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, which prohibits officials from receiving gifts from other nations without congressional approval.

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"Each day that passes, the nation’s highest officeholder is making critical foreign policy decisions under a cloud of potentially divided loyalty caused by his enrichment from foreign states," they wrote in a brief filed with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. "That is precisely what the Framers adopted the Foreign Emoluments Clause to prevent."

The brief also cites President Trump's comment this week, dismissing the Emoluments Clause as "phony" in frustration at the public criticism over his decision to host the G-7 summit at one of his properties. He later reversed that decision.

The Justice Department appealed a trial court judge's decision to allow the case to proceed earlier this year. The government has argued that the lawmakers have no standing to bring the case against the president.

A three-judge panel on the appeals court will hear oral arguments in the case in December.