The state of Maryland and the District of Columbia are not the first to sue President Trump over his vast business entanglements.

But the case they filed in federal court Monday might be the most significant.

The attorneys general of Maryland and the district say that Trump, through his worldwide network of hotels and golf courses, violates a constitutional provision that prohibits him from accepting payments, or emoluments, from foreign governments.

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Michael McConnell, director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School, also doubted the strength of the latest case.

“The interest protected by the Emoluments Clause is the interest all Americans have in avoiding potential corruption,” he said. McConnell added that the clause “has nothing to do with competition between various corporations for the business of foreign governments.”