--- title: Trump Inauguration: ACLU Outlines Plan to Tackle Trump description: The American Civil Liberties Union has taken legal action to obtain documents that may show Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest. canonical: https://time.com/4640947/aclu-donald-trump-inauguration-plan/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-20T16:12:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:12.715Z article:section: Politics og:title: ACLU Outlines Plan to Tackle Donald Trump’s Administration og:description: The civil rights group has taken legal action and plans to hire 100 workers og:url: https://time.com/4640947/aclu-donald-trump-inauguration-plan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b2343a0e3ee8303/6988b65f7cdbac1370d56d9b/donald-trump-aclu.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Virginia Beach og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: ACLU Outlines Plan to Tackle Donald Trump’s Administration twitter:description: The civil rights group has taken legal action and plans to hire 100 workers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b2343a0e3ee8303/6988b65f7cdbac1370d56d9b/donald-trump-aclu.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'President Trump Is Not Above the Law.' ACLU Outlines Plan to Tackle Donald Trump’s Administration > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dgn8DCbB.m3u8) (7:19)  _Published 2016-10-31. In one of the most shocking U.S. elections in modern political history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton._  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 20, 2017 4:12 PM UTC  Donald Trump pauses during a campaign event on Sept. 6, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Donald Trump pauses during a campaign event on Sept. 6, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Alex Wong—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 20, 2017 4:12 PM UTC The American Civil Liberties Union has taken legal action to obtain government documents that may show [President-elect Donald Trump’s](http://time.com/4640703/donald-trump-inauguration-day-2017/?xid=homepage) potential conflicts of interest, [the national organization said Friday](https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/here-aclus-7-point-plan-action-take-trump-administration). The ACLU, a non-profit civil rights group, outlined its plan to challenge the incoming president’s policies and administration, which includes [filing a Freedom of Information Act request](https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/first-many-aclu-foia-request-seeks-information-about-new-presidents-conflicts) to get government agencies that specifically handle ethics and law to provide all documents relating to Trump’s business connections. Documents include legal opinions, memoranda, advisories and communications, filed between Election Day and Trump’s official inauguration, from agencies that include the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics. The ACLU is also seeking to obtain emails to and from the presidential transition team. “We are bringing this first legal action using the Freedom of Information Act to underscore the fact that President Trump is not above the law,” Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a statement. “Freedom of information requests are our democracy’s X-ray, and they will be vitally important to expose and curb the abuses of a president who believes the rules don’t apply to him and his family.” Part of the ACLU’s plan over the next four years is to beef up its staff by adding up to 100 full-time employees across the country. The group said the nearly 400,000 donations it received since Nov. 8 will help with its mission. The ACLU revealed its outline in tackling Trump’s administration hours before Trump was set to be inaugurated. At a highly anticipated news conference last week, Trump said he has [relinquished control of his business](http://time.com/4631597/donald-trump-business-separation/) empire to his two sons and has moved all assets into a trust to avoid having potential conflicts of interest. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4640947/aclu-donald-trump-inauguration-plan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4640947/aclu-donald-trump-inauguration-plan/"},"headline":"'President Trump Is Not Above the Law.' 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