Day 362: Foreign Regimes Dropping Loads of Cash at Trump Properties
Both Emoluments Clauses are being openly flouted without consequence.
A non-partisan government watchdog group, Public Citizen, examined expenditures at Donald Trump-owed properties. The findings are not surprising: certain groups, including foreign governments, are spending a lot of money at Trump properties in an apparent effort to make him happy.
Four foreign governments, 16 special interest groups and 35 Republican congressional campaign committees spent money at Trump properties in 2017, according to data compiled by the government watchdog group Public Citizen.
A lawyer for President-elect Donald Trump outlined a plan during the presidential transition that was meant to resolve concerns about conflicts of interest between his presidency and his businesses. But in a report called “Presidency for Sale,” Public Citizen found that Trump properties in Washington, Florida and elsewhere seem to have benefited from Trump’s election as groups with something to gain from U.S. policy have paid to stay or dine there more than 60 times.
“There is no way to escape the conclusion that these events are being held at the Trump properties as a way to curry favor with the president,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “It’s just extraordinarily unlikely that these groups have an affinity for the Trump brand [that’s] so great [that’s] unrelated to the fact that the president happens to be named Trump.”
The four governments alluded to above that funnel money into Trump’s pockets are Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey and Kuwait. Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, none of those four countries — all overwhelmingly Muslim-majority nations — were on Trump’s so-called Muslim ban list. Saudi Arabia alone spent more than $270,000 at Trump properties.
Republicans, including prominent House members Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), spent more than $300,000 at Trump properties. Rohrabacher is of particular note considering his known and extensive ties to Russia and previous meetings with the disgraced Michael Flynn.
Special interests dropping cash on Trump’s properties include for-profit prisons and evangelical groups.
The Foreign Emoluments Clause — located at Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution — prohibits external remuneration for all government employees, without exception for those within the executive office. The purpose of the provision is to shield the nation from corrupting foreign influences, a particularly apt concept at the moment. It reads:
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, 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.
The Domestic Emoluments Clause — located at Article II, Section I, Clause 7 — prohibits additional payment beyond standard compensation. Again, the purpose is to prevent unscrupulous influences, but this clause is specifically targeted at the president. It reads:
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Despite both emoluments clauses, the Trump schemes occur daily. In addition to the numerous payments at his hotels, Trump handsomely profits every time he (or anyone in the first family) travels to one of his own properties.
For a party that constantly and loudly touts themselves as constitutionalists, Republicans not only don’t care about Trump’s dealings, they’re active participants in an arrangement to personally enrich him.
362 days in, 1100 to go
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