Judge Pushes Back Against Trump Administrations View of Emoluments Clause
A federal judge in Manhattan on Wednesday pushed back against the U.S. government’s attempts to narrowly define the Constitution’s built-in anticorruption provisions, during a hearing in a closely watched lawsuit targeting President Donald Trump’s business ties.
A lawsuit filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, in January alleges that Mr. Trump violates the U.S. Constitution every time his businesses receive payments and benefits from foreign and state governments and federal agencies.
The U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause bars officeholders from accepting “any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever” from foreign governments. The Domestic Emoluments Clause prevents the president from receiving compensation from state and federal governments other than a salary set by Congress.
The hearing Wednesday marked the first public airing of arguments over the scope of the provisions and the definition of an “emolument.” Democrats in Congress and the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Maryland filed similar lawsuits in June.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-pushes-back-against-trump-administrations-view-of-emoluments-clause-1508359374
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