Trump says his businesses got money from foreign governments because he was 'doing services' for them
Trump says his businesses got money from foreign governments because he was 'doing services' for them
"I was doing services for them. People were staying in these massive hotels, these beautiful hotels," Trump said.
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For those wondering why this is a big deal:
US Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8:
"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."
Emolument:
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/emolument#Noun
emolument (plural emoluments)
(formal) Payment for employment or an office; compensation for a job, which is usually monetary. synonyms ▲quotations ▼Synonyms: compensation, fee, payment, remuneration
I wonder how this will go down in court. It clearly says "person" and the money was paid to a corporation. Trump's businesses aren't holding any office, therefore the constitution wasn't violated. That's obviously horse shit, but they're arguing that the presidency isn't an office (CO ballot case), so if they win that it seems likely SCOTUS will drop a nuke on the emoluments clause too.
According to Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, Corporations are people. So lets put it to the test. If you can give unlimited campaign contributions to a PAC through a corporations, than a corporation, and it's executives, would equally be liable under the law for violating the constitution.
