Richard Painter, Chief Ethics Counsel for George W. Bush, and Norman Eisen, Chief Ethics Counsel for Barack Obama, two distinguished lawyers, did not mince words about a particular reason under which the Electoral College should reject Donald Trump when they meet to vote to elect the President officially.
Electoral College must reject Trump if he does not divest
Two lawyers, one who worked for Bush the other for Obama, said Electoral College must reject Donald Trump if he maintains ownership in his business.
According to ThinkProgress,
In an email to ThinkProgress, Eisen explained that “the founders did not want any foreign payments to the president. Period.” This principle is enshrined in Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution, which bars office holders from accepting “any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”
This provision was specifically created to prevent the President, most of all, from being corrupted by foreign influences. Virginia Governor Edmund Jennings Randolph addressed the issue directly during a Constitutional debate in June 1788, noting that a violation of the provision by the President would be grounds for impeachment. (Randolph was also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.)
There is another provision against the danger mentioned by the honorable member, of the president receiving emoluments from foreign powers. If discovered he may be impeached. If he be not impeached he may be displaced at the end of the four years. By the ninth section, of the first article, “No person holding an office of profit or trust, shall accept of any present or emolument whatever, from any foreign power, without the consent of the representatives of the people” … I consider, therefore, that he is restrained from receiving any present or emoluments whatever. It is impossible to guard better against corruption.”
Eisen said that Trump’s businesses, foreign and domestic, “are receiving a stream of such payments.” A prime example is Trump’s new hotel in Washington DC which, according to Eisen, is “actively seeking emoluments to Trump: payments from foreign governments for use of the hotel.”
Harvard Law Professor Larry Tribe goes further. He said that after extensive research, he concluded that “Trump’s ongoing business dealings around the world would make him the recipient of constitutionally prohibited ‘Emoluments’ from ‘any King, Prince, or foreign state’ — in the original sense of payments and not necessarily presents or gifts — from the very moment he takes the oath.” The professor said that Trump’s would be knowingly breaking his oath of exclusive fealty. He said that violation would qualify as one of the “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” that would require Trump to be removed from Office.
Painter said he reached out to the Trump team. So far they have ignored the legitimate concerns.
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