Update on Emolument Lawsuits

Several lawsuits have alleged that President Trump has violated the Constitution by having received “emoluments” (or financial benefits) from his failure to divest his business interests while his hotels continue to operate federal facilities and/or facilities where income is derived from foreign sources.

A recent Inspector General (IG) investigation has concluded that the General Services Administration operating as the federal government landlord for buildings, failed to properly interpret the lease entered into by the GSA and Trump, Inc. The reason: the lease with the Trump Hotel specifically states that “…no elected official of the Government of the United States…shall (hold) any share of this lease…” Trump is obviously an elected U.S. government official.

The GSA admits its attorneys did not review the lease as it might pertain to the constitutional prohibition of the Emoluments clause. There was probably little incentive for them to do so since Trump replaced the person previously in charge of GSA before Trump took office and who had found a violation of the lease with a new head who, within days of being appointed, reversed the previous decision finding that there was no violation of the lease or the Constitution. Looks like the fix was in. Trump as both landlord and tenant has an obvious conflict of interest. Undoubtedly, the new Democratic majority in the House will haul the head of the GSA before the proper committee to get to the bottom of still more corruption by the Trump administration.

John Avlon does an excellent job of explaining the Emoluments issue in this CNN New Day Reality Check: