I Joined in a Lawsuit Against Trump for Emoluments Violations. He Ran Out The Clock.

Three and a half years ago, President Donald Trump was sued over unconstitutional payments he received from foreign and domestic governments through his hotel in downtown D.C. while serving as president. I joined with a bipartisan group of former Members of Congress on an Amicus Brief, in layman’s terms — a friend of the court document in support of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit focused on two little-known parts of the Constitution whose contours had rarely been litigated: the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses. The former prohibits holders of elected office from taking “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever” from a foreign government without congressional authorization; the latter prohibits them from taking any such benefit from the states.

Recently, the Supreme Court declared that the lawsuit and Trump’s appeal of it were moot given that President Joe Biden had taken office. Trump’s departure from the White House effectively terminated the case against him. In other words, Trump ran out the clock and suffered no consequences for his wrongdoing.

This case and another one brought by current Members of Congress on the same subject that was dismissed as well, are examples as to why a new federal court of limited jurisdiction should be created by Congress to handle disputes between the legislative and executive branches.

See my previous opinion piece posted in August 2020, “A New Court Should Settle Disputes Between Congress and the President.”