If James Comey, the recently fired FBI Director, doesn’t have a dog, he should adopt one. There’s a well-known trope of undetermined origin that states, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog!” While Comey is, by all accounts, a stand-up guy who continues to be liked and respected within the Bureau, he was friendless in the political community. Republicans didn’t trust him because Barack Obama appointed him and Democrats were seething over a gratuitous rebuke on his part that may have cost them the White House. Donald Trump doesn’t like him because he was being investigated by Comey and Trump desperately wants the investigation to end. When that many knives are unsheathed, the chances for survival are pretty much zero. Comey is now a private citizen. A dog would not care. A dog would be loyal, would love him unconditionally, would jump and wag enthusiastically when he saw him, would gaze at him adoringly and carefully sniff him up and down — a dog’s way of asking: “How was your day?”
Donald Trump doesn’t own a dog. He has people for that.
Donald J. Trump, Defendant
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And 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.
– Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8
Since he was sworn in, Donald Trump has violated the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, based on a plain reading of its text. That seems clear, but what is less clear is what the consequences will be for the Trump Presidency or, more critically, the future of the American Republic.
The Foreign Emoluments Clause is one of the more arcane provisions of the Constitution, with no meaningful court decisions and few legal opinions addressing it. But Donald Trump, with his various domestic and international business interests and many potential conflicts, is bringing the ancient word “emoluments” into common parlance. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has sued him in federal court in New York for violating the Clause.
While other matters, such as firing the FBI Director, dominate the headlines, the CREW lawsuit quietly abides, the pleadings not yet joined, and no motions or discovery requests filed. However, the lawsuit may tread uncharted Constitutional territory that can shape the Presidency for decades. Whether we regard the President as a public servant or monarch may be determined by its outcome.
READ MORE HERE >>>