emoluments

Trump didn’t detangle himself from his financial holdings in his first term in office, triggering years of emoluments violation investigations into the over 3,000 alleged conflicts of interest he accrued.

The framers also recognized that titles, gifts, and other “emoluments” could be used by foreign monarchs and states to gain influence in the U.S. government.

This is why the Constitution places explicit limits on executive power, and why the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution prohibits officers—including Supreme Court justices—from accepting these things without explicit approval from Congress.

When the framers carefully designed our system of separated powers and drafted provisions like the foreign emoluments clause, the tyranny they were aiming to forestall looked a lot like this.

The report alleges that Trump profited from foreign leaders and political appointees’ stays, a potential pay-to-play scheme, and an apparent emoluments violation.