In January 2021, the Supreme Court dismissed two cases about then-President Trump’s alleged violations of the Emoluments Clauses, which are the Constitution’s guardrails against presidential corruption.
Recognizing that the court missed an opportunity to deter future presidents from blatantly abusing their power for personal gain, Democrats in Congress have proposed legislation that would enforce the Constitution’s prohibition on foreign bribery.
Documents produced by Mazars USA LLC, Trump’s former accounting firm, revealed that during his presidency, at least $7.8 million was received through his businesses from 20 foreign governments.
This substantial sum encompasses payments made to just four of the more than 500 entities Trump owned while in office: Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, and Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza in New York.
The governments involved in these transactions included China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Malaysia.
These revelations have intensified calls for legislative action to prevent similar conflicts of interest in the future.
In response, Congressman Jamie Raskin and Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced the No Foreign Emoluments Without Congressional Consent Act.
This bill aims to enforce the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the President, Vice President, Cabinet officials, Members of Congress, and other senior federal officials from accepting payments from foreign governments without first obtaining the consent of Congress.
The proposed legislation seeks to create criminal penalties for violations, including imprisonment and fines.
It would also empower the Attorney General to bring civil actions against offending officials, potentially resulting in civil monetary penalties. Any foreign payment received in violation of the act would be seized and forfeited to the United States.
The legislation further stipulates that officials are prohibited from accepting foreign payments without Congressional approval during their time in office and for two years after leaving office.
The introduction of this bill follows a report by Oversight Democrats, which highlighted that Trump had received nearly $8 million from foreign governments, including China and Saudi Arabia, without seeking the required Congressional consent.
The report indicated that many of these payments were made by foreign entities seeking specific policy favors from the Trump administration, thereby violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
Raskin emphasized the necessity of the legislation, stating, “We must now enact a law to prevent Presidents from ever again exploiting the presidency for self-enrichment by selling out our government to foreign states.”
Blumenthal echoed this sentiment, arguing that Trump’s actions demonstrated a clear need for stringent rules to enforce the Constitution’s anti-corruption provisions.
The No Foreign Emoluments Without Congressional Consent Act has garnered support from non-partisan ethics watchdog organizations. Noah Bookbinder, President of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), applauded the legislation, asserting that it is a critical step toward eliminating conflicts of interest and ensuring an ethical government.
Public Citizen’s Executive Vice President Lisa Gilbert also endorsed the bill, highlighting the importance of transparency and Congressional consent in preventing corruption.
The legislation is co-sponsored in the House by Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Gerald E. Connolly, Ayanna Pressley, Ro Khanna, Cori Bush, Kweisi Mfume, Rashida Tlaib, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Robert Garcia, Dan Goldman, Jasmine Crockett, Greg Casar, and Melanie Stansbury.
Trump has been charged with 88 crimes in four separate indictments and found guilty of 34 of them so far.
These indictments reflect charges related to Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, election interference in Georgia, and mishandling classified records after leaving the presidency.
Donald Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to be criminally indicted and a jury in New York convicted him of 34 counts of falsifying business records in furtherance of a crime.
Despite his acceptance of what can be described as foreign payoffs, his criminal conviction, two impeachments, and three outstanding indictments, Trump is expected to win the GOP nomination for a third time.
In January, Raskin released a Democratic staff report entitled “White House for Sale: How Princes, Prime Ministers, and Premiers Paid Off President Trump,” which detailed the payments Trump received from foreign governments during his presidency.
The report highlighted the urgent need for legislative action to prevent future presidents and public officials from accepting foreign payments without Congressional consent.
The urgency of this legislation was further underscored by the actions of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former senior advisor, who secured significant business investments from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar shortly after leaving office.
These transactions have raised additional concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the need for stricter enforcement of the Constitution’s emoluments provisions.
The No Foreign Emoluments Without Congressional Consent Act represents a concerted effort to address these issues and ensure that public officials remain accountable to the American people.