Erwin Chemerinsky and the Case Against Trump
(not sure whether this has been posted already)
https://capitalandmain.com/erwin-chemerinsky-makes-the-case-against-our-scofflaw-in-chief-0119
The constitutional scholar discusses Donald Trump’s tumultuous first year, and what may lie ahead. “It’s very frightening to me,” Chemerinsky tells Capital & Main.
Published on January 19, 2018 By Danny Feingold
Since Donald Trump took office once year ago, perhaps no American has called into question the legal and ethical behavior of the president with more persistence and authority than Erwin Chemerinsky. One of the country’s preeminent constitutional scholars, and the dean of the University of California, Berkeley’s law school, Chemerinsky has sounded the alarm from day one of Trump’s administration – most strenuously over the president’s alleged daily violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution. Those provisions bar the president from receiving any form of payment from a foreign government, and also from receiving any payments beyond the salary of the chief executive. Last month, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit that Chemerinsky and other leading legal authorities had helped prepare seeking to stop the president from accepting any further payments – that decision is currently being appealed.
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Capital & Main How would you assess Trump’s first year in office?
Chemerinsky It’s so much worse than I could have ever feared. I don’t think that we’ve ever had a president who has less respect for the Constitution. It’s reflected in what he expresses with regard to freedom of the press, it’s reflected in the fact that on a daily basis he’s violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution by receiving benefits from foreign governments, benefits from the United States government beyond his salary. It’s reflected in his immigration policies, his travel ban, his efforts against sanctuary cities. It’s very frightening to me.
What does it say about the rule of law in this country that we have a sitting president who, in your view, has been in violation of the Constitution every single day that he’s been in office?
Chemerinsky Before taking office the president-elect said that he was going to take steps to try to comply with the emoluments clause. None of that ever happened. What’s troubling to me is Congress seems largely unconcerned about it and so far the courts haven’t stepped in.
Is there evidence that any of the president’s decisions have in fact been influenced by payments that his business interests have received?
Chemerinsky China gave to President Trump some very valuable licenses on trademarks. He’d been trying to get them from China for years before being elected as president. He received them and then he changed his policy with regard to China. Maybe it was a coincidence, but certainly one followed the other.
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= new reply since forum marked as read
(I wish I could have posted the whole thing)