A glimmer of hope? "THE EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE: ITS TEXT, MEANING, AND APPLICATION TO DONALD J. TRUMP"

[NRaleighLiberal]

Reporters, Your Weekend Reading

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/reporters-your-weekend-reading

By JOSH MARSHALL Published DECEMBER 16, 2016, 4:52 PM EDT

Norman Eisen (Obama's White House Ethics lawyer), Richard Painter (Bush 43's White House Ethics lawyer) and Larry Tribe have just released a deep dive on Donald Trump, the "emoluments" clause and running the presidency as a business loss leader. I hope this will spur forward a discussion that goes beyond 'conflicts of interest' to using the presidency as a tool to create growth producing synergies between "the United States" and "the Trump Organization." It is the ultimate 'synergy.'

As I've said, these aren't "conflicts". This is the plan!

Brookings Institute plan is here https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/gs_121616_emoluments-clause1.pdf

[Kablooie]

1. My question is: Who will enforce it?

With the whole Congress and soon the Supreme Court in his pants, who would enforce any law against Trump?
It seems to me to be a coup and Trump will free to destroy any law or Constitutional Article he wants without any consequences.

[flamingdem]

2. Exactly. The rethugs will not do anything

to enforce. We're in a pickle.

[stopbush]

4. From the way I read it, Congress could simply say that the clause doesn't

apply to Trump, and that would let him off the hook.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. A Writ of Mandamus by way of the courts?

Mandamus ("We command&quot is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a superior court,[1] to any government subordinate court, corporation, or public authority—to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from doing)—and which is in the nature of public duty, and in certain cases one of a statutory duty. It cannot be issued to compel an authority to do something against statutory provision. For example, it cannot be used to force a lower court to reject or authorize applications that have been made, but if the court refuses to rule one way or the other then a mandamus can be used to order the court to rule on the applications.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandamus

[JudyM]

5. Could that be used to force a vote on obamas Supreme Court pick?