The Emoluments Clause: what is it, what does it mean.

That was a very difficult and crazy year, but I am back, hopefully for good, on an weekly (sometimes more) basis. If you’re curious about what happened in 2016 (besides the dumpster fire of a presidential election that took forever through purgatory to end), please head over to the Emerald Aspects Patreon page and become a subscriber. I will be posting regular updates of the personal nature there as well as current art projects there. The Emoluments Clause can be found in the LAST paragraph of Article 1 Section 9 of the Constitution and states the following:

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, or any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.

Present, office, title, or any kind whatever from any prince, king, or foreign state is all fairly plain to understand. What about that word emolument? This is where Merriam Webster’s online dictionary is our best friend. According to Merriam Webster, emolument means:

The returns arising from office or employment usually in the form of compensation or perquisites.

Money, favors, special considerations, etc. you get the idea. There is a word in the definition of emolument that may not be as well known now as it was 241 years ago, perquisite. Going back to our friends at Merriam Webster online dictionary we find the meaning of perquisite is as follows:

A privilege, gain, or profit incidental to regular salary or wages especially one expected or promised. And Something held or claimed as an exclusive right or possession.

Plain meaning of the Emoluments Clause is ANY profit, gift, certification, payment, favor, etc. received by a government official including the President of the United States is an emolument prohibited by the Constitution.

Previous Presidents have sold their business interests, resigned from various business offices, or put their holdings into blind trusts. President Jimmy Carter famously sold his peanut farm to avoid conflicts of interest.

What is a blind trust? We heard a lot about how this is the route our current President should take. According to USLegal.com, a blind trust is

A trust in which the beneficiaries are unaware of the trust’s specific assets, and in which a fiduciary third party has discretion over all management of the trust assets. For example, politicians may use a blind trust to hold their assets while they’re in office to avoid conflict of interest accusations. Blind trusts are set up with the politician as both grantor and beneficiary, and a trust company as trustee. The trust company holds stocks, bonds, real estate, and other income-generating property in trust for the politician-beneficiary, but the politician lacks knowledge of what stocks or bonds or real estate or other investments are in the trust. In this manner, the politician is immune to accusations of enacting legislation for his/her own gain.

Currently, the President’s business holdings are not in a blind trust and because his holdings are international, he is open to Emoluments Clause and conflict of interest accusations, of which there are too many to go over in this post.