All the President's Business Interests: The Emoluments Clauses and the Trump Administration

Among the numerous ways in which the presidency of Donald J. Trump is unprecedented is the extent of his business holdings. Three lawsuits are currently pending alleging that President Trump has violated the Constitution's Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses, which were intended to prevent government corruption. The plaintiffs include Members of Congress, the Attorneys General of the District of Columbia and Maryland, a non-profit organization dedicated to government ethics and transparency, and Trump business competitors.

On Wednesday July 19 ACS hosted a breakfast discussion and analysis of the litigations, including the substantive claims, the history of the Emoluments Clauses, questions about the parties’ standing, and what remedies might be available. Lawyers representing plaintiffs in all three cases participated.

Welcome:
Caroline Fredrickson, President, American Constitution Society

Featured Speaker:
District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine

Panel:
Joan Biskupic, CNN, Moderator
Trevor Burrus, Research Fellow, Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies
Brianne Gorod, Chief Counsel, Constitutional Accountability Center
Deepak Gupta, Founding Principal, Gupta Wessler PLLC
Stephanie Litos, Senior Counsel to the Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia
Gautham Rao, Assistant Professor, Department of History, American University