Don the Con Violates the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause and Gets Away With It

The New York Times has written in an editorial that Don the Con’s Washington hotel, located in a government building, has suddenly started doing big business since the election.  Before that, the hotel was deserted, with rooms going at steep discounts.  Naturally, a naive person would think that the President owning a hotel in Washington that serves international government clientele (who are rushing to book rooms) is an obvious violation of the emoluments clause, which states that elected officials may not receive anything of value from foreign governments without the explicit permission of Congress.

That would be naive.   Even though, in this case, a specific clause in the contract for the hotel (in an historic government building) prohibits elected officials from having “any share” or “any benefit” from running it.  However, Don the Con’s appointed leadership in the General Services Administration has stated that they have no problems with his ownership.  The only way to punish Don for this contract violation and unconstitutional behavior is to impeach him, which will not happen until there is a Democratic majority in the House.

Someone has filed suit against Don in federal court for this little bit of self-dealing, but it is too little and too late because the profits have started rolling in to his hotel.  Foreign diplomats and roving officials have “thronged” the place, moving their parties in from other hotels.  Don is profiting, bigly, from his Electoral College victory.