Three and a half years ago, Trump was Charged in Court over Unconstitutional Payments he Received from Foreign and Domestic Governments while serving as President. Recently, the Supreme Court declared that the Lawsuit and Trump’s Appeal of it were Moot given that President Biden had taken Office.

The Cases focused on parts of the Constitution, the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses. The Foreign Prohibits Holders of Elected Office from taking “any Present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever” from a Foreign Government without Congressional Authorization; the Domestic Prohibits them from taking Any such Benefit from the States and has No Congressional Authorization requirement.

Congress is set to consider Legislation in the weeks ahead, the Landmark HR1-SB1 package, sponsored by Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD, 3rd District) and Senator Jeff Merkley 9D-OR), that offers several badly-needed Reforms to Protect the Public from a Corrupt President.

Known as the “For the People Act of 2021,” the Legislation applies the same sort of Tough Ethics Rules that apply to Executive Branch Appointees to the President. Currently a President can slip through many Current Loopholes to evade Accountability. The President is Not Bound by the same Ethics Rules and Conflicts Rules that other Public Officials Must follow and is Not Subject to any Real Requirements regarding Transparency. Sarbanes’ and Merkley’s Bill heightens Disclosure Requirements around Financial Entanglements and requires the President and Vice President to Divest from Ties that pose a potential Conflict.

This One-Two Punch offers a Model approach to Preventing Presidential Corruption, combining Tough, Enforceable Rules on Divestiture with Greater Transparency. In the Trump years, the American People were often left wondering whether the President was Acting to Benefit his own Bottom Line rather than their Well-Being. These Proposals would Fix that, making it Easier for the Public and the Courts to hold a Corrupt President Accountable.

The Legislation also builds additional, Automatic Anti-Corruption Safeguards into the White House. For example, it would Mandate that a Political Appointee of the President must Recuse themselves on any Matter that may affect the Financial Interests of the President or the President’s Spouse. This would Remove All Pressure from the Appointee, no matter how well-intentioned they may be. Instead, these Matters would Fall to Career Officials who, thanks to Civil Service Protections, would be Free to make a Decision without having to worry about even the Appearance of Impropriety.

Finally, the Legislation would make it a Legal Requirement that All Candidates for President and Vice President Must Disclose their Tax Returns for the 10 years Preceding their Run for Office. The Public should Not have to rely on Presidential Goodwill or Leaks to the Press to understand how Candidates made their Money, or how much they’ve Paid in Taxes. With this Law, All Candidates would understand they must Trade some Degree of Financial Privacy for the Privilege of Campaigning for the People’s Trust.

The 117th Congress should consider adding a the ability to address the Stalling Tactics that we faced. The Legislation should also have a Disgorgement Remedy requiring the Officeholder to give up any Ill-Gotten Gains with Interest. If the President also faced Increasing Civil Penalties based on the Duration of the Violation, it would further Discourage their Defense Team from the approach of Forcing a Lengthy Litigation Process to Run-Out the Clock.

It’s now up to Congress to Ensure the Rule of Law does Not bend so Easily next time.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker