We already knew that when Donald Trump renovated the Old Post Office Pavilion in Washington into his newest luxury hotel, it was a yuuuuge conflict of interest waiting to happen if he ever won the presidency. That conflict may already be manifesting itself, and doing so bigly. Apparently diplomats see the new Trump International Hotel Washington, located just blocks from the White House, as a chance to sway the president-elect. And it could potentially be an impeachable offense.
On Thursday, Rachel Maddow discussed the potential welter of conflicts surrounding the capital’s newest luxury hotel. Watch here.
Trump leases the hotel from the General Services Administration, the agency that operates federal facilities. The administrator is appointed by the president, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Maddow noted that, in effect, Trump will be appointing his own landlord. And that person will have a lot of incentive to negotiate favorable lease terms with Trump’s kids, who will run their father’s properties while he’s in the White House.
Well, it turns out that Trump may have a very good reason to get as much money as he can out of this hotel–to make it more attractive to diplomats. Earlier this week, several diplomats came to the new hotel to hear a sales pitch about the place. One diplomat said that he was certain that “all the delegations will go there” now that they know it’s being run by the president-elect.
Another diplomat openly said that he wanted to stay there “so I can tell the new president, ‘I love your new hotel!'” He added that it would be “rude” to stay at another hotel under the circumstances. Still another diplomat hoped that Trump would note the presence of any foreign dignitaries on the guest logs.
When Richard Painter, the former chief ethics counsel to President George W. Bush, heard about this situation, he concluded that this was not only outrageously improper, but potentially unconstitutional. Specifically, it could violate Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution–known as the “Title of Nobility Clause” or the “Emoluments Clause.”
“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, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”
Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, told Think Progress’ Judd Legum that federal officials can do business with foreign governments as long as the federal official does not receive preferential treatment. “Anything in excess of fair market value is a gift,” he said. The diplomats, on the other hand, are making noises about staying at Trump’s new hotel in order to gain access to the president.
For that reason, Painter concluded that a diplomat following up on those plans would potentially be giving Trump a gift in violation of the Title of Nobility Clause. If Trump is telling diplomats that this is an easy way to gain access to him, Painter thinks “it had better stop by January 20.” He believes that Trump’s only legal option would be “to sell the hotel or give it to his kids (and pay the gift tax) by January 20.”
But what if he doesn’t? Legum notes that there are very few court cases dealing with this clause, and any rival hotel would potentially be skittish about suing Trump. However, he has one idea for a way forward.
“There is, however, at least one remedy under the Constitution for such a violation of the public trust by the president: impeachment.”
I can only agree. If Trump is indeed sending the message that diplomats who stay at his hotel can easily get access to him, he would not only be soliciting unconstitutional gifts from foreign interests. He would also be guilty of abuse of power, intimidation, and solicitation of bribery. The more I think about it, if this attempt to overflow the swamp isn’t an impeachable offense, what is? Even if it isn’t impeachable, it is certainly grounds for someone to grow a pair and demand that Trump either cut ties with his hotel or resign.
I suspected that Trump would likely be forced to resign or be impeached before 2020. But who would have thought that his precious new hotel could potentially be what drives him out?
(featured image courtesy Wyn De Vanter, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
