SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Hypocrisy of enforcing the Emoluments Clause

Jun 14, 2017, 4:30 PM

Emoluments Clause...

It’s all the rage now to talk about the Emoluments Clause, saying that President Donald Trump cannot benefit from gifts or gratuities from foreign interests. 

I find this whole Emoluments Clause discussion clownish, being that this argument is coming from Maryland and Washington D.C.

RELATED: Single biggest power grab in the history of the world

Let’s get this out of the way: I don’t think Jared Kushner should be in Washington D.C. as part of this government. And I’m not a fan at all of President Trump’s team creating a chain of Trump hotels that are based around his campaign theme. Is it illegal? No. But I don’t like it.

But what makes me sick is that it is D.C. going after Trump because he might be earning some money. The time people spend in D.C. is just the preliminary to the windfall of money people make after their time in government there.

Why do publishing companies pay huge advances to politicians when there is no chance of earning that money back? It’s a gift. But you don’t see D.C. lawyers saying this is wrong.

So I guess it’s only Trump’s hotels we should be concerned with. I don’t like it but there are all kinds of obscene things that go on in D.C.  Everything in D.C. is paid for by the same sorts of scams.

As always, please listen to the full audio clip for complete context.

Please follow our Community Guidelines

mt. baker highway winter...

KIRO 7 News Staff

Mt. Baker Highway closed Wednesday and Thursday, prepping for winter

Both directions of Mt. Baker Highway (SR 542) will be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and Thursday, Oct. 1, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

15 minutes ago

governor bob ferguson chess...

Charlie Harger

Harger: Gov. Bob Ferguson is a two-time state chess champion. Washington politics is his board now

Governor Bob Ferguson is smart. You don't make the move from the King County Council to the attorney general's office to the governor's mansion without being smart, savvy, and strategic.

25 minutes ago

Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks at the OpenAI DevDay 2026 conference, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in San...

Associated Press

A timeline of developments in AI safety since the attack on Hugging Face

In one alarming announcement after another, artificial intelligence companies in recent months have shared examples of their technology acting in ways that appeared to evade instructions from humans. The episodes have highlighted the vulnerabilities in AI security and raised questions over how the fast-growing technology can be developed safely as its usage becomes more widespread […]

36 minutes ago

Fans are placed nearby while a person who is incarcerated has a virtual visit at a Minnesota Correc...

Associated Press

As heat becomes more extreme, inmates are increasingly threatened by rising temperatures

Steve Brooks’ cell has no windows or air conditioning, so he relies on two eight-inch fans when it’s stifling inside California’s oldest prison. There’s no access to ice or cold water, and during periodic power outages, there’s no electricity. “It’s kind of like you’re hyperventilating. The room’s closing in,” said Brooks, who’s incarcerated in San […]

1 hour ago

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2026...

Associated Press

Trump will unveil $54 billion in South Korean investment in Alaska, site of a tight Senate race

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to announce on Wednesday plans for South Korea to invest roughly $54 billion in a project to export natural gas from Alaska, a proposal long backed by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who’s in a competitive reelection contest there. The investment would mark the second time this week […]

1 hour ago

wdfw black bear poach oso...

Frank Sumrall

WDFW seeks public’s help identifying two men who allegedly poached black bear in Oso

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is searching for two men allegedly caught on camera hunting while trespassing on private property.

1 hour ago

Hypocrisy of enforcing the Emoluments Clause