If Donald Trump thinks there’s nothing wrong with exploiting the presidency for his personal profit, he should read the Constitution.
That’s the argument plaintiffs made in a Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, in the first-ever lawsuit to accuse a president of violating the emoluments clauses — once-obscure constitutional provisions that the nation’s founders adopted to prevent corruption of public officials.
One clause prohibits officials from accepting “any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever” from foreign governments unless Congress approves; another bars presidents from getting payments from federal or state governments other than their salaries.
The emoluments clauses are based on a simple, sound idea — that the nation’s security and well-being are threatened when those entrusted with acting in the public interest use their office for private gain. Until Jan. 20, there was no need to invoke them. Presidents have been generally transparent about their financial holdings, placing assets in blind trusts and releasing their tax returns.
Mr. Trump — whose global empire of hotels, real estate, golf courses and other businesses is awash in foreign money — has refused to take those steps. Instead, he has performed in a sort of ethics theater, stepping away from the day-to-day management of the Trump Organization even as he retains his ownership in it. Since the Republican-led Congress appears to have no interest in holding Mr. Trump to account, the federal courts may be the only option.
