
Trumping the Constitution
Buried deep in Article I of the U.S. Constitution is an obscure provision known as the “Emoluments Clause.” In relevant part, it provides that:
“[N]o 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.”[1]
Arguably, it was the first conflicts of interest prohibition in U.S. history, and its origins lie in a gift of a snuff box by the King of France to Benjamin Franklin, then our Ambassador to France, which gift … Read more