Will Trump Flout the Constitution's Gifts Clause?
The GOP-controlled Congress likely won't care about the president-elect's vast conflicts of interest if he doesn't relinquish ownership of his business.
Donald Trump has a problem—and it dates back to 1787.
At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the delegates were divided on many issues, especially slavery. But they agreed the new republic they were creating was vulnerable to subversion from European countries that wanted to once again rule the North American continent. “Foreign powers will not be idle spectators,” delegate Alexander Hamilton said at the convention. “[They will] interpose their will, confusion will increase, and a dissolution of the union will ensue.” To prevent this dissolution, the founders of the United States of America banned any government official from receiving gifts or fees for profit from a foreign government.
This ban is a huge
