In Trump emoluments case, questions of ethics and constitutional intent

A foreign official travels to Washington, books the Ivanka Suite at the Trump International Hotel for $1,595 per night, and later makes glowing comments about the hotel during a meeting at the White House with President Trump.

To some, the scenario is no big deal – a bit of diplomatic flattery linked to a routine transaction for high-end business accommodations in the heart of the nation’s capital.

But to others, the hypothetical encounter sets off alarm bells. Trump critics see the renting of the suite as an effort by a foreign government to curry favor with the president of the United States by delivering a financial benefit to a hotel that bears his name, is run by his sons, and in which he maintains a personal and financial interest.

“I am confident that that is no mere hypothetical,” says Norman Eisen, an ethics lawyer in the Obama White House and chairman of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “Trump is very focused on this kind of thing and quite likely to be influenced by this kind of blandishment.”

It is more than an ethical nuance. Mr. Eisen and other critics view the scenario as potential grounds for impeachment. Their case depends on convincing a federal judge to embrace an expansive interpretation of a once-obscure constitutional provision called the foreign emoluments clause.

The clause prohibits federal officials from accepting any present or “emolument” from a foreign government.

There is an exception. The official can keep the present or emolument if he obtains the consent of Congress.

Mr. Trump has not done so.

Lawsuits have been filed in federal court in New York, Maryland, and the District of Columbia seeking a declaration that

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