Reuters’ Julia Harte reports that the Trump SoHo and Condominium in Manhattan’s ownership group—investment firm CIM—receives millions of public pension dollars from “at least seven U.S. states.” CIM receives millions from these state and city pension funds to manage their investments and in turn CIM pays Trump International Hotels Management LLC a percentage.
That payment chain merits closer scrutiny because it could put Trump at risk of falling foul of a little-known constitutional rule prohibiting the flow of money from states to the pockets of a sitting president, five ethics and constitutional law experts interviewed by Reuters said. (Graphic on Trump SoHo payment chain: tmsnrt.rs/2pfkZ40)
One lawyer Reuters spoke with thought that this would not fall under emoluments as these finances do not have to do with the “discharge of duties in office.” Three others disagreed.
“If you take a step back and look at this transaction, it’s a payment chain from state pension funds to President Trump,” said Jed Shugerman, a law professor at Fordham University. “This looks like an emolument to me.”
Two other lawyers said the arrangement raised significant questions, but all depended on how broadly a court interpreted the constitutional clause.
The White House and CIM are staying mum at this point, and the general tenor in our conservative government and traditional media outlets is a sort of “this is so complicated, can we find out whether or not Trump tweeted about this?” Meanwhile, Trump and his Trumpettes continue to submerge the Constitution in a vat of swamp water.