Raskin targets Trump foreign payments with emoluments legislation

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Tuesday focused on an issue that has plagued President Trump’s term, strengthening enforcement of constitutional limits on federal employees receiving payments from foreign governments. submitted a bill to do so.

Mr. Raskin’s bill would expand the scope of the so-called emoluments clause, restricting federal elected officials and some senior appointees from receiving such payments while in office and for two years thereafter.

The Constitution already directs the president and other officials to seek Congress’ permission before accepting benefits from foreign governments.

But this process was ignored by former President Trump, who House Oversight Democrats documented taking in nearly $8 million from 20 countries through various businesses.

Raskin, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, accused Trump of accepting the funds “without seeking, much less obtaining, the necessary Congressional consent.”

“After more than two centuries without the need to develop a full-scale legislative mechanism to enforce the Emoluments Clause, Congress must now enact legislation to prevent a president from ever again misusing the office of the presidency to sell out the government and gain personal advantage in a foreign country,” he said in a statement.

He added that foreign governments are “trying to get, and often get, certain policy benefits.” [Trump’s] White House. ”

The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who said President Trump’s “brazen acceptance of illegal foreign payments and benefits constitutes the most important violation of the Constitution.” “This highlights the need for clear rules enforcing corruption provisions.”

The bill targets the conduct of people in Trump’s orbit, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, by extending the ban on foreign government income for two years.

Six months after leaving the White House, the Saudi government invested $42 billion in Kushner’s new private equity fund.

Similarly, the bill would apply the compensation ban to many White House employees, including the president’s various aides and advisers. Kushner was a senior adviser to President Trump.

The bill would also create both civil and criminal penalties for those who violate the law, with those found guilty facing up to one year in prison and a $50,000 fine. The civil penalty is limited to her $5,000 above the “retail value” of the foreign payment.

Private citizens can also file lawsuits alleging violations of the law.

The bill is the latest in sparring between Democrats and Republicans over how to approach money in politics.

Republicans have launched a months-long investigation into Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family, accusing the family of “spreading influence.”

Both Hunter Biden and his uncle made money in overseas business, but they did so as private citizens, and Republican investigators have yet to connect their businesses to President Biden’s actions.

Still, the bill does not place limits on the business dealings of the president’s relatives, something Republicans say should be a top priority.

However, the bill imposes new reporting requirements on foreign income that public officials are permitted to receive and requires them to include details of that income in their annual ethics disclosures.