Jed Shugerman was quoted in a New York Times article about President Trump’s possible violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.
In lawsuits filed last year, a number of lawmakers, academics and state attorneys general contended that Mr. Trump was violating the Constitution’s emoluments clauses, which essentially prohibit the president from accepting certain gifts from foreign or domestic governments. A federal judge in New York dismissed one case, while a federal judge in Maryland signaled recently that he might allow another to proceed.
“The country’s founders included the emoluments clauses as a big bright-line rule,” said Jed Shugerman, a professor at the Fordham University School of Law who helped write a legal brief in support of the plaintiffs in the emoluments litigation. Assessing the Chawlas’ application, he argued that while some state incentives are allowable, “Mississippi has discretion to give the tax rebate, and if they do award it to this hotel, then they are likely giving Trump an emolument.”