This Emoluments Thing Isnt Going Away - How state attorneys general could take down Trump
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Schneiderman has been at the vanguard of state attorneys general who have pushed back on Trump’s actions: He brought one of the cases against Trump University, launched an investigation of the Trump Foundation, and has opposed the president’s executive order on immigration. But Shugerman insists that this legal move could work in many different jurisdictions. Actions under a state’s quo warranto authorities could be brought, for instance, against the Trump Organization in Washington, where it appears to be in violation of the General Services Administration lease that bars any federal official from operating the hotel. And Shugerman adds that in some states, like California, entities beyond the state AG would be authorized to bring such an action. California law also grants this power to local governments and municipalities.
I asked Shugerman whether there is any reason to believe the states would be willing to take as dramatic and draconian an action as threatening to dissolve Trump Organization entities. In an email, he explained that this remedy can be tailored to be more or less dramatic, but one meaningful benefit is that it allows for broad discovery:
Under quo warranto proceedings, the state attorneys general and the courts have flexibility to create a balanced remedy. The first step is discovery to find out about the Trump Organization’s financial arrangements and entanglements with foreign and state entities. The next step is to take the emoluments and fraud claims into court. In the end, the attorneys general and the courts may craft a mix of injunctions, fines, divestment, and/or limited dissolutions of LLCs. It’s important to recognize that the first step of transparency about the Trump Organization is a service to the public interest by itself, but so is the rule of law and anti-corruption. If this action prevents foreign entities from using payments and debts to manipulate American policy, some relatively minor and temporary instability is worthwhile and necessary.
As to whether one more lawsuit alleging yet more corruption can dislodge an intransigent president who believes himself above the ethics laws, Shugerman reminded me that allowing the appearance of corruption to persist is not costless. “Look how much instability the Trump Organization and its foreign entanglements have already created,” he said. “This action will actually reduce that instability, legally, economically, and in national security.”
It’s become clear that the courts are the best hope for restoring at least some stability to the Presidency Inc. regime in which we now find ourselves and that the states have become powerful agents for accountability. This quo warranto business may feel airy and academic. But the logic behind it is persuasive, and the impacts of this legal theory could be very real.
the rest:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/02/how_state_attorneys_general_could_take_down_trump_over_emoluments.html
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