Jennifer Rubin: The Constitution is being violated in plain sight

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., left, listens as Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference about a lawsuit filed on behalf of nearly 200 Members of Congress seeking 'to hold President Donald Trump accountable to the U.S. Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause,' Thursday, June 7, 2018, in Washington. Lawyers representing nearly 200 Democrats in Congress plan to argue in federal court that President Donald Trump is violating the Constitution by accepting foreign state favors without first seeking congressional approval. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) “Emoluments” is just an elegant word for corruption, at least in our Constitution. The framers were particularly worried about foreign powers bribing or trying to influence the infant republic. Their solution was to allow gifts, money and the like to be accepted by members of the executive branch only if Congress approved. Put differently, one of the constitutional duties elected lawmakers take on is the responsibility to prevent the corruption, or appearance of corruption, by foreign powers of the executive branch.

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