by Norman Halls, contributor
The Constitution was drafted in 1787 at the Convention in Philadelphia to create a government with enough power to act on a national level, but without so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk. One way that this was accomplished was to separate the power of government into three branches, and then to include checks and balances on those powers to assure that no one branch of government gained supremacy. The powers of each branch are enumerated in the Constitution, with powers not assigned to them reserved to the states. Whitehouse
“The framers of the Constitution wanted to create a powerful, independent executive branch, but they didn’t want to stoke fears that the United States would replicate the monarchy from which it had just separated. Article II vests the president with “executive Power,” but it doesn’t define the term, and it gives the president only a few rather modest enumerated powers”. Jack Goldsmith Atlantic. At its core, minimizing conflicts of interests is a critical mechanism to ensure unbiased decision-making in the legal system. We want a president that will not undermine or cause diversions with the other branches of government.
Our concern that the president is violating the U.S. Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which bars elected officials from benefiting from foreign governments or national assets. Also, in various legal filings and lawsuits, they have raised questions about whether the financial interests of the president and his appointees may be influencing public policy. The reason for the rule comes from the fear of threatening to reveal embarrassing, disgraceful or damaging information to make gain and extortion.
This avoidance of conflicts supports confidence in the implementation of our substantive rule of law. Our focus on process as a means to secure substantive law and compliant enforcement is what distinguishes rule of law. It is by this process that we create trust in our legal system—we may not all agree with the practical law or its implementation, but we can at least respect that it was derived from a process with integrity.
Every president should have knowledge of the Constitution and how it sets out the boundaries of the Federal Laws. “Who oversees the ethics of the president and other high-ranking officials? Who has the power to investigate or enforce ethics rules and laws? The answer can be as entangled as the government bureaucracies involved. Of course, the media, whistleblowers and the courts are key elements of the accountability ecosystem. A number of agencies or government bodies also have a hand in holding presidents and appointees accountable on ethics and conflicts of interest. But a few play an outsize role — though only some of them have direct purview over the activities of the president”. NPR This concept does not stop with the legal system—most government officials are subject to some conflict of interest standard, whether via the Constitution, agency rules and regulation, statute, or contract. Presently, the president brings with him an unprecedented level of potential conflicts of interest.
The Senate and House of Representatives are supposed to be overlooking the Executive branch of government. The House Intelligence Committee, has run interference for Trump for a year and now is reportedly planning to shut down this committee’s Russia investigation soon in order to focus efforts on exposing the FBI. Some actions by Congressman could find that they are illegally overreaching asking the Justice Department for information. Even if Republicans don’t believe Trump committed any crimes, you’d still expect them to wonder why the president of the United States is refusing to even acknowledge interference into our elections through hacking and misinformation campaigns that are likely to recur. The president looking at the poll numbers has caused great concerns with the mid-term elections. Additionally, Article I of the Constitution vests in Congress “all legislative Powers herein granted,” as well as ample implied powers of oversight, and the power of impeachment should that become necessary. If a strongman government ever takes root in America, it will not be simply because we elected a president determined to establish it, but because Congress hasn’t taken appropriate action against the president. The unprecedented levels of disdain for the Senate and the House of Representatives leadership has demonstrated lost faith in the institution.
Our minds control our own vote, others may try to influence you. Do your research on the candidate. It’s amazing how powerful our minds and our thoughts can be; how we look to shape our own world. We will get through this together.
