Self-education
Day 13. In keeping with my self-education theme, here are two actions. And though comments have always been welcome on these posts, today is the first time I’m explicitly asking you to speak up in the comments to add your voice.
1. Well I read the Constitution, and the emoluments clause got my attention (Art. 1, Sec. 9, last paragraph). Richard Painter, former White House Ethics Counsel, argues that a pitch by Trump’s new DC hotel specifically aimed at foreign diplomats could violate the emoluments clause. This is because if diplomats choose this hotel, not because it is the best fair market value price, but because they want to curry favor with Trump, leads to his financial benefit.
So today I called Rep. Jason Chaffetz’ office. He’s head of the House Oversight Committee. I said “I urge the Representative, as head of the House Oversight Committee, to investigate whether the President-Elect’s hotel business may make him liable to violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, Article 1, Section 9.” The staffer was very polite and said he’d pass the message along to the Representative. You too can have this polite experience by calling Rep. Chaffetz’ office at 202-225-7751, or by calling the committee’s office at 202-225-5074.
2. Further self-education. There’s a lot of talk about our media diets. I already subscribe to the NYT and the WSJ. A conservative friend also recommended Realclearpolitics.com as a curated source for nonpartisan news. I tend to gravitate toward reading things written from the left. Starting now, I’ll read something from the right every day.
Do you have a favorite reputable media source from the right side of the spectrum that you recommend? Please comment.
Vine & Figtree 