DL Open Thread: Friday, January 5, 2024

Trump Violated The Emoluments Clause Of The Constitution.  Supreme Court Didn’t Give A Shit:

In January 2021, the justices dismissed two cases about then-President Trump’s alleged violations of the Emoluments Clauses, which are the Constitution’s guardrails against presidential corruption. In doing so, the Court forfeited a golden opportunity to clarify just what these mandates mean for future presidents. And its refusal to rule one way or another may inadvertently encourage another president to brazenly leverage his or her power for profit.

So what are the Emoluments Clauses, and what do they dictate? There are actually two of these provisions in the Constitution: one foreign and one domestic. The latter sets the president’s salary, and it bars both the federal government and the states from giving the president a raise or any bonuses. The Foreign Emoluments Clause applies to federal officials, including the president, prohibiting them from accepting money or gifts from foreign governments unless they receive permission from Congress. (Of course, Congress never gave Trump permission to keep foreign emoluments because he never bothered to ask.)

Oh, yes, that.  We now know that Trump and his businesses were ‘gifted’ at least $7.8 mill from foreign governments.  It is almost certainly many multiples of that, but now that the Rethugs control Congress, they’re gonna keep it under lock and key.  However:

Using documents produced through a court fight, the report describes how foreign governments and their controlled entities, including a top U.S. adversary, interacted with Trump businesses while he was president. They paid millions to the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.; Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas; Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York; and Trump World Tower at 845 United Nations Plaza in New York.

Among the countries patronizing Mr. Trump’s properties, China made the largest total payment — $5.5 million — to his business interests, the report found. Those payments included millions of dollars from China’s Embassy in the United States, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Hainan Airlines Holding Company.

Saudi Arabia was the second-largest spender, shelling out more than $615,000 at the Trump World Tower and Trump International Hotel.

The Democrats’ report acknowledges its own limitations. Democrats fought aggressively through years of litigation to gain access to only a portion of Mr. Trump’s business records. After they won court rulings, Mazars USA, the longtime accounting firm for Mr. Trump that cut ties with him and his family business, began in 2022 turning over documents related to his financial dealings.

The development came after Mazars said it could no longer stand behind a decade of annual financial statements it had prepared for the Trump Organization.

But once Republicans won control of Congress, they dropped the effort to force Mazars to continue with its production of documents about Mr. Trump’s business dealings.

Emoluments Clause.  Too inconvenient for the Supreme Court to consider.  Just like that 14th Amendment, I suspect.  Tell me the Supreme Court isn’t corrupt.

What EVER Will France Do Without Sugar Water And Salty Snacks?  Just fine, I suspect:

France-based Carrefour, one of the world’s largest grocery chains, told customers Thursday it is pulling Lay’s, Doritos, Lipton teas and other PepsiCo products in protest of increased prices.

Stores in France, Italy, Belgium and Spain will be affected, multiple news outlets reported. Carrefour, which has more than 12,000 stores globally,did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment. In a sign taped to certain aisles in stores, the company announced the decision and said it is “committed to lowering prices.”

Retailers in the U.S. have also battled with suppliers to lower food prices. To apply pressure, some stores will put brands in the “penalty box,” said Randall Sargent, a partner in the retail and consumer goods division of the marketing consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

That could mean unfavorable placement on shelves, less promotion and higher prices, making the products “less attractive for consumers to buy that brand relative to another brand,” she said.

But in Europe, more aggressive tactics such as pulling all products is not uncommon, Sargent said. Grocery stores in the region are smaller, leaving less noticeable holes on shelves, and European consumers are already more inclined to buy stores’ own private brands, she said.

“While consumers are still very loyal to certain national brands, it’s a bit less disruptive when they’re pulled from the shelf because they’re already used to, and more willing in many categories, to shift to the private brand equivalent,” Sargent said.