So this is the new argument I’ve been reading and hearing:
The President can conduct foreign policy in any way he chooses. He can start deals, hold up deals, do whatever he wants. He can use whomever he wants; it doesn’t need to be the State Department. He can pursue whatever interests he thinks are important, including political interests. None of this is illegal; the Constitution grants him these powers. If we are unhappy with how the President handles foreign policy, the correct remedy is to elect someone else. But since no crime was involved, there is no impeachable offense.
What’s the best way to refute this argument?
ARTICLE I, SECTION 9, CLAUSE
"no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State."
(From wikipedia) The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel has opined that
[t]he language of the Emoluments Clause is both sweeping and unqualified. See 49 Comp. Gen. 819, 821 (1970) (the "drafters [of the Clause] intended the prohibition to have the broadest possible scope and applicability"). It prohibits those holding offices of profit or trust under the United States from accepting "any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever" from "any . . . foreign State" unless Congress consents. U.S. Const, art. I, § 9, cl. 8 (emphasis added). . . . The decision whether to permit exceptions that qualify the Clause's absolute prohibition or that temper any harshness it may cause is textually committed to Congress, which may give consent to the acceptance of offices or emoluments otherwise barred by the Clause.[20]
And
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/30121
(a)ProhibitionIt shall be unlawful for—(1)a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make—(A)
a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
(B)
a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party; or
(C)
an expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication (within the meaning of section 30104(f)(3) of this title); or
(2)
a person to solicit, accept, or receive a contribution or donation described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) from a foreign national.
(b)“Foreign national” definedAs used in this section, the term “foreign national” means—(1)
a foreign principal, as such term is defined by section 611(b) of title 22, except that the term “foreign national” shall not include any individual who is a citizen of the United States; or
(2)
an individual who is not a citizen of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 1101(a)(22) of title
and who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined by section 1101(a)(20) of title 8.
