The OLC Emoluments Clause Jurisprudence in the Executive Branch
Arthur H. Garrison, LP.D. * | 23.4 | Article | Citation: Arthur H. Garrison, The OLC Emoluments Clause Jurisprudence in the Executive Branch, 23 U. Pa. J. Const. L. 753 (2021).
The role of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) within the Department of Justice is to provide members of the Executive Branch and the President of the United States with legal guidance regarding the legality of proposed policies, actions, and legislation. The opinions of the OLC are dispositive within the executive branch. When President Trump was elected president, he held various domestic and international business interests and upon taking office was sued and it was claimed he was in violation of the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses. The OLC was not consulted on the question of whether President Trump could continue to receive payments through his businesses as president. This article proposes that had the OLC been asked it would have concluded that the president was in violation of both clauses to the extent that any profits and payments received were sourced from government entities, whether foreign or domestic.
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*Arthur Garrison is a professor of Criminal Justice at Kutztown University. Dr. Garrison received a B.A. from Kutztown University, M.S. from West Chester University, and a Doctor of Law and Policy from Northeastern University.