A Democratic senator warned Wednesday that President Donald Trump's new plan could open the floodgates for international corruption.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined CNN's Erin Burnett on her show, "OutFront," on Wednesday evening to talk about the network's new reporting that the president is considering hosting the G20 summit at Trump National Doral Miami club.
"A Trump aide came in under his arm with the poster of 'Miami 2028' or whatever it said, for the G20. And Trump wants to host the G20 at the Doral in Florida. That’s, of course, his golf club. Is that okay?" asked Burnett.
Whitehouse slammed Trump and his family in his response.
"Trump’s inability to steer away from self-dealing, for himself, his family, and his business interests, as president, creates all kinds of risks of corruption," he warned. "And those risks are worsened when you're dealing with international relations, with opportunities for foreign governments and foreign officials to curry favor—or even flat-out buy favor—in the way they do business with Trump’s personal and business interests. So yeah, it's a real concern. It's a continuing concern."
Burnett asked Whitehouse whether the Emoluments Clause applies to Trump's plan.
"It existed for a reason. But it appears that whatever you say about the letter of the law, the spirit of the law is constantly being trounced, right? That’s the reality," she said. "So, does it mean anything anymore? Is this something any future president will ever respect? Or is self-dealing now just the norm?"
Whitehouse bashed the president and took a shot at the courts, to boot.
"Well, clearly, self-dealing is the norm for Trump. And the question of the Emoluments Clause — we’ve litigated that in the past, and the court has not been very helpful to the litigants," he said.
The dispute dates to the earliest days of America's founding, he said, "when a piece of jewelry, I think it was a jeweled box, was given to one of the founders. And that kicked all this off."
"I can assure you that whatever the little box was that was given to one of the founders, it was a trifle compared to the massive financial favors being poured into Trump business interests by foreign governments and foreign influencers," he concluded.
Watch the clip below or at this link.