'Outrageous': Bipartisan group of presidential ethics lawyers sounds alarm over Trump plan

Donald Trump's newest plan violates the constitution, according to a bipartisan group of White House ethics attorneys.

Trump recently announced he would be seeking $230 million as reimbursement for legal fees from when he was indicted on federal charges, before he began his second term.

But that plan isn't above board, according to three ethics lawyers from Republican and Democratic administrations.

"The president‘s outrageous request for $230 million from the federal government is not only an abusive attempt to raid the coffers of the Treasury, but it’s also an apparent violation of the Domestic Emoluments Clause—a constitutional provision that expressly prohibits the president from taking any emolument from the United States other than his statutory salary," according to the lawyers. "And, unlike the Foreign Emoluments clause, the domestic clause is applicable solely to the president of the United States, and Congress has no power to waive it."

They then added, "We should know: The three of us served as ethics officials to President Barack Obama, President George W. Bush, and President Bill Clinton and brought suit against Trump in his first term for violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause."

They go on to say, "The weight of history shows that the term 'emolument' is expansive and covers any form of profit, advantage, or benefit."

"So when the president seeks compensation from the Department of Justice based on spurious claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, he is really seeking compensation from the government in excess of his salary," they added. "And he is doing so using his subordinates to award him a profit, advantage, or benefit in violation of the Domestic Emoluments Clause."

The ethics lawyers are George W. Bush White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter, Clinton White House ethics lawyer Virginia Canter, and Obama White House ethics lawyer Norm Eisen.

Read the full piece here.