OA35: The Emoluments Clause (w/Seth Barrett Tillman) Part 1

Today's episode is part one of a two-part series on whether the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution applies to incoming President Donald Trump. We begin, however, by addressing another Trump-related question:  Does a recent report claiming that 50+ Trump electors are ineligible provide the relief of preventing Trump from assuming the Presidency?  We delve into the report and answer the question in a way that may surprise you. Our main interview segment is with Lecturer Seth Barrett Tillman of the Maynooth University Department of Law.  Tillman's thesis is that the Emoluments Clause does not apply to President Trump because the Presidency is not an "office... under the United States" for purposes of Constitutional analysis. Next, we answer a listener question from William Stemmler about officeholders in the line of Presidential Succession who are themselves ineligible to become President.  Could Donald Trump nominate George W. Bush to be Secretary of State?  Find out! Finally, we end with the answer to Thomas Takes the Bar Exam question #6 about pre-nuptial agreements.  Remember that TTTBE issues a new question every Friday, followed by the answer on next Tuesday's show.  Don't forget to play along by following our Twitter feed (<a href= "https://twitter.com/openargs">@Openargs</a>) and/or our <a href= "https://www.facebook.com/openargs/">Facebook Page</a> and quoting the Tweet or Facebook Post that announces this episode along with your guess and reason(s)! <span style= "text-decoration: underline">Show Notes & Links</span> <ol> <li>Here's the <a href= "http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/bombshell-report-claims-at-least-50-trump-electors-are-illegitimate-and-should-not-have-voted/"> Raw Story report on disqualified Trump electors</a>, and the full text of the report can be <a href= "http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/least-50-trump-electors-were-illegitimately-seated-electoral-college-members"> downloaded from Alternet</a>.</li> <li>Prof. Tillman can be found on Twitter at @<a href= "https://twitter.com/SethBTi