Amicus

Amicus: Corruption in the White House

The founders were so adamant about preventing the kind of presidency we’re about to witness. Plus, reflecting on the climate for free speech on college campuses.

Listen to Episode 56 of Slate’s Amicus:

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“[N]o 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.”

These words, from Article I of the U.S. Constitution, make it unambiguously clear to many legal scholars that Donald Trump will be committing an impeachable offense by not relinquishing ownership stakes in his multiple companies before Jan. 20.  Zephyr Teachout is among those scholars and joins us to explain why corruption in the presidency was such anathema to the nation’s founders.

In the remainder of Tuesday’s episode, we share a few highlights from a recent symposium about the current state of free speech on college campuses. The event was organized by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression. You can watch videos of the entire two-day event here.

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Podcast production by Tony Field.