If Congress valued the Constitution, it would impeach Trump for bribery. The Constitution bans US officials—explicitly including POTUS—from accepting things of value from foreign govts. Ben Franklin famously gave up a gift from France as ambassador. US institutions now see blatant bribery as ok. - ThreadSky

nicholasgrossman.bsky.social • 2 days ago

If Congress valued the Constitution, it would impeach Trump for bribery.

The Constitution bans US officials—explicitly including POTUS—from accepting things of value from foreign govts. Ben Franklin famously gave up a gift from France as ambassador.

US institutions now see blatant bribery as ok.

Reposted from Ahmed Baba

The foreign emoluments clause was written to prevent exactly this. Blatantly unconstitutional

Comments

adamjasonp.bsky.social•2 days ago

Market manipulation bribery too and wow it just gets worse

aaronwentzel.bsky.social•2 days ago

Congress values congress, reelection and the benefits that come from that.

Get over any foolish ideas that they represent their constituents. Until we remove money from politics, what we have now, is the logical end.

eunicecycle.bsky.social•2 days ago

If it's a gift to the president then at the very least it has to be kept as Air Force 1. After all the spying devices have been removed of course.

mmorgenschoen.bsky.social•2 days ago

he can’t accept it as a gift to the us, either. nations do not accept gifts like this from other nations.

eunicecycle.bsky.social•2 days ago

I really would hope not. But there's nobody to stop him in his administration now, and certainly the Rs in Congress aren't going to stop him.

mmorgenschoen.bsky.social•2 days ago

by “he can’t” I mean “not in any legal or politically tolerable way” (imagine how that makes the us look internationally). not that he won’t do it.

mareelinevaleska.bsky.social•2 days ago

We remember learning about how Benjamin Franklin refused a gift from France to protect America’s integrity. If our founders could see this, they’d be shocked. Have we really forgotten what they stood for?

hopelaughlove.bsky.social•2 days ago

as usual GOP 🦗🦗🦗 are all going along with this Facist Dictator- they are just as evil as he is not living up to their Oath of Office & Constitution and our Democracy.

janehop.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm pulling my hair out trying to understand how all this blatant corruption is being IGNORED. Airplanes, crypo bribery, blackmail, protection money. IT'S SO AUDACIOUS!!! Are ALL REPUBLICANS seriously ok with this?? Is there not one honest person in the party with a moral fiber?

ehskeemer.bsky.social•2 days ago

And white Christian middle-class America hasn't got a clue. Selfish fat & happy, still eating steak and living the good life while bitching about high prices that are killing the poor. This Country deserves a fucking meltdown.

blake105.bsky.social•2 days ago

As a former NYS employee I remember getting shit for getting a mug from an HMO I regulated.

cozybooksonly.bsky.social•2 days ago

There are local elections every week. Vote in then and strength state and cities.

cozybooksonly.bsky.social•2 days ago

Call your gop reps!! They can stop this!! Be ready to vote them out in 2026 but until then - call and email them!
And don’t come here saying there won’t be elections- don’t fucking give in in advance.

https://act.indivisible.org/sign/no-cutting-programs-to-fund-handouts-to-billionaires

vl2024.bsky.social•2 days ago

Someone out there trying to let him land with it in Newark?

globewithaface.bsky.social•2 days ago

Didn’t we literally just put a former Senator in prison for this?

nicholasgrossman.bsky.social•2 days ago

Bob Menendez? His bribe from rich Middle East interests came in the form of gold coins. This bribe for Trump from rich Middle East interests is in the form of an aircraft. So, um…

paulhumanic.bsky.social•2 days ago

Menendez made the mistake of trying to hide his bribe, it apparently isn't a crime if you announce it by press release

toffph.bsky.social•2 days ago

One would expect the jet to have lots of vulnerabilities security and safety-wise.

piperjc.bsky.social•2 days ago

He'll probably use this to make media about him for the next week and then at the last minute not accept it.....even tho' we all know he wants it and thinks he's entitled to it. Pundits in the media should talk about it & take wagers on it while they call out the abuse.

gavinneedham.bsky.social•2 days ago

This also feels like a massive security risk. A plane that belonged to a foreign government being used as air force one?

nicholasgrossman.bsky.social•2 days ago

US officers will presumably sweep it and try to remove anything Qatar put on there. But why take the risk that they miss something, or make the effort necessary in the first place?

(Because bribery)

jlteague62.bsky.social•2 days ago

Massive

thefifthdeclension.bsky.social•1 day ago

Look on the bright side. Any foreign intelligence eavesdroppers who try to assemble overheard tariff policy into a coherent whole will be driven mad.

deequilter86.bsky.social•2 days ago

Don’t say “Congress” likes it all of them. Say “Republicans” because it’s them and only them that do care.

audaciousness.bsky.social•2 days ago

It is all of them.

mmorgenschoen.bsky.social•2 days ago

obviously, with just a few exceptions, dems have decided that even taking the word “impeachment” into their mouths is too much. so yes, it’s “congress”.

emilysenefeld.bsky.social•2 days ago

the idea of having this at a presidential library--seems like elvis' jet at graceland!

crobruncato.bsky.social•2 days ago

Hope the Dems win big in 26. And have the “balls” to rip his admin to shreds and impeach and convict.

nonotthatpaul.bsky.social•2 days ago

Republicans carry the constitution in their pockets so they will definitely know it's totally wrong for the president to accept a plane as a gift. No worries, all good

pow35.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's because his Highness President Trump signed a Royal decree revoking the illegality of receiving bribes!

peachdiva.bsky.social•2 days ago

First Trump term, Kellyanne Conway, her feet up on a couch in the Oval Office, laughing about the Emoluments Clause, saying " What are you going to do to me?" Taunting. No consequences then. None now.

flashgordon.bsky.social•2 days ago

that it's to become property of the "trump library" (lol) immediately after his term is so blatantly "this is just for me."

mmorgenschoen.bsky.social•2 days ago

of course. it's a personal gift. it would be impossible, too, to accept such a gift as "the united states", but this is openly a personal gift.

counterpoint4.bsky.social•4 hours ago

Please repost as desired ...

arkancrow.bsky.social•2 days ago

Qatar is famously know for bribbering politicians.
And they will take a foreign plane as Air Force One ?
Like... Qatar is also famously know for spying on other countries.

WTF, are they mad ?

mepafford.org•2 days ago

IF this happens (and I Really hope it doesn't), you might as well go ahead and Name this thing, "KOMPROMAT ONE", because I Guarantee it Will Have 'The Latest' Espionage Technology-Built In!

marketdf.bsky.social•2 days ago

We call them "tips" now. 🙄

richlevine6.bsky.social•2 days ago

Words they don’t care for are obviously meaningless to Bondi and the current DOJ.

greekmamaearth.bsky.social•2 days ago

I would edit this to Republicans, not US institutions. And clarify, Republicans approve this for Republican presidents & would be violently opposed to a Democratic president doing this.

danhomiller.bsky.social•2 days ago

It’s nuts! All the talk will be about whether it’s legal, when it should simply be about whether it’s morally/ethically right. We forget the difference between right/wrong and “can he get away with it” at out peril.

piperjc.bsky.social•2 days ago

Agree-

audaciousness.bsky.social•2 days ago

Maybe that's because it's clearly neither ethical nor moral?

There might be some question as to its legality (Is Trump actually receiving a gift, or is the US Government? While any reasonable person can see that would still be a bribe, does the law cover that?).

sarwark.org•2 days ago

Congress could consent.

https://bsky.app/profile/sarwark.org/post/3lovkbsyt5c2u

ford422.bsky.social•2 days ago

The R party is ok with the January 6 insurrection and pardoning every one of the violent criminals.

starbucksgirl51.bsky.social•2 days ago

Correction: if REPUBLICANS valued the Constitution.

And they don't. But they control Congress. Mike Johnson won't bring Dem Articles of Impeachment for a vote, and the Senate would never remove him.

This is why we are where we are.

mmorgenschoen.bsky.social•2 days ago

dems could still write articles of impeachment twice a week and make a big fuss about it to draw more attention to trump’s crimes. but most of them won’t even take the word in their mouths. or do anything else.

rjfhou.bsky.social•2 days ago

WTF? I know that is not the most intellectual response, but all I feel.

grammarpurist.bsky.social•2 days ago

In case you are forgetting, the Supreme Court legalized bribery just last year.

https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2024/07/us-supreme-court-holds-that-federal-bribery-law-does-not-criminalize-gratuities#:~:text=On%20June%2026%2C%202024%2C%20the,as%20a%20token%20of%20appreciation.%E2%80%9D

dangrously.bsky.social•2 days ago

Probably loaded to the gills with spyware too, and most likely doesn't have a lot of the safety and communications features of the actual Air Force One planes. The thing has to be shielded against EM pulses, and have midflight refueling and stuff.

mmorgenschoen.bsky.social•2 days ago

doesn’t matter if there’s enough 24-carat leaf gold.

or golden spray paint. didn’t he last time get a precious looking animal hide from saudi arabia that turned out to be fake?

dangrously.bsky.social•2 days ago

Everybody knows the fake stuff looks better, that's what Trump believes anyway. They don't know what real gold looks like. I mean, it's all plaster covered in gold covered vinyl

naveman.bsky.social•2 days ago

Chaos, CORRUPTION, Cruelty, and Incompetence

bd-sint.bsky.social•2 days ago

Every single impeachable offense, and the list is long, must be included in articles of impeachment to be introduced in Jan 2027. Even if the Senate doesn't convict, there needs to be a clear record for posterity.

audaciousness.bsky.social•2 days ago

If we haven't impeached and removed these folks long before that, then it will simply never happen.

bd-sint.bsky.social•1 day ago

There is no option before that, given that the Republicans will never impeach Trump. It can only happen if the Democrats win the House in the 2026 election.

audaciousness.bsky.social•1 day ago

Then there is no option other than run revolution. Our country is forfeit and but worth saving if impeachment is truly partisan now.

heidireinberg.bsky.social•2 days ago

Well, to be fair, I'm sure "his lawyers" told him this was just fine.

tmac1957.bsky.social•2 days ago

Since Congress won’t do anything about it, can the courts have a say?

flinthillshuman.bsky.social•2 days ago

Just checked the ABC website.
Yep.

flinthillshuman.bsky.social•2 days ago

This can't be true.
Can it?
Is it one of the reasons he's going to the middle east?

saienx.bsky.social•2 days ago

Does it have the same armour as the current AF1? Because I sincerely doubt it.

That idiot is so easily bought.

pow35.bsky.social•2 days ago

Shhhh... Let's pretend it does!

citizensimpeachment.com•2 days ago

We agree!

Any one else who agrees that impeachment must happen can let their House representative know with a phone call or email.

We explain how on our website.

https://citizensimpeachment.com/advocate-for-impeachment-in-five-minutes/

thelonious08.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

burrowcrat.bsky.social•2 days ago

This level of corruption is a cancer. Trump has allowed this disease to enter the American bloodstream and the longer it’s allowed to fester, the worse it’ll be for the country in the long run.

comgeek39.bsky.social•2 days ago

“Fill the Swamp! Fill the Swamp!”

nicholasgrossman.bsky.social•2 days ago

That slogan never referred to corruption, it always referred to Democrats, liberals, anyone they don’t like. That’s pretty much what all their slogans mean. I don’t know how so much of political media still doesn’t get that.

comgeek39.bsky.social•2 days ago

I think for many the motive is objectivity. But then this Molly Ivins quote comes to mind:

“First of all, there's no such thing as objectivity…how you see the world depends on where you stand and who you are, there's nothing any of us can do about that.”