There is no dispute that the minute Donald Trump took office, he committed an impeachable offense. Specifically, by letting money from his deals with foreign governments continue to flow into his coffers, Trump is violating the Emoluments Clause. Unfortunately, the House and Senate Repubs don’t seem inclined to act on it.
But it looks like there may be a way to hold him to account after all. Jed Shugarman, a law professor at Fordham, believes that a state attorney general where the Trump Organization does business—ideally, a state where Trump’s businesses are incorporated--can file a quo warranto suit against the Trump Organization.
We may think of quo warranto suits as being directed at government officials who are overstepping their limits. But Shugarman told ThinkProgress that they can also be filed against corporations who are engaging in unlawful activity—in this case, continuing to funnel foreign money to Trump.
These suits aren’t as common now, since shareholders have acquired greater freedom to sue since the 1950s. But this is a unique situation that requires a unique solution—a major corporation whose largest shareholder is the president of the United States.
Fortunately, one state that explicitly allows its attorney general to file quo warranto suits against corporations is New York—Trump’s home state. If a corporation is suspected of having “carried on, conducted, or transacted its business in a persistently fraudulent or illegal manner,” the state attorney general can seek to heavily fine it, enjoin it from the illegal activity, or even have it dissolved.
In the Trump Organization’s case, if such a suit for funneling foreign payments to Trump is successful, it can be forced to sell off certain assets, stop dealing with foreign governments, or in an extreme circumstance be forced to give up its charter. More importantly, Trump would also have to make significant disclosures about his foreign dealings and (at long last) release his tax returns. He and other officers would likely have to testify—under oath.
It also helps that New York’s current attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, is not afraid to take on the Donald—as witnessed by the Trump University and Trump Foundation cases. And since Schneiderman is a Democrat, we wouldn’t have to worry about getting help from the GOP. There’s at least one route for Schneiderman to stick it to Trump. One of the biggest tenants at Trump Tower is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China—owned by the Chinese government.
This certainly looks like it could go somewhere—if someone has the guts to try it.