Constitutional Accountability Center Constitutional Accountability Center

Rule of Law

Holding the courts and political branches accountable to the text and history of the Constitution and federal statutes
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President Obama addressing Joint Session of Congress | Lawrence Jackson, White House Archives

Summary

The Constitution and its Amendments, as well as numerous federal statutes, guarantee rights for Americans, define responsibilities for government officials, and mark the boundary between the federal and state governments. CAC works to hold those in power accountable to the commands of our Constitution and laws in these areas.

Rule of Law in Brief

Oral Arguments at the Florida Supreme Court | Jeanie 0146, Wikimedia Commons

President Trump’s failure to respect the clear text of the Constitution, as well as its cherished norms and values — including his violations of the Emoluments Clauses — is an attack on the rule of law. CAC works to ensure that no public official is above the law.

Featured Case

Rule of Law August 5, 2019

Blumenthal, et al. v. Trump

The Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution requires that all federal officeholders, including the President, seek and obtain the affirmative consent of Congress before accepting any benefits from foreign states. Our nation’s Founders concluded that such a requirement was the only way to prevent undue foreign influence on American officials, and to ensure that those officials act in the national interest, not their own financial self-interest. Because President Trump is accepting numerous valuable benefits from foreign states through his business empire without having first obtained the affirmative consent of Congress, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Representative Jerrold Nadler, and nearly 200 other Members of...

Case Timeline

Current
  • CAC files a supplemental brief in opposition to the defendant’s motion for interlocutory appeal and motion for a stay pending appeal
  • District Court stayed discovery and ordered supplemental briefing on the issues raised by the D.C. Circuit’s remand order
  • The D.C. Circuit denied the government’s petition for a writ of mandamus and stay and remanded the case to the district court for reconsideration of the interlocutory appeal and stay

Related Issue Areas

Federal Courts and Nominations See More
Access to Justice See More