An Exploration of the Original Public Meaning of the Domestic (Presidential) Emoluments Clause

Professor Tillman is an Associate Professor at the Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology in County Kildare, Ireland. He is a widely quoted authority on American constitutional law and legal history, and he is the author or co-author of numerous academic and popular articles, as well as amicus briefs. Today, he joins us to discuss his recently filed amicus brief in Sistrunk Seeds, Inc. v. Trump, a case seeking to resolve claims under the U.S. Constitution’s Domestic (Presidential) Emoluments Clause, being heard in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

(Interview conducted and transcribed by Maclain Conlin. All errors under the interviewer’s name (Conlin) are the interviewer’s errors; all errors under the interviewee’s name (Tillman) are the interviewee’s errors.)

Maclain Conlin: Before we delve into the legal arguments at stake in Sistrunk Seeds, Inc. v. Trump, could you please provide a brief overview of its fact pattern, the litigation which preceded it, and how this dispute came before a federal court?