Donald Trump 'a walking, talking violation of the constitution' according to law professor

'[Mr Trump] thinks of himself as a babe magnet, but he's an emoluments magnet'

Donald Trump's business dealings and his family's ongoing involvement in his finances will make the President-elect "a walking, talking violation of the Constitution" when he takes office, according to a legal expert.

Professor Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law expert at Harvard University, claimed Mr Trump's involvement in business could cause conflicts of interest, in line with the US Constitution's "emoluments clause".

"The emoluments clause basically says no officer of the United States can be on the receiving end of any kind of benefit, economic benefit, payment, gift, profit, whatever, from a foreign government or its corporations or agents," Professor Tribe told MSNBC.

"In this case Donald Jr. or Ivanka or Eric — there would be a financial close relationship that could never be disentangled by the American public."

Last week, Mr Trump announced he would relinquish "total" control of his multi-billion dollar business empire to focus on the presidency.

But Professor Tribe said the President-elect would need to go further and sell off all his business interests to remove himself of emoluments difficulties.

"[Mr Trump] is a constant emolument magnet. He thinks of himself as a babe magnet, but he's an emoluments magnet," Professor Tribe added.

"All around the world everybody wants to go to his hotels and not the competitors, and wants to give him a variance or a special land use permit and there’s simply no way short of absolutely liquidating all of his cash and assets into a blind trust and not handed over to his kids.

"Nothing short of that prevents him from being a walking, talking violation of the Constitution from the moment he takes the oath."

Last week, former ethics lawyers for Barack Obama and George W Bush asked the electoral college to not appoint Mr Trump as president due to his potential conflicts of interest, unless he agrees to sell his businesses.

Separately Steven Schooner, a law professor at George Washington University, said the President-elect's business in various countries could lead to an “impeachment issue".

Mr Trump’s wealth is currently estimated at $3.7bn by Forbes, and his primary assets include Trump Tower in Manhattan and the Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.