'Pay Trump Bribes Here' projected across entrance of his Washington DC hotel
The constitution’s emoluments clause was also projected on President Trump’s hotel
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Louise Thomas
Editor
Donald Trump’s hotel in downtown Washington DC has been emblazoned with the words “Pay Trump bribes here”.
Robin Bell, the multimedia artist who says he is responsible for the large light projections on Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday night, said it took around ten minutes for security to come and block the projector.
The constitution’s emoluments clause was also projected on President Trump’s hotel which is just blocks away from the White House.
The emoluments clause prohibits federal officials from taking payments from foreign governments. Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the constitution states that no American officeholder shall, “without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”
People shared photos of the light projections on Twitter and commended the artist for his apparent act of protest.
“Loving the new look at Trump hotel in DC,” said one onlooker. While another said: “I want to marry whoever did this to Trump hotel”.
Taking responsible for the artwork, Mr Bell said: “Had a lot of fun projecting Emoluments Welcome on Trump hotel”.
President Trump is faced with a lawsuit filed by watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which alleges he violated the emoluments clause. The complaint accuses him of violating the US constitution by letting his hotels accept payments from foreign governments.
The protest against the billionaire property developer appeared just hours after the Washington Post reported that Mr Trump has revealed highly classified information about Isis to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week.
According to current and former US officials, the information relayed by the President while in the Oval Office was provided to the US by an American ally via a sensitive intelligence sharing arrangement.
President Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies,” a US official told the Post.
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