An artist projected "Pay Trump bribes here" and "emoluments welcome" onto the facade of the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C, on Monday night, in protest of President Donald Trump's failure to divest himself from his business empire.
The artist, Robin Bell, also projected the entire text of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
Foreign leaders can literally pay to stay at the president's property, mere steps from the White House, Bell pointed out to CNN in an interview. This appears to violate the Emoluments Clause, which forbids officials from accepting money and gifts from foreign governments.
"It's a pretty clear cut example of impropriety," Bell told CNN. "This is not like politics as usual. The rules and the lines are being pushed so far and this seemed to be so clear to me."
In January, watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington sued the president over his business ties, alleging that his businesses accept money and favors from foreign politicians and governments in violation of the Emoluments Clause.
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The lawsuit has only grown to encompass more charges and plaintiffs as Trump's term has gone on, as Common Dreams reported, and ethics watchdogs also charge that Trump family members and advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have myriad conflicts of interest.
Bell and observers captured Monday's unique protest on social media:
New look! Trump Hotel. So hot right now. #resist pic.twitter.com/pjgTnkfOcv
— Tim Hogan (@timjhogan) May 16, 2017
It gets better. #resist pic.twitter.com/6ok7jJzPut
— Tim Hogan (@timjhogan) May 16, 2017
Projections of #EmolumentsWelcome at Trump Hotel in Washington, DC 5-15-17 #resist pic.twitter.com/8gkucztYOm
— robin bell (@bellvisuals) May 16, 2017
