Claire Finkelstein, faculty director of CERL, is quoted by Axios. She states that this potential request by the Trump administration would be a fundamental test of the Justice Department’s integrity. Any payment from the DOJ to the president would demonstrate that there is very little daylight separating the interests of the president and the Department of Justice. 

Claire Finkelstein is the Algernon Biddle Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy and Faculty Director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Read her bio here. 

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.