At a Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Adam Schiff asks Trump nominee Geiser whether it is unlawful for the president to accept a gift from a foreign state without the consent of Congress. Geiser answers "it depends on the facts," so Schiff reads Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 aloud and asks whether there is an exception for "$400 million planes from Gulf emirs."
The receipt
- Who
- Schiff
- Where
- hearing - confirmation hearing for Office of Legal Counsel nominee
- Original footage
- Sen. Adam Schiff · watch the full video from this moment
- Length
- 59 seconds, unedited within the cut
Read the transcript
Is it unlawful for the president to accept a gift from a foreign state without the consent of Congress? Very simple question. Senator, as a lawyer, I would always give my... I'm not asking you for a preamble. Just yes or no. Well, Senator Schiff, it depends on the facts. Well, Mr. Geiser, where is the depends on the facts of Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8, which says, no person holding any office shall, without consent of Congress, accept any present from any foreign state. That's the Constitution. Doesn't say, well, it depends, or it might, or maybe it says no person shall do so. Do you find that ambiguous? Senator, I thought you were supposed to be the strict constructionists. This is what the Constitution says. Is there an exception for $400 million planes from Gulf amirs?
Machine transcript of the clip's audio; names are checked, small words may differ.