Groton Democrat and Republican Clubs Co-Sponsor Talk with Ethics Expert

Mr. Painter—former chief ethics counsel under President George W. Bush and now a professor at the University of Minnesota—visited Groton School last spring to talk about his case against President Trump. In front of a crowd of students and faculty in the Sackett Forum, he discussed specifics of his case—including the historical background behind the Constitution's emoluments clause, which prohibits government officials from receiving gifts from foreign officials.

On Sunday, November 5, in a more intimate conversation co-sponsored by Groton's Young Republicans and Young Democrats, Mr. Painter returned to the Circle to talk about the development of his case. He noted that he doesn’t seek criminal charges or fines in his lawsuit. Instead, he is only “asking for the judge to tell Mr. Trump what he can and cannot do with his businesses.”

After laying out the groundwork of his case, he shifted the conversation to recent news, engaging with Groton students on a wide range of topics, covering anything from Mueller’s investigation to the impact of social media on elections to the future of the Republican Party.

Returning to Mr. Painter’s lawsuit against President Trump, a student asked the former ethics chief what he would consider a victory in his lawsuit. Mr. Painter paused for a second before responding: “We just want President Trump to recognize the limits of his office.”—Kevin Xiao '18 and Michael Xiao '18