In a blog posting on the Hill's Congressional Blog, Fitton states:
"...According to the “Emoluments” or “Eligibility” Clause of the United States Constitution, no member of Congress can be appointed to an office that has benefited from a salary increase during the time that Senator or Representative served in Congress. A January 2008 Executive Order signed by President Bush during Hillary Clinton’s current Senate term increased the salary for Secretary of State, thereby rendering Senator Clinton ineligible for the position.
(Specifically, Article I, section 6 of the U.S. Constitution provides “No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time.” The provision is seen by most as designed by our Founding Fathers to protect against corruption.)..."
Now wouldn't that be a kick in the teeth for the Clinton's.
It doesn't seem right that no one involved in the decision to appoint Hillary as Secretary of State was aware of this provision in the constitution, or maybe Obama's people knew all along about it and decided to appoint her anyway to see if anyone would pick up on it. If no said anything then great, Hillary was appeased for her support during the general election, but if this little secret was exposed then the Obama camp can say "Oh well, sorry Hillary" and be seen as not wanting Hillary Clinton involved in the Obama administration.
We'll have to keep an eye on this.
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