Known as the emoluments clause, it reflects the founding fathers' concern, verging on paranoia, about foreign meddling in US politics. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The clause is so strict that US presidents must ask for permission from Congress to keep any gifts given to them by foreign leaders during diplomatic visits. Without that approval, the presents are deposited at the State Department. Yet Trump has awarded his family company a massive contract to host a gathering of the world's most powerful foreign leaders. "This is about as direct and profound a violation of the emoluments clause as one could create," Andrew Napolitano, the senior legal analyst at Fox News, said.

"He has bought himself an enormous headache now with the choice of this." Trump's Doral resort, pictured, has been announced as the host of the 2020 G7 summit. Credit:AP Acting White House chief-of-staff Mick Mulvaney said the administration considered 10 sites across the country but the Trump Doral resort near Miami was "far and away the best physical facility for this meeting". "It’s almost like they built this facility to host this type of event," he said. Mulvaney insisted that Trump was not breaching the constitution because the resort would run the event on a cost-recovery basis rather than seeking to make a profit.

This could well be fudging it. After all, hosting such a high-profile event would raise the resort's profile and likely boost the number of future visitors - delivering a windfall to the Trump family. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video It doesn't matter either way, Napolitano said. "The constitution does not address profits, it addresses any present, as in a gift, any emolument as in cash of any kind whatever," he said. The prevailing view among Democrats is that they should keep their impeachment case tightly focused rather than include a litany of Trump's transgressions.

Loading They want to make their argument understandable to the public and as compelling as possible to Republicans in Congress. The Doral contract is easy to explain and looks to be a clear abuse of presidential power. It would sit neatly alongside impeachment articles referring to Trump's notorious phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Both paint the picture of a President using the office to benefit himself - in one case politically, in the other financially. "The constitution is clear: the President cannot accept gifts or payments from foreign governments," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "No one is above the law."