Hillary Clinton is right about Donald Trump, and he should listen to her. Well, in at least one respect.

The failed presidential candidate has penned an op-ed in the Atlantic warning that the current president has contributed to a crisis of constitutional government. And yes, it is full of #Resistance boilerplate, but there is an actual worthwhile point.

Clinton asserts that that Trump is “waging war on truth and reason.” Clinton argues also that Trump has launched a full-scale “assault on the rule of law.” Ironic and eye-rolling charges coming from Clinton, I know.

Trump and company have dozens of defenses for these charges by now. But Clinton does make one airtight argument:



Considering that this administration promised to “drain the swamp,” it’s amazing how blithely the president and his Cabinet have piled up conflicts of interest, abuses of power, and blatant violations of ethics rules. Trump is the first president in 40 years to refuse to release his tax returns. He has refused to put his assets in a blind trust or divest himself of his properties and businesses, as previous presidents did. This has created unprecedented conflicts of interest, as industry lobbyists, foreign governments, and Republican organizations do business with Trump’s companies or hold lucrative events at his hotels, golf courses, and other properties. They are putting money directly into his pocket. He’s profiting off the business of the presidency.



I do appreciate the irony of this coming from the same Clinton who along with her husband accepted so many personal payments and donations from foreigners while setting foreign policy. But that doesn't mean she isn't right about Trump.

Just two years in and this Trump racket has been well-documented. Lobbyists purchase memberships at his golf courses in hopes of running into him or his Cabinet members. Industries host events at his clubs, sometimes the night before meeting with him in the Oval Office. Washington super PACs regularly drop ridiculous amounts of cash at his hotels.

There is a defense for almost everything else that Trump does. There is no honest ideological defense for using public office for personal financial gain — there are only partisan and tribal rebuttals.

Serious grifters aren’t stopping by Trump Hotel because of the drink specials. They are frequenting Trump establishments because they want access to the most powerful man in the world and the people around him. They stroke his ego and line his pockets. He defers to their policy whims or gives them free publicity or at least make it a priority to hear them out. This isn’t some kooky Russia collusion conspiracy theory. This is what’s happening right now.

As Timothy P. Carney reported back in January of this year:



When Trump ordered reviews of America’s trade agreements, with an executive order on his 100th day in office, he did what many presidents do: He chose some gritty American business as the setting. The business he chose? The Ames Companies of Camp Hill, whose president, Robert Mehmel, is a member of Trump National Golf Club-Bedminister. USA Today determined that on at least three occasions, Mehmel played Bedminster the same day Trump was there.



The miracle of our constitutional government has been that it incentives good behavior even from bad men. For the last two-hundred years, ambition has counteracted ambition and we’ve done a decent job of governing ourselves. And maybe this Mar-a-Largo direct deposit won’t ruin this track record like Clinton suggests. But at the very least, it certainly distracts from the president’s other very real accomplishments.

On this Constitution Day, Trump should take Clinton’s advice and divest if not for a principled reason but for an ambitious one — he would be robbing his opponents of their most valid criticism.