The Trump Organization is opening a golf course in Dubai in February and it's already threatening the 'emoluments clause'

The entrance to the Akoya by Damac Trump International Golf Club.

(Image credit: Francois Nel/Getty Images)

last updated 3 January 2017

The first Donald Trump-connected property to open after Inauguration Day will also be Trump's first in the Arab world, an 18-hole golf course in Dubai. Due to open in February, the Trump International Golf Club will be managed by Trump Organization employees, but it is already raising concerns about the potential for foreign leaders to pressure the incoming U.S. president — or please him — by how receptive they are to his ventures.

"He has so many properties that his business interests become an obvious target for both bribes and threats," legal historian Robert W. Gordon, of Stanford University, told The Associated Press. "The dangers really come in two directions: One is that foreign powers will try to use Trump's interests as a way of bribing him into public policies in a way that are friendly to them or use them put pressure on him."

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All services to the property — electricity, water, roads — come at the discretion of the government. The club's bar will need government approvals to serve alcohol, not to mention other regulatory issues.That could raise concerns about the so-called "emoluments clause" of the U.S. constitution, which bars public officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments and companies controlled by them without the consent of Congress.Any negotiations involving the Trump brand at the least could create the appearance of impropriety, legal experts warn. [The Associated Press]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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