Will the Constitution Allow Rudy Guiliani KBE to Serve as POTUS?

By: The Grey Havens
Published On: 9/27/2007 12:32:46 PM

In February 2002, Rudy Guiliani was dubbed a Knight of the British Empire by queen Elizabeth II.

Giuliani received the award in recognition for his work following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Honorary knighthoods are awarded by the queen, on the advice of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to those who have made an important contribution to relations between their country and Britain.

Yet, the US Constitution plainly states:

"No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state." - Article 1, Section 9

Some are pointing to this as a Constitutional imperative requiring Rudy's immediate withdrawal from the presidential race.  I'm not ready to go that far, but left unaddressed, I see this as yet another example of conservative aristocrats ignoring both the letter and spirit of our American Constitutional heritage.  What do you think?

Comments



What does tha mean about Clark? (DanG - 9/27/2007 12:39:23 PM)
Does that mean that Wesley Clark can't be President or Vice President?  I'm pretty sure that he's been given honorary titles from other countries.


Clark wasn't knighted (vadem - 9/27/2007 9:26:17 PM)
As found on his website,

"Her Majesty The Queen of England, appointed General Wesley K Clark, United States Army, as an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Defense Secretary Hoon, acting for Queen Elizabeth, conferred the insignia to General Clark in March 2000, praising him for his leadership of the peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Kosovo."

A list of all 23 international awards, including the beautiful medals of each country, can be seen here:
http://securingameri...



This seems utterly ridiculous. (Lowell - 9/27/2007 12:44:37 PM)
I can think of a million reasons not to vote for Giuliani, but this isn't one of them.


Agreed (DanG - 9/27/2007 12:51:16 PM)
That's why I pointed out the Clark thing.


At the worst, all Giuilani would have to do (Lowell - 9/27/2007 1:00:02 PM)
is renounce it.  I can't even believe people are talking about this nonsense when the polar ice caps are melting, we're at war with Iraq, oil prices are $80 per barrel, the housing market is collapsing, BushCo. has shredded our constitution, etc., etc.


C'mon, we could all use the comic relief! nt (JD - 9/27/2007 2:29:44 PM)


Agree (Veritas - 9/28/2007 9:07:48 AM)
I agree, not an issue...though its only an honorary title, hence he doesn't get called "Sir Rudy"


yes and no (JD - 9/27/2007 2:27:20 PM)
Sure its not a logical reason not to vote for him, but taking Guiliani to court would be amusing, and a good way to use the ridiculous "original intent" argument against many of its champions, according to whom, regardless of the unreasonableness of any given provision, we are strictly bound by the plain text of the Constitution (except when the plain text of the Constitution leads to a result they don't like).


Congressional consent (NotAEDickHoward - 9/27/2007 2:53:59 PM)
Too late. Foreign service officers and military personnel get foreign decorations frequently. That's why Congress has enacted blanket consent to awards like this one in 5 U.S.C. ยง 7342.

P.S.: A KBE is a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire not a Knight of the British Empire.



Yes, and there's already precedent. (Randy Klear - 9/27/2007 4:09:12 PM)
Dwight Eisenhower served 2 terms as President despite being a GCB (Knight Grand Cross of the Bath).


my reading of the nobility clause.. (West Ailsworth - 9/27/2007 3:35:59 PM)
A strict reading of that clause indicates that Giuliani, if not holding public office, is free to accept a foreign title of nobility.


Guiliani's Knighthood (soccerdem - 9/27/2007 5:03:18 PM)
Queen Liz 2 did Guiliani a disservice by not awarding him the honorary knighthood "Knight of the Garter" in recognition of his romantic background which bears out his total understanding of that titular award.

The KBE he was awarded does not hold up well under careful scrutiny, to which New York City's firefighters and other emergency responders can attest.

As to constitutionality, when did that group ever give a rat's droppings about that? 

If this man becomes the Republican's candidate for president, it will show the TOTAL absence of Republican core values, values that Hannity and other comedians rant about daily and claim are posessed by the Right, not the Left.  Yet, because they are so desperate for a winner, Hannity et al will support/endorse Arnold the Terminator and Rudy, telling their brain-challenged audiences (great Americans, all) that Rudy is against PARTIAL BIRTH abortion, and that Arnold, once he was elected, would be "Hannetized" and become an anti-abortion advocate.  Yeah!

I hope Rudy does win the primaries.  It would be an interesting race in that the sleaze artists of the Right, led by Luntz, would have a helluva time using morality against Hillary (who, after all did NOT commit adultery, and kept a marriage intact throughout tribulation) while trying to parse Rudy's multivaried sex life and divorces.