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Giuliani, Bloomberg and British royal titles

By William Lewis

The United States Constitution stands as a legacy over the land of the free and the home of the brave. It is, and has been, highly respected by both our major political parties.

In recent years there has been some controversy over court decisions involving the First and Fifth Amendments. The First Amendment involves freedom of speech, freedom of the press, religious freedom and the right of citizens to peaceably assemble. The Fifth Amendment deals with the citizen not being deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. There are many other sections and amendments that arise from time to time in terms of interpretation.

But one provision of our Constitution has received little attention over the years. That is Article I, Section 9, which states in part the following:

“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.”

This section of the Constitution raises questions about former Mayor Rudy Giuliani receiving an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II back in 2002. In addition, the British Queen gave an honorary knighthood to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2014. Giuliani received this award for his efforts during the period after the 9/11 attack. Bloomberg received his for entrepreneurial and philanthropic work in the United Kingdom. Former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who served during the Reagan administration, also received an honorary knighthood.

Our founding fathers did not look with favor upon our political leaders and former leaders receiving royal titles. They felt strongly enough about it to put it into the Constitution.

In the case of Giuliani, he received his title after he had left office. Later he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. Had he been elected that year, he would have served while holding a British aristocratic title. This would have raised questions involving Article I, Section 9. The same set of circumstances would apply to other former office holders obtaining new high positions in government, either elected or appointed. High-ranking members of our Armed Forces should not be obtaining these kinds of titles.

It should be mentioned that former Mayor Bloomberg invested $745 million in the United Kingdom. It would have been a big help to New York City if that money had been invested here.

Recently we have had Democrat Hillary Clinton announce her candidacy for president. Several Republicans have also announced, and more potential candidates will announce in the near future. That being the case, some candidates will be campaigning almost two years. The question could be asked, are these long presidential campaigns in the best interest of our democracy?

As regards to Great Britain, national elections to Parliament have political campaigns limited by law to a three-week period before Election Day. It seems to produce an efficient system.

Few people here would want the type of system that the British have. However, some type of system should be developed for improving our national presidential elections.