Reading Room Document

Proposal that the President Accept Honorary Irish Citizenship

This opinion holds that the honorary Irish citizenship conferred on President Kennedy falls under the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits any U.S. office holder from accepting any "Title, of any kind whatever," without Congressional consent. The opinion further concludes that if President Kennedy decides to accept the honorary citizenship, he must first have it deposited with the Department of State, before waiting for consenting legislation, or requesting the document after he leaves office. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/page/file/935746/download.

May 10, 1963