Cummings

“This is a really important case,” said Scott L. Cummings, a legal ethics professor at UCLA’s School of Law.

Congress has grappled with such distinctions before, Cummings said.

“We would have to have a lot more facts,” Cummings said.

It may fall to state prosecutors to dig into the issue, Cummings said.

Trump and his team “essentially are using government processes to set up negotiations that end up benefiting Trump personally in ways that raise corruption concerns,” Cummings said.