Connecticut's Democrats are as hostile as anyone to President Trump, with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal even leading a lawsuit accusing the president of violating the "emoluments" clause of the Constitution. The lawsuit charges that the president's business interests make him too vulnerable to foreigners seeking to buy influence with the federal government.

While an "emolument" ordinarily has been construed to mean a gift rather than a business transaction in which payment is accepted for goods or services, the concerns here are fair. Doing business with someone can be a gift too. Of course the president's business interests make him vulnerable to influence seeking by U.S. citizens and corporations as well.

The country never has had a president with so many potentially troublesome financial interests, but the only protection here may be the political virtue of the voters themselves. If potential conflicts of interests don't bother the voters who elect the president, there's probably not much the law alone can do about conflict. Given Trump's notoriety, hardly anyone could have been ignorant of his businesses. 

But while the danger of conflict of interest and influence peddling in the federal government bothers Connecticut Democrats, they seem indifferent to the same danger in state government. No Democrats seem to be cautioning Governor Lamont against appointing former House Speaker Thomas D. Ritter to be chairman of the University of Connecticut's Board of Trustees.

Ritter is already vice chairman, and since leaving the General Assembly he has been a lawyer and lobbyist. His biography calls him "an extremely valuable strategic adviser" and says he represents energy and utility companies, hospitals, a pharmaceutical company, municipalities, auto manufacturers, real estate developers, and banks.

Keeping those interests separate from those of a state university might be harder than separating the interests of the Trump empire from those of the federal government and foreign governments. Indeed, Ritter's chairmanship of the UConn board might present opportunities for far more "emoluments" back and forth than Trump's presidency does, since the president's businesses are mainly hotels, resorts, and casinos, while Ritter's lobbying ties him to nearly everything that does business with or is regulated by state government.

Governor Lamont says he wants to remake UConn's Board of Trustees. But in appointing Ritter the governor actually might be continuing the policy of his predecessor, Dannel P. Malloy, who let the university do and get away with whatever it wanted, no matter how embarrassing, venal, or corrupt.

Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester.