How Melania Trump can keep making money off her jewelry, Christmas decorations and NFTs in the White House

Melania Trump will be able to continue her sales career after she returns as to the White House with no legal restrictions on profiting financially as first lady.

The former first lady has been hawking her memoir 'Melania'; NFTs, or non-fungible tokens; Christmas decorations; jewellery; and a digital photo collection, continuing her sales pitch after her husband Donald Trump won a second term.

The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution forbids an elected official from profiting from their public position. And there is a long list of rules governing federal employees and outside financial ventures.

But a spouse is not a federal employment. And first lady is an honorary position. It's not mentioned in the Constitution or in federal law. Meaning the rules don't apply.

'As first lady, the ethics rules don't apply because that person is not a government employee,' the Office of Government Ethics told DailyMail.com.

Melania Trump's office didn't answer an inquiry from DailyMail.com on whether she plans to continue her business ventures after Inauguration Day. In the past, the former first lady has said she would donate a portion of the proceeds from her sales to charities for foster children but she has never said how much was given.

If she does continue her sales career, she would have to be careful to keep her profits separate from her husband.

The lack of rules has angered some ethics campaigners. 

'Because the first lady is not a federal employee, the conflict of interest law does not apply to her. If the conflict of interest law were applicable to the president, however, her financial interests would be imputed to him and could pose conflicts of interest,' Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics under Barack Obama, told DailyMail.com.

'The president is not covered by the conflict of interest statute, but the Department of Justice has advised presidents to conduct themselves as though the conflict of interest law applied to them,' he continued.

And some presidents have taken that advice. Although Donald Trump may choose a different option.

When Jill Biden wanted a job outside the East Wing, to continue teaching at the Northern Virginia Community College, she and the school worked with White House lawyers to arrange for her to be paid out of a nonprofit fund-raising account to avoid a conflict of interest from the state-funded school.

Nancy Reagan, when she was first lady, donated all of her movie, television and radio royalty payments to charity.

Melania Trump has released few details on what she plans for her second tenure as first lady.

She has hinted she may restart her Be Best program. And there are reports she may be a part-time first lady, splitting her time between the White House and Trumps' private residences in New York, where her son Barron is in college, and at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.

She has stayed away from the White House thus far, skipping Wednesday's meeting between Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, snubbing an offer to meet from Jill Biden.

The only person who can decide to continue her business ventures is her. And Melania Trump was an independent operator during her first tenure in the White House, rarely doing public events and using her East Wing office so sparingly that staff turned into a gift room.

And while there may be image concerns about the first lady of the United States – who has a taxpayer-funded office in the White House – selling her wares online, there is not much to stop her. 

'Unfortunately, Melania Trump's husband has virtually declared war on government ethics, and a majority of American voters chose to support Trump's corruption,' Shaub said. 'If the president and the first lady want to be corrupt, there's no one left to stop them.' 

She would even be able to profit using her honorary title. Only the Presidential Seal cannot be used for commercial profit. The White House, the 'first lady' and other presidential items are free game.

'My guess is that the answer is that there is nothing to stop Mrs. Trump from selling a 'First Lady in the White House NFT,' said Demian Brady, Vice President of Research for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington [CREW] is a watch dog group dedicated to holding those in power accountable.

But it said it knew of no law to keep Melania Trump from using her position as first lady for profit.

'If anyone else were to sell items that said First Lady and White House with the First Lady's image, the White House counsel likely would send them a cease-and-desist letter that bars the use of her image for commercial purposes,' a spokesperson for the group said in a statement.

'While it may be an abuse of the office of the presidency for personal enrichment, we're not aware of any explicit prohibition that would bar her from using her own image to sell things that also say First Lady and White House.'

First ladies have participated in commercial ventures while in the White House but they usually donate the proceeds to charity.

Michelle Obama, while first lady, wrote 'American Grown,' a book about her White House garden. She donated all the proceeds to the National Park Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the national park system, including the White House grounds.

Jill Biden donated the proceeds from her children's book 'Willow the White House Cat' to charities that support military dogs.

Barbara Bush donated the proceeds from 'Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush' to a literacy nonprofit organization.

Any money Melania made as first lady would eventually be disclosed to the public.

Donald Trump, as president, has to issue regular financial disclosure reports, which include his wife's income.

Melania Trump has made millions, his August report revealed, from speaking fees, her business ventures, rental income, and other revenue streams.

And her memoir has been a New York Times bestseller.