SR0539 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0539 LRB100 12914 MST 26843 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump took the oath of office and became President of the United States, where he reiterated that he would be "A President for all Americans"; and

WHEREAS, There are considerable ethical concerns in terms of the election and Donald Trump's selected staff; and

WHEREAS, Our democracy is premised on the bedrock principle that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Donald J. Trump has attempted on two separate occasions to undermine this nation's Constitution by instituting travels bans targeting specific ethnic and religious minorities; and

WHEREAS, A recent rise in anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric and criminal activity has been attributed to Americans that fervently support the Trump administration and have cited that Trump's nationalist rhetoric has emboldened them to carry out their hateful missions; and

WHEREAS, The Trump business empire has been embroiled in questionable business dealings from which Donald J. Trump has refused to release various financial records and documents concerning his personal income, along with that of his business; and

WHEREAS, The Domestic Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution provides that, besides the fixed salary for his or her four-year term, the President "shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them"; and

WHEREAS, The term "emoluments" includes a broad range of financial benefits, including but not limited to monetary payments, purchase of goods and services even for fair market value, subsidies, tax breaks, extensions of credit, and favorable regulatory treatment; and

WHEREAS, Leading constitutional scholars and government ethics experts warned Donald J. Trump shortly after the November 2016 election that, unless he fully divested his businesses and invested the money in conflict-free assets or a blind trust, he would violate the Constitution from the moment he took office; and

WHEREAS, On January 11, 2017, nine days before his inauguration, Donald J. Trump announced a plan that would, if carried out, remove him from day-to-day operations of his businesses, but not eliminate any of the ongoing flow of emoluments from foreign governments, state governments, or the United States government; and

WHEREAS, From the moment he took office, President Trump was in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, whose chair and vice chair of the board of directors are Norman L. Eisen and Richard W. Painter, who led the administration's ethics policies under President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush, respectively, has filed a federal lawsuit against Donald J. Trump alleging that his "business interests are creating countless conflicts of interest, as well as unprecedented influence by foreign governments"; and

WHEREAS, As Donald Trump has repeatedly attempted to thwart investigations into his personal business dealings, he has also obstructed similar attempts to examine the Trump Administration's ties to representatives of hostile foreign nations; and

WHEREAS, In May of 2017, Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey as Mr. Comey began to intensify the Bureau's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 General Election and the possibility of collaboration with the Trump campaign; and

WHEREAS, During a meeting at the White House on May 10, 2017, Donald J. Trump appears to have leaked highly classified information to Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States Sergey Kislyak; and

WHEREAS, These violations truly undermine the integrity of the Presidency, corruptly advance the personal wealth of the President, and violate the public trust; and

WHEREAS, Section 4 of Article II of the United States Constitution provides, that "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors"; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the United States House of Representatives to support a resolution authorizing and directing the House Committee on the Judiciary to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, including but not limited to the violations listed herein; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitably copy of this resolution be transmitted to all members of the United States Senate, all members of the United States House of Representatives, all members of the Illinois General Assembly, and the Governor of the State of Illinois.