Sponsored by: Gerritt Rosenthal, Washington County Approved: 08/06/2017
A RESOLUTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON
WHEREAS the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) provides that “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State”, and
WHEREAS Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution provides that, besides the fixed salary for his 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 Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States, owns various business interests and receives various streams of income from all over the world, by means of which he receives emoluments from foreign governments, states of the United States, or the United States itself,
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 proceeds in conflict-free assets or a blind trust, he would violate the Constitution upon taking office, and
WHEREAS, on January 11, 2017, nine days before his inauguration, Donald J. Trump announced a divestment 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 profits (emoluments) from foreign or state governments, or the United States government, and
WHEREAS from the moment he took office on January 20, 2017, President Trump has been in violation of both the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution, thereby corruptly advancing his personal wealth while undermining the integrity of the Presidency and violating the public trust:
NOW THEREFORE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. We call upon the Oregon Congressional Delegation to urge the U.S. House of Representatives to support a resolution authorizing and directing the Committee on the Judiciary of said House to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, including but not limited to the potential violations listed herein.
Section 2. We call upon the Oregon legislature to adopt a Resolution no later than sine die in March 2018 calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to support the aforesaid impeachment investigation.
Section 3. We will forward a copy of this Resolution, along with a letter request written response, to all members of the Oregon Congressional delegation.
