City Council Meeting May 24, 2017
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Many businesses receive, and their streams of income include, emoluments from foreign governments, states of the United States, or the United States itself; 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 Jan 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, On Jan 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump took the oath of office and became President of the United States; 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, during the campaign Donald Trump promoted a ban on Muslims entering the country, denigrating Mexican immigrants, people of color, the disabled, our LGTBQ neighbors, Gold Star families, women, indigenous communities, and Jews; and
WHEREAS, after taking office, Donald Trump has worked to implement his Muslim ban, defund Planned Parenthood, discriminate against our LGBTQ neighbors, attack Historically Black Universities, pollute and destroy our environment, foment divisions between black and brown communities, propose cuts to the arts, public broadcasting, and programs to protect the Great Lakes; and
WHEREAS, and more recently on May 16, 2017, it was reported that Donald Trump sought to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into Russian interference in the November 2016 election by instructing the Bureau's Director to abandon their efforts; and
WHEREAS, These potential violations undermine the integrity of the Presidency, corruptly advance the personal wealth of the President, compromise the rule of law in the United States, and violate the public trust; 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; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, call upon 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 ofthe United States, including but not limited to the violations listed herein; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution to the members ofthe United States House of Representatives on behalf of the Chicago City Council.
