CONYERS & BLUMENTHAL Lay Out The Constitutional Case For Complelling President Trump To Obey Anti-Corruption Foreign Emoluments Clause

In the week since nearly 200 Members of Congress filed a lawsuit to compel President Trump to comply with the Constitution, public reporting has revealed new evidence of foreign benefits

[WASHINGTON, DC] – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) held a press conference at 12:30 PM in the Capitol Visitors Center (SVC-215) to outline the Constitutional case for compelling President Trump to obtain the consent of Congress before accepting payments, benefits, or gifts from foreign states. 

Last week, nearly 200 Members of Congress filed a complaint, below, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against President Trump, whose ongoing failure to disclose his foreign business dealings violates one of the Constitution’s critical anti-corruption provisions: the Foreign Emoluments Clause.

In the week since the lawsuit was filed, public reporting has revealed that President Trump has received additional foreign benefits – including new trademarks in China– and is brokering business deals in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf while regional tensions escalate.

“We are joining in this action to prevent Donald Trump from thumbing his nose at the Constitution and the American people. The Constitution clearly states that no elected official - including the President - may receive gifts, payments, or benefits from foreign governments without disclosing them to Congress and seeking our consent,” Senator Blumenthal said. “The immense magnitude of President Trump's vast business empire is no excuse for his disregard of the Constitution and disrespect for the American people.”

“For generations,” Representative Conyers said, “presidents of both parties have complied with the Foreign Emoluments Clause by either divesting their business and financial holdings, or coming to Congress to seek approval prior to receiving any foreign government payment or other benefits. Our current President has done neither. This course of conduct is keeping Americans in the dark – leaving us to speculate if he’s acting on behalf of the American people or for his own financial benefit. Today’s legal action is designed to help lift our Nation out of this morass of conflicts and restore faith in our government, just as the founders intended.”

Because President Trump has refused to disclose his business dealings abroad, the full scope of his potential Constitutional violations is unknown. Independent reporting has shown that President Trump has received the following foreign emoluments during his presidency among others:

·         Payments from foreign governments housing their officials in rooms or hosting events at Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel after Inauguration Day;

·         Entities owned by foreign states paying rent at Trump World Tower in New York City; and

·         The Chinese government granting thirty-nine trademarks to the Trump Organization.

U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) will also attend Tuesday’s press conference. They will be joined by Elizabeth Wydra, President of the Constitutional Accountability Center, the public interest organization whose attorneys are representing Members of Congress.

U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, (D-CT)
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM)
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY)
U.S. Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA)
U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN)
Elizabeth Wydra, President, Constitutional Accountability Center

Congress v. Donald Trump Lawsuit in Violation of the Constitution’s anti-corruption Foreign Emoluments Clau... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

Trump, Donald J 2017 Financial Disclosure Report by Neetzan on Scribd

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CONYERS JOINS CLARK & DEMOCRATS TO INTRODUCE BILL TO REQUIRE PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT TO FULLY DIVEST PERSONAL FINANCIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Washington, DC – Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) joined Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Democratic members of Congress to introduce bills in the U.S.  House and Senate that would require the President and Vice President to disclose and divest any potential financial conflicts of interest. The Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act would require presidential appointees to recuse themselves from any specific matters involving the President's financial conflicts of interest that come before their agencies. The bill’s primary sponsors are Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Richard Neal (D-MA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), David Cicilline (D-RI).  At the time of introduction, 82 members in the House have cosponsored this legislation.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

"President-elect Trump campaigned on the promise that he would 'drain the swamp' and put an end to self-dealing in Washington. Just days before he takes office, his actions speak louder than his words. Mr. Trump has failed to take even modest steps to resolve his conflicts of interest, let alone explain to the public how he will avoid using his office to his own financial benefit.  If the president-elect will not act, it is imperative that Congress do so.  I urge my colleagues in the majority to act on this important legislation without delay," said Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr.

“The President of the United States has the power to affect how our tax dollars are spent, who the federal government does business with, and the integrity of America’s standing in a global economy,” said Congresswoman Clark. “Every recent president in modern history has taken steps to ensure his financial interests do not conflict with the needs of the American people. The American people need to be able to trust that the President’s decisions are based on the best interests of families at home, and not the President’s financial interests.”

"President-elect Donald Trump claimed last year he would hold a big press conference to explain to the American people exactly how he planned to resolve his vast conflicts of interest, but he never did it,” said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “Both Republican and Democratic experts have warned repeatedly that President-elect Donald Trump must completely divest his ownership interests in his companies around the world and place the assets in a truly independent blind trust, or else he will breach federal contracts and violate the United States Constitution.”

“On January 20, Donald Trump will take the oath of office to become the 45^th President of the United States.  At the appointed time, he will raise his right hand and swear to ‘Preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ This legislation will ensure that President Trump will follow through on the requirements of this solemn oath,” Rep. Welch said.  “The American people should have every confidence that actions taken by our new president are in the country’s best interest rather than his own.” 

“The American people should always have confidence that their elected officials are acting only in the public interest,” said Congressman Cicilline. “This is especially true for the President of the United States and his appointees. I’m proud to join Congresswoman Clark and our colleagues today to improve transparency, enhance disclosure and divestiture requirements, and ensure that the President of the United States is always acting in our nation’s best interests.”

Original co-sponsors of this legislation in the Senate include Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).

Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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