CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Joint Resolution No. 17Introduced by Assembly Member LowMay 17, 2017 Relative to the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAJR 17, as introduced, Low. Impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.This measure would urge President Donald J. Trump to resign for the good of the country and to avoid the divisiveness of impeachment and would urge the United States Congress to impeach President Donald J. Trump if he does not resign.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, Clause 8 of Section 9 of Article I of the United States Constitution, also known as the Foreign Emoluments Clause, provides in part 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; andWHEREAS, The Foreign Emoluments Clause was intended to protect officers of the United States from undue influence by foreign governments; andWHEREAS, Clause 7 of Section 1 of Article II of the United States Constitution, also referred to as the Domestic Emoluments Clause, provides that The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them; andWHEREAS, Donald J. Trump has been President of the United States since January 20, 2017; andWHEREAS, While Donald J. Trump announced at a news conference on January 11, 2017, that he was turning over the leadership and management of the Trump Organization to his sons and a long-time Trump Organization executive, President Donald J. Trump has not divested himself of his ownership in the Trump Organization, nor has he placed his assets in a blind trust; andWHEREAS, The Director of the United States Office of Government Ethics, an independent federal agency whose mission is to provide overall leadership and oversight of the executive branch ethics program designed to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest, has criticized the Presidents plan for avoiding conflicts of interest as inadequate, and has said that President Donald J. Trumps pledge to [step] back from running his business is meaningless from a conflict-of-interest perspective; andWHEREAS, 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 administrations ethics policies under President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush, respectively, has filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump alleging that President Donald J. Trumps business interests are creating countless conflicts of interest, as well as unprecedented influence by foreign governments; andWHEREAS, That federal lawsuit alleges that President Donald J. Trumps business interests have resulted and will further result in numerous violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, and also likely cause [President Trump] to run afoul of the Domestic Emoluments Clause; andWHEREAS, President Donald J. Trumps firing of James Comey from his position as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) while the FBI was investigating the ties between Donald J. Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and Russia may amount to obstruction of justice; andWHEREAS, During a meeting at the White House on May 10, 2017, President 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; andWHEREAS, 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; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California urges President Donald J. Trump to resign for the good of the country and to avoid the divisiveness of impeachment; and be it furtherResolved, That if President Donald J. Trump does not resign, the Legislature of the State of California urges the United States Congress to impeach President Donald J. Trump; and be it furtherResolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Minority Leader of the United States Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Joint Resolution No. 17Introduced by Assembly Member LowMay 17, 2017 Relative to the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAJR 17, as introduced, Low. Impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.This measure would urge President Donald J. Trump to resign for the good of the country and to avoid the divisiveness of impeachment and would urge the United States Congress to impeach President Donald J. Trump if he does not resign.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20172018 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 17
Introduced by Assembly Member LowMay 17, 2017
Introduced by Assembly Member Low
May 17, 2017
Relative to the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 17, as introduced, Low. Impeachment of President Donald J. Trump.
This measure would urge President Donald J. Trump to resign for the good of the country and to avoid the divisiveness of impeachment and would urge the United States Congress to impeach President Donald J. Trump if he does not resign.
This measure would urge President Donald J. Trump to resign for the good of the country and to avoid the divisiveness of impeachment and would urge the United States Congress to impeach President Donald J. Trump if he does not resign.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
WHEREAS, Clause 8 of Section 9 of Article I of the United States Constitution, also known as the Foreign Emoluments Clause, provides in part 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, The Foreign Emoluments Clause was intended to protect officers of the United States from undue influence by foreign governments; and
WHEREAS, Clause 7 of Section 1 of Article II of the United States Constitution, also referred to as the Domestic Emoluments Clause, provides that The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them; and
WHEREAS, Donald J. Trump has been President of the United States since January 20, 2017; and
WHEREAS, While Donald J. Trump announced at a news conference on January 11, 2017, that he was turning over the leadership and management of the Trump Organization to his sons and a long-time Trump Organization executive, President Donald J. Trump has not divested himself of his ownership in the Trump Organization, nor has he placed his assets in a blind trust; and
WHEREAS, The Director of the United States Office of Government Ethics, an independent federal agency whose mission is to provide overall leadership and oversight of the executive branch ethics program designed to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest, has criticized the Presidents plan for avoiding conflicts of interest as inadequate, and has said that President Donald J. Trumps pledge to [step] back from running his business is meaningless from a conflict-of-interest perspective; 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 administrations ethics policies under President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush, respectively, has filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump alleging that President Donald J. Trumps business interests are creating countless conflicts of interest, as well as unprecedented influence by foreign governments; and
WHEREAS, That federal lawsuit alleges that President Donald J. Trumps business interests have resulted and will further result in numerous violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, and also likely cause [President Trump] to run afoul of the Domestic Emoluments Clause; and
WHEREAS, President Donald J. Trumps firing of James Comey from his position as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) while the FBI was investigating the ties between Donald J. Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and Russia may amount to obstruction of justice; and
WHEREAS, During a meeting at the White House on May 10, 2017, President 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, 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; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California urges President Donald J. Trump to resign for the good of the country and to avoid the divisiveness of impeachment; and be it further
Resolved, That if President Donald J. Trump does not resign, the Legislature of the State of California urges the United States Congress to impeach President Donald J. Trump; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Minority Leader of the United States Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.