,,iii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #d ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #d1 #bjag ,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,carper1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,udall1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,franken1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 and ,mrs4 ,feinstein7 submitted the following concurrent resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,,concurrent ,,resolution ,clarifying any potential misunderstanding as to whether actions taken by ,president-elect ,donald ,trump constitute a violation of the ,emoluments ,clause1 and calling on ,president-elect ,trump to divest his interest in1 and sever his relationship to1 the ,trump ,organization4 ,whereas article ,i1 section #i1 clause #h of the ,united ,states ,constitution 7commonly known as the ,emoluments ,clause7 declares1 ,no title of ,nobility shall be granted by the ,united ,states3 ,and no ,person holding any ,office of ,profit or ,trust under them1 shall1 without the ,consent of the ,congress1 accept of any present1 ,emolument1 ,office1 or ,title1 of any kind whatever1 from any ,king1 ,prince1 or foreign ,state42 ,whereas1 according to the remarks of ,governor ,edmund ,randolph at the #aghg ,constitutional ,convention1 the ,emoluments ,clause was thought proper1 in order to exclude corruption and foreign influence1 to prohibit any one in office from receiving or holding any emoluments from foreign states2 ,whereas the issue of foreign corruption greatly concerned the ,founding ,fathers of the ,united ,states1 such that ,alexander ,hamilton in ,federalist ,no4 #bb wrote1 ,in republics1 persons elevated from the mass of the community1 by the suffrages of their fellow-citizens1 to stations of great pre-eminence and power1 may find compensations for betraying their trust1 which1 to any but minds animated and guided by superior virtue1 may appear to exceed the proportion of interest they have in the common stock1 and to overbalance the obligations of duty4 ,hence it is that history furnishes us with so many mortifying examples of the prevalency of foreign corruption in republican governments42 ,whereas the ,president of the ,united ,states is the head of the executive branch of the ,federal ,government and is expected to have undivided loyalty to the ,united ,states1 and clearly occupies an office of profit or trust within the meaning of article ,i1 section #i1 clause #h of the ,constitution1 according to the ,office of ,legal ,counsel of the ,department of ,justice2 ,whereas the ,office of ,legal ,counsel of the ,department of ,justice opined in #bjji that corporations owned or controlled by a foreign government are presumptively foreign states under the ,emoluments ,clause2 ,whereas ,president-elect ,donald ,j4 ,trump has a business network1 the ,trump ,organization1 that has financial interests around the world and negotiates and concludes transactions with foreign states and entities that are extensions of foreign states2 ,whereas ,michael ,cohen1 an attorney for ,donald ,j4 ,trump and the ,trump ,organization1 initially stated that the ,trump ,organization would be placed into a blind trust managed by ,donald ,trump's children1 ,donald ,trump1 ,jr41 ,ivanka ,trump1 and ,eric ,trump2 ,whereas the very nature of a blind trust is such that the official will have no control over1 will receive no communications about1 and will have no knowledge of the identity of the specific assets held in the trust1 and that the manager of the trust is independent of the owner1 and as such the arrangement proposed by ,mr4 ,cohen is not a blind trust2 ,whereas1 on ,november #cj1 #bjaf1 ,president-elect ,donald ,j4 ,trump announced on ,twitter that ,i will be holding a major news conference in ,new ,york ,city with my children on ,december #ae to discuss the fact that ,i will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to ,,make ,,america ,,great ,,again62 ,whereas1 on ,december #ab1 #bjaf1 ,president-elect ,donald ,j4 ,trump abruptly canceled the planned ,december #ae1 #bjaf1 news conference1 and has provided no set date for a future announcement2 ,whereas1 on ,december #ab1 #bjaf1 ,president-elect ,donald ,j4 ,trump stated on ,twitter1 ,even though ,i am not mandated by law to do so1 ,i will be leaving my busineses sic before ,january #bjth so that ,i can focus full time on the ,presidency4 ,two of my children1 ,don and ,eric1 plus executives1 will manage them4 ,no new deals will be done during my term7s7 in office2 ,whereas numerous legal and constitutional experts1 including several former ,white ,house ethics counsels1 have made clear that1 notwithstanding the problems inherent in temporarily ceding control of the ,trump ,organization to his children1 such an arrangement1 in which the ,president-elect fails to exit the ownership of his businesses through use of a blind trust or equivalent1 will leave the ,president-elect with a personal financial interest in businesses that collect foreign government payments and benefits1 which raises both constitutional and public interest concerns2 ,whereas ,presidents ,ronald ,reagan1 ,george ,h4,w4 ,bush1 ,william ,j4 ,clinton1 and ,george ,w4 ,bush have set the precedent of using true blind trusts1 in which their holdings were liquidated and placed in new investments unknown to them by an independent trustee who managed them free of familial bias2 ,whereas the continued intermingling of the business of the ,trump ,organization and the work of government has the potential to constitute the foreign corruption so feared by the ,founding ,fathers and to betray the trust of ,america's citizens2 ,whereas the intent of this resolution is to prevent any potential misunderstanding or crisis with regards to whether the actions of ,donald ,j4 ,trump as ,president of the ,united ,states will violate the ,emoluments ,clause of the ,constitution1 ,federal law1 or fundamental principles of ethics2 and ,whereas ,congress has an institutional1 constitutional obligation to ensure that the ,president of the ,united ,states does not violate the ,emoluments ,clause and is discharging the obligations of office based on the national interest1 not based on personal interest3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that ,congress-- 7#a7 calls upon ,president-elect ,donald ,j4 ,trump to follow the precedent established by prior ,presidents and convert his assets to simple1 conflict-free holdings1 adopt blind trusts managed by an independent trustee with no relationship to ,donald ,j4 ,trump or his businesses1 or take other equivalent measures1 in order to ensure compliance with the ,emoluments ,clause of the ,united ,states ,constitution2 7#b7 calls upon ,president-elect ,donald ,j4 ,trump not to use the powers or opportunities of his position as ,president-elect or ,president of the ,united ,states for any purpose related to the ,trump ,organization2 and 7#c7 regards1 in the absence of such actions outlined in paragraph 7#a7 or specific authorization by ,congress1 dealings that ,donald ,j4 ,trump1 as ,president of the ,united ,states1 may have through his companies with foreign governments or entities owned or controlled by foreign governments as potential violations of the ,emoluments ,clause4