,,iii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #h ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #b1 #bjag ,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mrs4 ,mc,caskill1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,carper1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,udall1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mr4 ,franken1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,ms4 ,harris1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 and ,ms4 ,duckworth7 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 ,donald ,j4 ,trump constitute a violation of the ,emoluments ,clause1 and calling on ,president ,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 ,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 the very nature of a blind trust1 as defined by former ,white ,house ,ethics ,counsels ,richard ,painter and ,norm ,eisen in an opinion piece in the ,washington ,post entitled1 ,trump's blind trust is neither blind nor trustworthy1 dated ,november #ae1 #bjaf1 and the ,congressional ,research ,service report ,the ,use of ,blind ,trusts ,by ,federal ,officials1 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 owner2 ,whereas1 on ,january #aa1 #bjag1 ,president-elect ,donald ,j4 ,trump and his lawyers held a press conference to announce that he would be placing his assets in a trust and turning over management of the ,trump ,organization to his two adult sons1 ,donald ,trump1 ,jr41 and ,eric ,trump1 and executive ,allen ,weisselberg2 that there will be no communication with ,president ,trump and no new overseas business deals2 that an ethics advisor will be appointed to the management team to fully vet any new proposed domestic deals2 and that the ,trump ,organization will donate any profits from any foreign governments that use ,trump hotels to the ,department of the ,treasury2 ,whereas this arrangement is not sufficient because of its utter lack of independent accountability and transparency1 such that the director of the ,office of ,government ,ethics has stated that the plan the ,president has announced doesn't meet the standards that the best of his nominees are meeting and that every president in the last four decades have met2 ,whereas the director of the ,office of ,government ,ethics has characterized the promise to limit ,president ,trump's direct communication about the ,trump ,organization as wholly inadequate because ,president ,trump would still be well-aware of the specific assets held and could receive communications about and take actions to affect the value of those assets1 especially when those running the business are his own children1 whom ,trump will see often2 ,whereas the promise that no new overseas business deals will be agreed to by the ,trump ,organization fails to explain what constitutes a deal1 and whether expansions to existing properties1 licensing or permitting fee agreements1 or loans from foreign banks like ,deutsche ,bank ,,ag would qualify as deals2 ,whereas the promise that the ,trump ,organization will donate profits from any foreign governments that use ,trump hotels does not include ,trump golf courses and other properties2 does not explain whether the promise covers foreign government officials who register under their own names or third-party vendors hired by foreign governments to do business with the ,trump ,organization2 does not explain whether foreign organizations signing tenant agreements with domestic ,trump businesses1 such as the ,industrial and ,commercial ,bank of ,china1 which is ,trump ,tower's biggest tenant1 qualifies2 does not define what constitutes profits2 does not address the fact that revenue received by a failing business still provides value to that business even if there is no net profit2 and has no mechanism for the public to verify that the promise is being fulfilled2 ,whereas ,president ,trump's lawyer claimed that it would be impossible to find an institutional trustee that would be competent to run the ,trump ,organization when there are dozens if not hundreds of highly qualified trustees who handle complicated business situations like the disposition of the ,trump ,organization2 ,whereas1 at the ,january #aa1 #bjag1 press conference1 ,president-elect ,trump's lawyer implied that the only reason people have raised the ,emoluments ,clause is over routine business transactions like paying for hotel rooms and claimed that paying for a hotel room is not a gift or a present1 and it has nothing to do with an office4 ,it's not an emolument42 ,whereas a comprehensive study of the ,emoluments ,clause written by ,richard ,painter1 ,norman ,eisen1 and ,lawrence ,tribe1 two of whom are former ethics counsels to past ,presidents1 has concluded that since emoluments are properly defined as including profit from any employment1 as well as salary1 it is clear that even remuneration fairly earned in commerce can qualify2 ,whereas numerous legal and constitutional experts1 including several former ,white ,house ethics counsels1 have also made clear that the arrangement announced on ,january #aa1 #bjag1 in which the ,president fails to exit the ownership of his businesses through use of a blind trust or equivalent1 will leave the ,president 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 ,whereas1 on ,january #bj1 #bjag1 ,president ,trump swore an oath to preserve1 protect1 and defend the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 the rights1 privileges and limitations of which are defined and guarded by the ,federal judiciary of the ,united ,states2 and ,whereas ,congress has an institutional1 constitutional obligation to ensure that the ,president of the ,united ,states does not violate the ,emoluments ,clause of the ,constitution1 ,federal law1 or fundamental principles of ethics1 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 finds the promised actions outlined by ,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump at his ,january #aa1 #bjag1 press conference wholly inadequate and insufficient to ensure compliance with the ,emoluments ,clause of the ,united ,states ,constitution2 7#b7 calls upon ,president ,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 measures2 7#c7 calls upon ,president ,trump not to use the powers or opportunities of his position as ,president of the ,united ,states for any purpose related to the ,trump ,organization2 and 7#d7 regards1 in the absence of express affirmative 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