EastbayTimes – Local activists critical of President Donald Trump are urging the United States Congress to investigate President Donald J. Trump’s business holdings, which they say are a violation of the Constitution, and are grounds for his impeachment.
At issue is the “Emoluments Clause,” a previously little-known constitutional provision that says that U.S. presidents may not accept gifts or make a profit from any foreign state. The clause has never been tested in court. But activists say the president’s many business holdings continue to benefit him directly, even as he has handed over the day-to-day operations of his businesses to his children.
On Tuesday, the Richmond City Council will consider a resolution calling on the House of Representatives’ Committee of the Judiciary to investigate whether the business holdings warrant impeachment, the first city in the country to take such a step, they say.
Backers of the resolution point to Trump’s recent invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mar-a-Lago, his opulent country club in Palm Beach, Florida, are just one example of how the new president’s business interests often collide with his executive duties. Soon after Trump became president, membership fees to Mar-a-Lago doubled to $200,000 a year.
