Friday, February 10, 2017

NY Congressman Forces House Action on Trump's Business Entanglements and Russia Ties


A New York Congressman, who once tried to derail a Trump Development Project in Manhattan, has filed a rarely used Resolution to try and force the Justice Department to share whatever information it has on the President's Conflicts of Interest and potential ties to Russia.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who represents a large swath of Manhattan's West Side, introduced on Thursday a so-called "Resolution of Inquiry," which the House Judiciary Committee must make a decision on within 14 Legislative days. If a decision is not made, the Resolution is brought to a Floor vote.

Nadler said he decided to use the somewhat obscure Parliamentary tactic because of Republican refusal to investigate Trump's "wide-ranging ethics problems."

"Donald Trump has refused to step away from his business interests in any meaningful way, his foreign entanglements are likely unconstitutional, he has repeatedly refused to disclose his financial assets, and he is clouded by the specter of Russian intervention in the election and his Administration," Nadler said in a statement. "Republicans have shown zero willingness to follow through on their duty to conduct oversight, and they must be held accountable if they are truly willing to abdicate this constitutional obligation and must be made to answer to the American people for that failure."

Nadler singled out Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), bashing them for allegedly downplaying the problematic nature of Trump's business entanglements.

If the resolution passes, the Justice Department would be compelled to provide the House with whatever information it has on Trump and his Associates, including any material unearthed in criminal probes or counterintelligence investigations.

Nadler argued that it's of utmost importance to learn more about the Trump administration's perceived ties to Russia. "We must know what the (Justice) Department has learned about the Administration's connections to the Russian government," he said.

Here’s how Trump may have already set up his Impeachment

While Trump has vehemently denied ever conducting business in Russia, several of his close Associates are already under Federal Investigation over Financial ties to the Country, including National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and Ex-Advisers Paul Manafort, Carter Page, and Roger Stone.

While unlikely, the measure could potentially pave the way for Trump's Impeachment if it reveals that he has for instance Violated the Emoluments clauses of the Constitution, which prohibits any sitting President from receiving gifts, payments or titles from foreign diplomats and from States doing Interstate business that affect the President monetarily. Government Watchdog Groups have argued that Trump might have already broken the arcane clause by refusing to rescind Ownership of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The Thursday resolution is not the first time Nadler has been a thorn in Trump's side. The longtime Congressman tried to prevent Trump from building a waterfront park above the West Side Highway in 1995 by blocking Federal dollars allocated to reroute a section of the Major Manhattan thoroughfare. Trump claimed at the time that Nadler's move actually benefited him, as the highway was in such bad condition that it needed to be renovated no matter what. Federal dollars ended up paying for the highway to be elevated instead of rerouted and Trump built a waterfront park below it instead.

On Thursday, Nadler stressed the dire need for learning more about what's really going on inside the White House. "We must conduct oversight of the least transparent Administration in modern history. This resolution represents a start," he said.











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