LA City Council Passes Resolution To Back Trump Impeachment Investigation

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution Friday stating that President Donald Trump should be investigated for any high crime or misdemeanor sufficient to warrant impeachment proceedings.

Under the plan, the city's 2017-18 federal legislative program will be required to include support for any legislative action to investigate whether Trump has violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution or committed any other high crime or misdemeanor.

Council members voted 10-0 in favor of the resolution. Councilman Mitchell Englander, the City Council's lone Republican, stepped out during the vote, but was present both before and after.

The resolution had been presented by the West Valley Resistance to Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and passed at the Rules, Elections, Intergovernmental Relations, and Neighborhoods Committee meeting on April 28, 2017.

Some have criticized Trump for failing to divest himself of his vast real estate empire, which some have argued could be in violation of a provision in the Constitution barring government officials from accepting gifts or benefits from foreign leaders or foreign states.

"If he is not going to come clean and show the American people that his hands are clean of potentially illegal foreign money in investments, then we must demand that Congress use their power to investigate the situation," said
Blumenfield.

In January, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, D.C., filed a federal lawsuit against Trump, alleging he is violating the Emoluments Clause.

During a White House news conference later that month, Trump called the suit "without merit" and pledged to donate profits from foreign governments to the U.S. Treasury on an annual basis.