Ald. Pawar Proposes City Council Resolution Calling For Trump Impeachment

By aaroncynic in News on May 18, 2017 8:26PM

Chicago alderman and gubernatorial candidate Ameya Pawar is bringing his desire to see President Donald Trump impeached to the City Council.

On Wednesday Pawar was among a host of Illinois gubernatorial candidates to call for the President’s impeachment, in the wake of a seemingly never ending series of scandals involving Trump and Russia. Thursday afternoon, the alderman announced a proposed resolution in City Council calling for Trump’s impeachment.

"I’m introducing a resolution at City Council next week calling for the Illinois Congressional Delegation and Congress to start the impeachment proceedings," Pawar said in a press release. "I believe it is now time for Congress to start taking up impeachment proceedings and move on that quickly."

Among other things, the resolution states that from the moment Trump took office he “was in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause and the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution.” It goes on to highlight the president’s platform during his campaign, specifically the “Muslim ban,” defunding Planned Parenthood, and general racist rhetoric. The resolution then states that after taking office, Trump has worked towards those goals that generally target and harm marginalized communities, as well as proposing cuts to various publicly funded programs.

The resolution also states that Trump “sought to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into Russian interference in the November 2016 election by instructing the Bureau’s Director to abandon their efforts,” and that these “potential violations undermine the integrity of the Presidency, corruptly advance the personal wealth of the President, compromise the rule of law in the United States, and violate the public trust.” Pawar’s resolution then states:

“BE IT RESOLVED, That the Mayor and City Council of the City of Chicago call upon the United States House of Representatives to support a resolution authorizing and directing the House Committee on the Judiciary to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, including but not limited to the violations listed herein.”

Should the resolution pass, Chicago would be one of the largest cities in America to call for the impeachment of the President. Other cities that have passed similar resolutions calling for Trump’s impeachment or investigations into the possibility of impeachment include Cambridge, Massachusetts, Richmond, Virginia, and at least three cities in California - Berkeley, Alameda, and Los Angeles.

"Our country is in a really bad place right now,” said Pawar. “The billionaire class is eroding people’s trust in public institutions. The one thing that keeps me grounded and positive out of all this is that our institutions are fighting back and information is getting out. We need to take action, to determine once and for all if he is unfit to serve as our Commander and Chief."

Spokespersons for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other members of the City Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.