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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, President Donald J. Trump has departed frequently |
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from the norms and ethical standards long established for his |
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office, but while the number of scandals clouding his |
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administration is unprecedented, their nature was anticipated by |
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the framers of the United States Constitution; and |
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WHEREAS, Newly liberated from the tyranny of King George III, |
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the founding fathers were determined to strengthen their new |
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republic against any chief executive who should prove unfit or |
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evince despotic tendencies; during the Constitutional Convention, |
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James Madison warned against "incapacity, negligence, or perfidy," |
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and said that simply enduring a reprobate until the next election |
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would be unwise, for "He might pervert his administration into a |
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scheme of peculation"--the theft of public funds--"or oppression. |
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He might betray his trust to foreign powers"; his fellow Virginian, |
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George Mason, feared "attempts to subvert the Constitution" and |
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cautioned against a chief executive who "might engage in the |
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corrupting of electors" or use the power of the pardon "to stop |
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inquiry and prevent detection"; and |
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WHEREAS, Still another Virginian, Edmund Randolph, |
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championed a clause forbidding the president from "receiving |
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emoluments from foreign powers"; Abraham Baldwin of Georgia worried |
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that the head of the executive branch might fail in his |
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constitutional duty to properly staff that branch of government, or |
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that "in a fit of passion," he might discharge "all the good |
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officers of government"; and |
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WHEREAS, Resolved to discourage malfeasance or monarchical |
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behavior by the executive while maintaining a rigorous system of |
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checks and balances, after much discussion and parsing of language, |
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the framers established impeachment as a mechanism for Congress to |
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investigate "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and |
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Misdemeanors," the last echoing a similar phrase used in the |
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English Parliament since 1450 to describe both criminal and |
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noncriminal offenses against the state; and |
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WHEREAS, In the excesses of the Trump administration, the |
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framers would recognize grotesque illustrations of their greatest |
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fears; although our intelligence agencies have confirmed that |
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Russia interfered extensively in the 2016 election to support |
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President Trump, he has tried to deny the attack on our democracy |
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and failed to muster a credible response; he hid his efforts to |
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conduct business in Moscow during his campaign, and he has gone to |
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extraordinary lengths to conceal from even his closest advisors the |
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nature of his many private conversations with his Russian |
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counterpart, Vladimir Putin; moreover, he has taken actions and |
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adopted positions favorable to the Kremlin while undermining our |
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NATO allies and Western values; his efforts to stymie the |
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investigation into Russian intervention so alarmed the FBI that it |
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opened a counterintelligence investigation to determine whether he |
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was trying to assist our adversary, and the special counsel is |
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considering whether the president has obstructed justice; despite |
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warnings from his own lawyers, he has dangled a pardon for his |
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former campaign manager, although just such an offense set Richard |
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Nixon on the path to impeachment; and |
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WHEREAS, President Trump's personal lawyer has pleaded |
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guilty to the felonious violation of campaign finance laws on his |
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behalf and at his direction; the president's failure to divest his |
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business interests, including investments abroad, almost certainly |
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violates the Emoluments Clause, and as he has used his office to |
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publicize his properties, not only foreign nations, but also |
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domestic actors, have curried favor through lavish spending, a |
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matter now before the courts; while he refused to release his tax |
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returns, unlike all his predecessors in the modern era, exhaustive |
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reporting by the New York Times found an elaborate pattern of |
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deception over the course of decades and concluded that he had |
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evaded more than $400 million in taxes and engaged in "instances of |
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outright fraud"; more troubling still, the president has ignored |
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his constitutional duty to appropriately staff the government with |
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"good officers," forcing out experienced professionals and leaving |
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a quarter of his cabinet posts to mere placeholders, including the |
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acting secretary of defense, who has little experience of either |
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diplomacy or military administration; and |
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WHEREAS, Other outrageous acts by this president constitute |
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attempts to erode the separation of powers, trample on civil |
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liberties, and ignore the rule of law, all while setting Americans |
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against each other with lies and ugly rhetoric; the dizzying number |
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of transgressions against his duty under the constitution has |
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tended to obscure the central fact that citizens cannot trust that |
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the president is acting in their interest, rather than his own; with |
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great moral clarity, however, the late John Dingell, our |
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longest-serving member of congress, in his final message to the |
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nation reminded us: "In democratic government, elected officials do |
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not have power. They hold power in trust for the people who elected |
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them. If they misuse or abuse that public trust, it is quite |
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properly revoked"; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to impeach |
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President Donald J. Trump; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |