Does the House Need to Investigate Trump’s Potential Conflicts of Interest and Russian Connections? (H. Res. 111)

What is H. Res. 111?

(Updated April 18, 2021)

This resolution of inquiry would request information from the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) related to any investigations the DOJ has conducted related to President Donald Trump, his foreign business interests, connections to Russia, and violations of ethics laws including the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. In addition to President Trump, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Roger Stone, and any employee of the Executive Office of the President would be subject to the probe.

A resolution of inquiry has privileged status in the House. The House Judiciary Committee would have 14 legislative days (congressional workdays) to address the inquiry by reporting it favorably to the House floor, reject it, or revise it. If it chooses not to act within that time period, its sponsor could discharge it (meaning it gets pulled out of committee) so that the House as a whole can then vote on it.

Argument in favor

The House needs to investigate Trump’s potential ties to Russia and conflicts of interest, and this resolution could get the House access to the documents that they need.

Argument opposed

This just a petty attempt to launch an investigation of President Donald Trump and his associates that won’t go anywhere. It’s a waste of valuable congressional time and focus.

Impact

President Donald Trump and his associates; the House Judiciary Committee; the DOJ; and the House.

Cost of H. Res. 111

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced this resolution to force the Trump administration to turn over documents related to possible conflicts of interest and ties to Russia:

“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… We must know what the Department has learned about the Administration’s connections to the Russian government.  We must review the Department’s legal analysis—if there is any—of the President’s feeble attempt to remedy his wide-ranging ethics problems.  We must conduct oversight of the least transparent Administration in modern history.  This resolution represents a start.”

This legislation has the support of 53 cosponsors in the House, all of whom are Democrats.

Of Note: By rejecting a resolution of inquiry, the committee considering it isn’t necessarily saying that the subject of the inquiry is without merit or that the administration didn’t provide the requested information. It could mean that the committee received what it asked for and that what it got is enough to bring the administration in compliance with the request, meaning that further action was unnecessary.

Only the House has the ability to file a resolution of inquiry, as there’s no counterpart in the Senate’s parliamentary rules. Resolutions of inquiry are given privileged status in the House, meaning that the House’s ordinary business can be interrupted so that they can be considered, although the House can still choose to give precedence to other matters through a majority vote.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) Press Release
  
• Countable
  
• Washington Post