IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 474 

Expressing disapproval of any action by the President to remove the Special 

Counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election and opposition to the granting of pardons to any person for offenses 

against the United States arising out of Russia’s activities to bring 

about the election of Donald J. Trump as President of the United 

States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2017 

Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mr. COHEN, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. 

TED LIEU of California, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. LEWIS

of Georgia, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, 

Ms. BASS, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. KILDEE, and Mr. BEYER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing disapproval of any action by the President to 

remove the Special Counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election and opposition 

to the granting of pardons to any person for offenses 

against the United States arising out of Russia’s activities to bring about the election of Donald J. Trump 

as President of the United States. 

Whereas the strength of the American constitutional system 

designed in 1787 in Philadelphia is the national governVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Aug 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR474.IH HR474

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•HRES 474 IH 

ment’s separated powers in which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches serve as checks and counterbalances on each other, and fidelity to the rule of law is 

the highest value and responsibility; 

Whereas in late July 2016, the FBI opened an investigation 

into the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s 

emails, which the U.S. Intelligence Community would attribute to the Russian government; 

Whereas, on January 27, 2017, one week after his inauguration as President of the United States, Donald J. Trump 

had a private dinner at the White House with FBI Director James Comey, at which he is alleged to have asked 

Comey for his ‘‘loyalty’’; 

Whereas, on February 13, 2017, President Donald J. Trump 

fired his National Security Advisor Michael Flynn after 

public disclosure that contrary to his previous denials, 

Flynn had held a series of communications with Russian 

Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December 2016 regarding 

sanctions imposed on Russia by the Obama administration in response to Russian interference in the 2016 

Presidential election; 

Whereas, on February 14, 2017, the day after Flynn’s firing, 

FBI Director Comey attended an Oval Office briefing of 

the President with a large group of advisers, at the end 

of which, the President cleared the room so he could 

speak with FBI Director Comey alone; 

Whereas according to FBI Director Comey’s account, given 

under oath, the President said, ‘‘I want to talk about 

Mike Flynn,’’ stating his belief that Flynn had not done 

anything wrong in talking to the Russians; 


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•HRES 474 IH 

Whereas during that same meeting, the President said to 

FBI Director Comey: ‘‘He is a good guy and has been 

through a lot. I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope 

you can let this go.’’; 

Whereas, on March 1, 2017, news broke that, contrary to his 

prior sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Jeff Sessions in fact had undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the 

United States during the 2016 Presidential campaign; 

Whereas, on March 2, 2017, Attorney General Sessions announced that he would recuse himself ‘‘from any existing 

or future investigations of any matters related in any way 

to the campaigns’’ for President in 2016; 

Whereas, on March 20, 2017, FBI Director Comey testified 

before the House Intelligence Committee and publicly 

confirmed the FBI is investigating whether Trump’s 

campaign or associates coordinated with Russia; 

Whereas, on March 30, 2017, President Trump telephoned 

the FBI Director to complain that the Russia investigation was ‘‘ ‘a cloud’ that was impairing his ability to act 

on behalf of the country’’ and asked him ‘‘what we could 

do to ‘lift the cloud’ ’’; 

Whereas, on May 9, 2017, President Trump fired FBI Director Comey, an action White House spokespersons explained was based on the recommendation of Attorney 

General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod 

Rosenstein; 

Whereas, on May 10, 2017, during an Oval Office meeting 

with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, President Trump is reVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Aug 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR474.IH HR474

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•HRES 474 IH 

ported to have discussed his firing of FBI Director 

Comey, saying ‘‘I just fired the head of the FBI. He was 

crazy, a real nut job,’’ adding ‘‘I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.’’; 

Whereas, on May 11, 2017, President Trump admitted to 

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt that the ‘‘madeup’’ Russia investigation was on his mind when he fired 

Comey and that regardless of Deputy Attorney General 

Rosenstein’s recommendation, ‘‘I was going to fire 

Comey.’’; 

Whereas, on May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as 

Special Counsel to oversee the Russia investigation; 

Whereas the order appointing Special Counsel Mueller confers upon him broad authority ‘‘to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in 

testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee 

on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including: (i) any 

links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of 

President Donald Trump; and (ii) any matters that arose 

or may arise directly from the investigation.’’; 

Whereas, on July 20, 2017, according to media reports, Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation of possible ties between the Donald Trump Presidential campaign and 

Russia in the 2016 Presidential election is expanding to 

include a broad range of transactions involving Trump’s 

businesses as well as those of his associates; 

Whereas these questionable transactions are reported to include Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a SoHo development in 


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•HRES 474 IH 

New York with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, and Trump’s sale of a Florida 

mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008; 

Whereas in an interview with the New York Times published 

July 19, 2017, President Trump acknowledged that 

digging into his finances would constitute a red line that 

the Special Counsel should not cross while carrying out 

the Russia investigation; 

Whereas, on July 21, 2017, the Washington Post reported 

that some of President Trump’s lawyers are exploring 

ways to limit or undercut Special Counsel Mueller’s Russia investigation and discussing President Trump’s authority to grant pardons; 

Whereas according to the Washington Post article, ‘‘Trump 

has asked his advisers about his power to pardon aides, 

family members and even himself in connection with the 

probe.’’; and 

Whereas in the United States, it is an article of faith that, 

as President Theodore Roosevelt stated in his Third Annual Message to Congress on December 7, 1903, ‘‘No 

man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we 

ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it.’’: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) strongly disapproves and condemns any ac3 tion by the President to remove the Special Counsel 

4 investigating Russian interference in the 2016 Presi5 dential election; 

6 (2) strongly opposes the granting of pardons to 

7 any person for offenses against the United States 


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•HRES 474 IH 

1 arising out of Russia’s activities to bring about the 

2 election of Donald J. Trump as President of the 

3 United States and deems any such pardon granted 

4 to constitute an abuse of the Pardon Power con5 ferred in Article II, Section 2 warranting a propor6 tionate congressional response; and 

7 (3) calls upon the Congress to enact H.R. 2444, 

8 the ‘‘Trusted, Reliable, Unquestioned Method of 

9 Procedure for Special Counsel Appointment, Limita10 tions, and Powers Act of 2017’’. 

Æ 


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