When Trump tries to claim he’s the “law and order” president, you really have to wonder — has he read the news about the people involved with his 2016 campaign?
First, there was Michael Flynn, a top aide to Trump's campaign, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. Trump hired him as national security advisor. nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/…
Then there was Trump’s first campaign manager, Paul Manafort, who was sentenced to 47 months in prison for hiding millions of dollars he earned for political consulting in Ukraine. bbc.com/news/world-us-…
Then Trump’s fixer, Michael Cohen, was sentenced to three years in prison for campaign finances crimes. Remember those hush money payments? washingtonpost.com/world/national…
The first two Congressmen to endorse Trump, Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins, were sentenced for campaign finance crimes and insider trading, respectively. politico.com/story/2019/02/…
Trump’s advisor, Roger Stone, was supposed to serve 40 months in prison for charges including lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction, that is...until Trump lifted his sentence. cnn.com/2020/07/10/pol…
Today, Steve Bannon, Trump’s campaign chief executive, was indicted and taken into federal custody for defrauding donors to a private border wall.
Trump likely cannot be indicted during his presidency. But even beyond what he was impeached for, he has plenty of criminal liabilities, from campaign finance crimes, to obstruction of justice.
President Trump was just caught on a hot mic talking with the president of Indonesia.
He may have been talking about his business interests in the country–which would be exactly the kind of conflict of interest we’ve been warning about for years.
Just a reminder that Trump made $14 million from his business interests in Indonesia from 2015 to 2019, making it one of his most egregious conflicts of interest during his first term. citizensforethics.org/reports-invest…
With properties in two locations still under development in Indonesia during his second term, the conflicts have only intensified. citizensforethics.org/reports-invest…
Former FBI Director James Comey's indictment is more than a case—it's a warning.
It’s the most obvious instance yet of targeting political opponents, while letting allies off the hook. 🧵
Trump has openly cheered Comey's indictment—and it only came after a Trump appointee resigned rather than cave to pressure to bring charges, and was replaced by a loyalist. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
Critics warn this is politically motivated and highly dangerous. The prosecution hinges on proving Comey intentionally lied to GOP senators during a 2020 hearing about events from 3+ years earlier—and his answers may not have even been factually wrong.
🚨Congress is back from recess today. If they’re serious about protecting democracy in this crisis and beyond, here’s what they *must* do—immediately. 🧵
1. End the militarization of DC.
Pass Rep. Raskin's resolution to end Trump’s federal takeover of the city and reform presidential emergency powers so he can't run the same playbook nationwide.
2. Rein in executive overreach and protect the separation of powers.
Congress must safeguard its constitutional power of the purse. They can’t just sit back while Trump hijacks budgets for his own agenda.
Big win in our case: the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Trump’s OMB to bring back its spending database by FRIDAY.
Transparency matters. Take it from the Bush-appointed judge who wrote the decision 🧵
“Benjamin Franklin’s view, shared by many Framers, that it is of central ‘importance that the people should know who had disposed of their money, & how it had been disposed of’ as ‘those who feel, can best judge’” citizensforethics.org/wp-content/upl…
Presidents are not kings—America’s founders made sure of that.
One way they did so is by giving Congress the power of the purse.
Sean Duffy was just named acting NASA administrator—while *still* serving as transportation secretary.
But Duffy’s not the only one. Both of Trump’s terms have been full of officials wearing multiple hats. 🧵
Trump has made a habit of handing out high-powered roles to political allies.
And these double-duty appointments are by design.
In his first term, Trump made then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin the Governor of the International Monetary Fund. That same year, he appointed four inspectors general to conflicting dual roles, weakening oversight where it was most needed. eenews.net/articles/watch…