We need checks and balances that actually work. Trump has shown us why every single day of his presidency.
Here's how to make that happen:
1. Congress should create real consequences for ignoring subpoenas. Even in Trump’s impeachment inquiry, people like Mick Mulvaney, Rudy Giuliani and Mike Pompeo simply defied subpoenas.
2. Create a fast-track procedure for Congress to carry out investigations. Stonewalling Don McGahn’s testimony and in the Mazars case about Trump’s tax returns show why this can’t go on.
3. Change congressional hearings to focus more on oversight and less on long statements from members asking leading questions and making ideological points.
4. Eliminate the legislative filibuster to move past endless gridlock in the Senate.
5. Rein in presidential emergency spending powers.
6. Limit the time an official can legally serve in an “acting” capacity. Trump abused this idea to avoid confirmation battles for controversial appointments from DHS to the Bureau of Land Management.
That’s just the beginning. Senate impeachment rules need to change. Pay for congressional staff needs to be increased.
Here’s a radical idea: Let’s hold presidents accountable to the people.
Here’s how:
1. Require presidential (and VP) candidates to release their tax returns
2. Require those candidates to make a plan to divest from all conflicting assets
3. Empower OGE to enforce divestiture -- and quickly -- within 30 days
4. Make the Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution more easily enforceable, so any future president couldn’t run out the clock on facing justice for his corruption
CREW has been planning for months (and years) for the possibility of bold reforms after the darkness of the Trump era. citizensforethics.org/news/press-rel…
Today, we released our report what our democracy needs to come back stronger after the corruption, cronyism and abuses perpetrated by Trump and his administration.
The list has to be long, because the past four years have exposed that we are not just facing one problem, or one corrupt president; we are facing many interconnected, urgent crises.
It’s not going to be easy to fix our democracy, and it’s not going to take just one fight.
Jared Kushner told Black Americans that Trump was delivering for them if only they would stop “complaining.”
One thing that's clear is that Trump has delivered for Kushner. He’s delivered him wealth, political power and access to top secret intelligence. nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/ja…
With all that power, Kushner has made decisions that have cost lives.
This summer, it was reported that Kushner ignored a plan for national coronavirus testing because the virus was hitting blue states harder than red states. vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/h…
He also appears to have violated the law by operating his coronavirus “shadow task force” without oversight or transparency. citizensforethics.org/news/press-rel…
For the past 4 years, Trump has been fixated on the financial benefits he might derive from his time in office.
That money may help him pay off his $421 million in personally guaranteed debt that's coming due soon.
Here’s a look back at how he’s capitalized on the presidency:
At the 2019 G-7 Summit, Trump previewed an announcement that he would hold the 2020 G-7 at Trump National Doral resort, likely bringing millions of dollars in foreign government spending.
This scheme was shut down by widespread criticism.
The Trump Organization has billed taxpayers more than $1.2 million in Secret Service spending alone during Trump’s time in office.
The Hatch Act is one of America's most important ethics laws. It prohibits people in government from using their official position for partisan political means. It also prohibits them from using taxpayer dollars to campaign for one side or the other.
In other words, the Hatch Act is meant to keep a separation of church and state between the government and campaigns. In a free and open democracy, the government doesn't use government resources to keep itself in power.