|
A NOTE FROM FRED
Democracy 21 yesterday sent a letter to Walter Shaub, head of the Office of Government Ethics. We urged Shaub to take action to ensure Jared Kushner's conflicts of interest and appearance of conflicts regarding his dealings with China are eliminated. Articles published in the Washington Post and the New York Times revealed that the Kushner family had gone to China to use government “investor visas” as incentives for wealthy Chinese individuals to invest in the Kushner family business. The family's presentations in China clearly intended to create the appearance that Jared Kushner and his family can be influential in their obtaining "investor visas" to the United States. Jared Kushner cannot have it both ways. He cannot serve as a Senior Adviser to President Trump with unprecedented policy responsibilities and continue to own extensive business holdings, without facing continuing conflicts of interest and appearance of conflicts of interest problems. The latest published reports on the Kushner family have confirmed that he must recuse himself now from all policy responsibilities dealing with China. Democracy 21 also has called on Kushner to fully divest his extensive business holdings, and if he continues to refuse to do so, to recuse himself from a number of broad policy areas in which he has potential conflicts of interest.
|
|
|
"Kushner family stands to gain from visa rules in Trump’s first major law," says the New York Times. Buried on page 734 of the appropriations bill Trump signed Friday was the renewal of a program offering permanent residence in the US to affluent foreign investors in American real estate projects. Hours later, the Kushner family touted the program to Chinese investors considering investing in their New Jersey real estate project. "The sequence of events offers one of the most explicit examples to date of the peril of the Trump and Kushner families maintaining close ties to their business interests and creates an impression they stand to profit off Mr. Trump’s presence in the White House." Read more
"President Trump seizes on election rules to push his agenda in new ways," says USA TODAY. Trump has headline four major rallies since becoming president and launched a new $1.5 million ad campaign touting his accomplishments. This activity is supported not by the White House, but by his re-election campaign who filed re-election paperwork on the day he took office. Both Obama and Bush waited more than two-years before filing the paperwork. Read more
"Trump-connected lobbyists are making millions, even as some come under scrutiny," says BuzzFeed. Lobbyists are profiting off the "GOP-controlled swamp they promised to drain, in large part due to the lack of connections established Republican lobbyists have to the new president... firms with ties to the new administration are still making millions from contracts with foreign governments and major corporations." Read more
Republicans House members face new attack ads, according to Roll Call. The liberal health care advocacy group Save My Care is launching a six-figure tv and digital ad campaign against twenty-four GOP House members who voted for the GOP health care plan last week. Read more
Trump is meeting largely with white, rich, Republican men, says POLITICO. "Of the more than 1,200 people who have had direct access to the president as of Monday night, the majority — about 80 percent — are white. And almost 63 percent are white men." Read more
|
|
|
FACT OF THE DAY
Georgia’s special election will be the most expensive House race in U.S. history. Candidates and outside groups have reserved or aired more than $29.7 million in TV ads, says POLITICO.
|
|
|
WA: In Seattle, as of April 24, 10,840 Democracy Vouchers have been returned as part of the city's new campaign finance voucher program. Read more
VA: Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who is running for governor, called for a cap on campaign donations and a ban on corporate contributions. His plan would would limit donations to $10,000 and require nonprofits trying to influence Virginia elections to reveal their donors. Read more
MO: A federal judge blocked portions of a constitutional amendment Missouri voters passed in November that was aimed at limiting the influence of money in politics. The order blocks a restriction against donations from foreign companies and a provision that prohibited money transfers between PACs. Read more
AL: The Senate Leadership Fund, which is associated with Sen. Mitch McConnell, reserved a $2.6 million ad buy ahead of the primary on behalf of Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill Jeff Sessions' seat. Read more
By: Fred Wertheimer (@FredWertheimer) & Kathryn Beard (@KathrynBeard)
|
|
|
|
|
