Honest Ads. Plus, The Swamp Gets Swampier & 10 Steps Toward Draining It. 
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NOVEMBER 16, 2017
A NOTE FROM FRED
 
It is now universally accepted – except by Presidents Trump and Putin – that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election, attempting to manipulate the results and undermine our democracy.

Ads run by Russian operatives on Facebook, Google, and other platforms used false and wildly misleading messages, with no disclosure that Russian agents were running the ads.

In 2016, Facebook, Google, and Twitter were unwitting facilitators of the Russian campaign. There is no excuse if they allow this to happen again.

Platforms like Facebook and Google have the technology, skills, and information that provide the best chance of exposing and preventing future misuse by foreign interests.

They have an obligation to treat this responsibility as a top priority.

At the same time, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), and John McCain (R-AZ) have introduced the Honest Ads Act, which would provide new disclosure requirements to expose foreign interests running political ads on the Internet. 

Democracy 21 supports this legislation. We have also proposed strengthening the existing ban on foreign contributions and spending in our elections by prohibiting foreign interests from running any broadcast or Internet ads at any time in the election cycle that refer to a candidate.

The efforts by Russia and other foreign interests to manipulate our elections represent a very dangerous threat to our democracy. Facebook, Google, and other platforms, and Congress, must undertake all-out efforts to prevent these abuses from occurring in the future.
 

MUST READS

D21 NEWS

A 10-Point Plan To Drain The Swamp
D21 President Fred Wertheimer and Norm Eisen, chief White House ethics lawyer from 2009 to 2011, propose 10 government integrity actions that would “drain the swamp,” even as Trump makes the swamp worse. “Now is an ideal moment to make changes to combat influence-buying and financial self-dealing in Washington and repair our dysfunctional political system. This is a difficult battle, and it will take time. But it can be won. The nation has made similar changes in the past during moments of political crisis; we must make them again.” Read more
 
“TRUMP & FRIENDS”

How Trump Learned To Love The Swamp
Trump’s  “agenda has neatly fit the playbook of the K Street lobbyists and conservative ideologues he attacked and mocked last year on the campaign trail,” via Politico. Read more
 
Taxpayers Pay Legal Bill For Justice Dept Lawyers To Protect Trump Business Profits
The government lawyers are defending Trump “in four lawsuits stemming from his unusual decision not to divest himself from hundreds of his companies,” via USA Today. Read more
 
Too Rich For Conflicts? Trump Appointees May Have Many
Trump “has assembled the wealthiest cabinet in American history, and also a deeply conflicted one, despite federal rules requiring appointees to relinquish or distance themselves from assets that would conflict with their government responsibilities,” via The New York Times. Read more
 
The GOP Officials Who Have Spent The Most At Trump Properties
Between Election Day 2016 and September 30, 2017, GOP officials and committees reported paying at least $1.27M million to Trump properties, hotels, and golf clubs, via The Washington Post. Read more
 
Trump Is Flooding The Swamp With His HHS Pick Alex Azar
“Score this one as a win for the pharmaceutical and insurance industries and a devastating loss for the American people,” commentary via The Hill. Read more
 
The Leaks. The Frustrations. Omarosa’s Shoes. Mike Dubke On His 103 Days In The White House
Trump’s former communications director’s “reflections offer a broader window into just how slipshod this administration’s operations can be,” via Washingtonian. Read more
 
Trump Judicial Pick Did Not Disclose He Is Married To A White House Lawyer
Brett Talley, who has never tried a case and received a “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association, did not disclose that he is married to a senior lawyer in the WH Counsel’s office, via The New York Times. Read more
QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Trump’s Bogus Clinton Allegations Assault The Rule Of Law

Trump’s “push for criminal investigations of his adversaries is a shocking violation of our democratic norms.”
 
-- Norm Eisen, chief WH ethics lawyer (2009-2011), & D21 President Fred Wertheimer, via CNN. Read more
RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA

Attorney General Sessions Doesn’t Recall
“What else are you forgetting, Mr. Attorney General?” via The New York Times editorial. Read more

The Secret Correspondence Between Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks, via The Atlantic. Read more
 
Mueller Puts Spotlight On Foreign Lobbying, via The Hill. Read more
 
What Mueller’s Org Chart Reveals About His Russia Probe
Workload for the special counsel’s team — now 17 prosecutors — shows how he’s conducting the probe and what may come next, via Politico. Read more
 
THE URANIUM ONE DISTRACTION: “IT’S GROTESQUE”

Justice Dept Veterans Recoil At Idea Of Another Special Counsel, via The Washington Post. Read more
 
What Is The Uranium One Deal And Why Does The Trump Administration Care So Much? via The New York Times. Read more
 
There Are No Grounds For A Special Counsel To Investigate Hillary Clinton, via The Washington Post editorial. Read more
 
SPECIAL INTERESTS & LOBBYISTS


Republicans Admit That Wealthy CEOs And Big Money Donors Really Need The Tax Cut Bill To Pass — Or Else
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) told reporters “the financial contributions will stop” if tax reform doesn’t pass, via Huffington Post. Read more
 
Churches, Nonprofits Could Profit Politically Under House Tax Bill
Under language inserted into the GOP tax plan at the last minute, 501(c)(3) churches and nonprofits will be able to “more actively promote political candidates,” effectively undercutting the Johnson Amendment which bars 501(c)(3) groups from doing so, via McClatchy. Read more
 
A Wide-Open Door for Pesticide Lobbyists at the Agriculture Dept, via ProPublica here and The New York Times here.
 
Big Pharma = Big Donor: In 2016 Pharmaceutical And Health Product Companies Gave $62.7M To Congressional Candidates, via Tarbell. Read more
 
355 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION 2018

Karl Rove Has Seen The Enemy And He Is Steve Bannon
Inside the feud between two men battling for the soul of the GOP, via The New Yorker. Read more
 
GOP Governors Seek to Avoid Election Damage From Trump, Moore
“I think we’ll see Republican governors walking a tightrope in 2018 as they navigate a difficult election year,” according to one GOP strategist and former state party chair, via Bloomberg. Read more
 
Despite Recent Wins For Democrats, Gerrymanders Dim Hopes For 2018, via The New York Times. Read more
 
TRUMP’S “VOTER FRAUD” COMMISSION: STILL A FRAUD

Trump Voter Fraud Commission Is Sued — By One Of Its Own Commissioners
Maine Sec’y of State Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat on the commission, alleges the group’s leadership is violating transparency laws and has excluded him from deliberations. “We aren’t inviting the public to participate. We aren’t transparent. And we aren’t even working together at all. My real fear is that this commission will offer policy recommendations that have not been properly vetted by all of the commissioners,” via ProPublica. Read more
 
THE ASSAULT ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS

Kochs Key Among Small Group Quietly Funding Legal Assault On Campaign Finance Regulation, via The Center for Public Integrity. Read more
 
There will be no Political Money Report next week.
Happy Thanksgiving!
By: Fred Wertheimer (@FredWertheimer), Jackie Howell, and Diane Alexander. Follow The Political Money Report on Twitter (@Political_Money).
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