Last updated on September 26th, 2018 at 05:55 am
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has introduced the largest anti-corruption bill since Watergate to kill the cancer on our democracy that has flourished under Trump.
Video of Sen. Warren on MSNBC‘s The Beat with Ari Melber:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Warren said:
Let’s start with the fact that the Trump administration is the most corrupt presidential administration in living memory. But the problem is not just with trump. We’ve had a problem going on for a long time about the influence of money in Washington. You know, we’ve talked about campaign finance reform. And boy, this is a big part of it. But there is so much more. There’s so many other ways that money makes its way felt. You picked up some of them. The fact that people in Congress actually own individual stocks and trade on those stocks on the one hand while they’re doing policy on the other hand that influences the value of those stocks it’s just not right because the American people say, wait a minute, who were you working for? Were you working in the public interest, or were you just working to line your own pocket? My bill puts an absolute stop to that.
My bill requires that people release their taxes. Anybody wants to run for federal office, then their taxes will be released by the IRS. And every year that you’re in federal office, your taxes will be released. The American people have a right to know where you’re getting your money from. These are just basic things. I have to tell you when I was putting this bill together; this is a big bill. It’s a sweeping bill. And yet there are whole parts of this that I think there are people around the country who say, wait, what, you mean that’s not already the law?
You mean those guys can spin through the revolving door, and while they are elected officials, while they are cabinet officials, while they are president of the United States, they can be dealing for their own deck instead of for the public interest. So that’s what this bill’s about. It’s big; it’s got a lot of pieces to it, it is the biggest bill that anyone has done since Watergate. And I think it’s needed, and it’s needed right now.
Elizabeth Warren is targeting the Trump Cancer
Corruption has grown exponentially in Washington over the last few years, but not since Watergate has there been a corruption crisis that is this urgent to the future of democracy. Corruption isn’t just about the Chris Collins types who insider trade, or the Duncan Hunters who misuse campaign funds.
Corruption in politics is about how money buys influence that regular people don’t have. Corruption is about the hijacking of a government that is supposed to be working for the people. Corruption has grown under Trump because the president himself is using the office that he currently holds for corrupt purposes.
Sen. Warren is doing the people’s work and trying to give Americans back their government.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
