Press Releases Archive

New On Just Security: Refuting the Latest Baseless Attacks Against Special Counsel Jack Smith

“Another major factual revelation by Special Counsel Jack Smith, another attempt to discredit him without ever addressing the new facts,” Andrew Weissmann and Ryan Goodman write in an analysis published today on Just Security regarding the 2020 election interference/Jan. 6 case brought by Smith against former President Donald Trump. “But this time,” Weissmann and Goodman […]

Crosspartisan Coalition, Including D21, Urges Presidential Candidates To Embrace Transparency, Disclose Their Campaign “Bundlers”

Thirteen organizations from across the ideological spectrum, including Democracy 21, have urged Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to publicly reveal information about their top campaign fundraisers before Election Day. The coalition effort was organized by Issue One. Called “bundlers” for the bundles of campaign donation […]

What A Democratic Trifecta In November Would Mean For Democracy Reforms

In January 2021, two Democrats won Senate runoff elections in Georgia. This flipped the Senate and resulted in an unexpected “trifecta” – Democratic control of the White House, the House, and the Senate. While a Democratic trifecta this November would be difficult, it is possible, Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer writes in an op-ed published today […]

Honoring The Legacy Of Civil Rights Champion John Lewis

Statement Of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer July 17, 2024 marks the fourth anniversary of the passing of civil rights champion and national icon Representative John Lewis. In nearly 100 communities across the nation, there will be commemorations of his life and candlelight vigils, as well as demands for Congress to pass the John R. […]

Wertheimer Op-Ed: “The Return Of The King”

By: Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21 This week, Chief Justice John Roberts and his band of five other Republican-appointed Supreme Court Justices restored the king to the top of our government. Our nation’s Founders fought a revolution to help ensure our nation would be forever free from the clutches of an unrestrained monarch. The Founders […]

SCOTUS Immunity Decision Is Shameful And Destructive Of The Rule Of Law

Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer “Our democracy has been dangerously harmed by its misguided decision.” When the Supreme Court, last December, following a federal district court decision in United States v. Trump, rejected the request of Special Counsel Jack Smith to consider former President Donald Trump’s immunity claim for direct review on an […]

From The Watergate Era’s “Suitcases Filled With Cash” To Today’s Billions In Secret Campaign Money

“If money is buying influence and results over government policies, then most Americans are shut out, because the campaign finance system is dominated by people who are putting up very large sums of money.” – D21 President Fred Wertheimer There’s a corner of the 1970s Watergate scandal with far-reaching impact, according to National Public Radio’s Planet Money in […]

D21 Endorses Government By The People Act, Which Would Create An Innovative Way To Finance Campaigns And Lessen The Big-Money Stranglehold On Elections

Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD), joined by Representatives Joe Neguse (D-CO), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), and Chellie Pingree (D-ME), recently reintroduced the Government By The People Act, which would establish a small-donor campaign matching program for candidates running for the House of Representatives. Democracy 21 strongly endorses the Government By The People Act, essential legislation that would help […]

Trump, A Jury Of His Peers, And The Roberts Court

In an op-ed published Monday on Medium, Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer discusses last week’s conviction in New York of former President Donald Trump on all 34 felony counts he faced, and how the Supreme Court could “take a lesson” from the New York jury, judge, and D.A.’s office. The Supreme Court’s current slow-walking of its […]

The Supreme Court Fails Country In Its Inexplicable Failure To Issue Timely Opinion On Trump Immunity

 Statement Of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer “There is no excuse for taking so long on a case that has such importance to the country.” On March 4, 2024, 25 days after hearing oral argument, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Trump v. Anderson. In that case, the Court ruled favorably for former President […]