News

Slow Walking For Trump

For six months now, the Supreme Court, led by six Republican-appointed Justices, has been slow walking a decision on former President Donald Trump’s frivolous claim that he has absolute immunity for actions he took while President. The Justices responsible for this delay have done a grave disservice to the American people. By all appearances, these […]

Trump’s Election Deniers’ Movement — Lies, Attacks, And Chaos

Former President Donald Trump told a lot of lies while in office – some 30,573 false or misleading statements, according to one count. Perhaps his biggest lie was that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and stolen from him. Trump has repeated this election lie constantly, without a shred of evidence. Trump’s false attacks on the integrity […]

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 […]

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

This week, in lieu of a Fred Note, here’s a “Fred Listen”: “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 […]

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 Roberts Court And The Systematic Dismantling Of Our Political System

The Supreme Court, controlled by a Republican-appointed majority, has played a seminal role in gravely damaging our political system and our democracy. The Court majority has created a corrupt campaign finance system, undermined the nation’s ability to stop voter discrimination and suppression, and all but eliminated the ability to stop extreme partisan and racial gerrymandering. […]

SCOTUS’s Grave Disservice To The American People & Rule Of Law

For five months, the Supreme Court has been thwarting the trial in United States v. Trump, likely the most important criminal trial in American history and certainly the most important of the four criminal cases brought against former President Donald Trump. The case involves whether or not Trump is held accountable for his unprecedented attempt to overturn […]

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 […]

The Political $ Tsunami

In my more than 50 years of working to curb the influence of big money on politics and policy, I have never heard of a case where a presidential candidate asked a group of donors to raise one billion dollars for his campaign, much less to do so in exchange for favorable government policies. Yet that reportedly […]

D21 President Fred Wertheimer On Bipartisan Efforts In The Senate To Address The Problems Posed By AI

Democracy 21 applauds the bipartisan effort underway in the Senate to develop public policies to address the dangerous problems posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This important effort is being led by Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), joined by Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Todd Young (R-IN). Also providing important bipartisan leadership are […]