News

Bipartisan Group of Orgs and Individuals with Governance Expertise Calls on Trump to Divest Business Enterprises or Face Serious Conflicts of Interest and Emoluments Clause Problems

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In a letter sent today to President-elect Trump, a bipartisan group of organizations and individuals with expertise in governance issues called on Trump to divest his business enterprises or face serious conflicts of interest and Emoluments Clause problems as president. The letter representing voices from all parts of the political spectrum urged President-elect Trump “to […]

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Democracy 21 Urges Support for Senator Warren’s Bill to Require Presidents and Vice Presidents to Divest Assets into a Blind Trust

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  Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Democracy 21 urges support for the bill announced this week by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to require presidents and vice presidents to divest all of their assets that could result in conflicts of interest into a true blind trust managed by an independent trustee. President-elect Trump has […]

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Brazil Criminal Investigation of Trump Hotel Shows Essential Need for Trump to Divest His Business Empire

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  Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer  The criminal investigation of a Trump hotel in Brazil, reported by the Washington Post and the New York Times, shows why President-elect Trump has no choice but to divest his business empire into a true blind trust managed by an independent trustee. President-elect Trump has indicated, to […]

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Trump’s Continued Ownership of Business Enterprises Will Cause Serious Problems for His Presidency and the Country, Says Bipartisan Group of Leading Governance Experts

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  A bipartisan group of organizations and individuals, many of whom specialize in ethical and conflicts of interest issues, today called on President-elect Trump to divest his businesses into a true blind trust managed by an independent trustee, or the equivalent. This is the approach that has been taken by Trump’s predecessors for the past […]

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President-elect Trump’s Statement Today Hasn’t Yet Solved his Pervasive Conflict of Interest Problems

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  Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer President-elect Donald Trump said today he will announce on December 15 how he intends to deal with The Trump Organization in order to avoid conflicts of interest while serving as president. Trump said he would take himself out of the “business operations” of The Trump Organization, but […]

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Reform Groups Urge Members to Oppose All Campaign Finance Riders to Funding Bills

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  In a letter sent today, reform groups urged members of Congress to oppose all campaign finance riders and other “poison pill” riders to any CR or omnibus bill to be considered in the remaining days of this Congress. The groups included the Brennan Center for Justice, Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, CREW, Democracy 21, […]

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Democracy 21 Calls on Congress to Promptly Pass Legislation to Require Trump to Comply with Blind Trust Requirements of Ethics in Government Act

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer In his first two weeks as president-elect, Donald Trump already has shown that he will be a walking conflict of interest until he divests his business empire. President-elect Trump’s original proposal to deal with these issues is an illusion. He proposed to place his business empire in a […]

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Trump Must Divest Himself of All Business Holdings, Reform Groups and Ethicists Say

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Statement from Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer President-elect Trump is about to become a walking financial conflict-of-interest. For example, Trump’s business enterprise reportedly owes hundreds of millions of dollars to the Bank of China. This is a state-owned bank which means that, as a businessman, Trump owes this money to the Chinese government. How will […]

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Trump’s Proposed “Blind Trust” for his Business Empire Would be Blind to Everyone but the Trump Family

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Statement by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer According to a POLITICO article today, “Donald Trump’s vast business holdings will be placed into a blind trust with his three children in charge, according to the president-elect’s attorney.” The so-called “blind trust” scheme outlined by Trump’s lawyer is absurd. In a real blind trust, an independent trustee who has no connection […]

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Democracy 21 Study — Outside Groups Greatly Outspend Candidates in Seven Battleground Senate Races

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  Super PACs and other outside spending groups have played a dramatic and dominant role in the 2016 elections, spending $1.2 billion to date, according to Open Secrets.  Outside money is playing its most pronounced role in the battle between Republicans and Democrats for control of the Senate. In seven of the eight key battleground […]

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