Our nation faces twin traumas: violent protests and police violence across America in the wake of the brutal police murder of George Floyd, and a deadly pandemic that threatens to resurge. President Trump’s handling of each crisis has been not merely grossly incompetent but also malevolent; his concerns regarding the pandemic have nakedly focused on
Continue Reading >>>

Before COVID-19 struck, Donald Trump was already a deeply corrupt president — leveraging his presidential office to make money for his businesses, engaging in obstruction of the Russia investigation, pardoning cronies, pressuring Ukraine’s leader to launch a phony investigation of Democratic rival Joe Biden, and much more. But as with his incompetence, ignorance, bigotry, malevolence,
Continue Reading >>>

The U.S. Justice Department today declared that it would not pursue criminal charges against former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. The decision continues a remarkable streak since Trump’s inauguration three years ago: No matter how blatantly Trump has sought, behind the scenes and in his public attacks, to use the Justice Department to prosecute his
Continue Reading >>>

Michael Wolff’s Fire & Fury quotes Steve Bannon as saying that Robert Mueller’s investigation is “all about money laundering.” If that’s so, Donald Trump may be in real trouble. A new report [PDF] released by Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) collects the available evidence that Trump’s real estate deals — many of them involving known criminals
Continue Reading >>>

Donald Trump won the presidency by pledging to fight for the forgotten man and woman, the people left behind by corporate globalization and Washington corruption. But it’s clear now that it was simply another false promise from a career con artist. This morning, when Trump’s Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, arrived to start work, what was
Continue Reading >>>

On Friday, prosecutors in Miami charged the politically-connected CEO of for-profit Dade Medical College, Ernesto Perez, with the felony charge of providing false information through a sworn statement, plus two misdemeanor counts of perjury. When Perez was named to Florida’s Commission on Independent Education — a panel charged with overseeing schools like his — he omitted
Continue Reading >>>

Huffington Post published this piece by me yesterday, as part of its Shadow Conventions series: To grasp the harms caused when money dominates politics, start with for-profit colleges. This industry tripled in size during the last decade, spurred by deceptive recruiting practices, after its lobbyists loosened federal rules aimed at protecting students and taxpayers from
Continue Reading >>>

87% percent of Americans find, “reducing corruption in the federal government,” to be “extremely,” or, “very important” according to a new Gallup poll on American’s top priorities for the next president.  This is the #2 issue, following only job creation. Corruption in government usually ranks as an important issue when it is asked about specifically, though it is not
Continue Reading >>>