Corruption Watch: Buying Off Trump, FBI Going After Democrats, A Fix For the Gutted VRA and More

This week's corruption and democracy news that you shouldn't miss.

There’s still nothing subtle about today’s robber barons: MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, raised $177 million in the first half of this year, according to a New York Times report. One big donor: the pipeline company Energy Transfer and its executive chairman, Kelcy Warren, who gave a combined $25 million. Cryptocurrency businesses and venture capitalists also contributed by the millions. JP Richardson, the chief executive of Exodus, a cryptocurrency company, told the Times, “It is in the best interests of our company and its shareholders to support pro-crypto causes and candidates.” In the best interest of humanity’s long-term prospects? Probably not.

FBI Director Kash Patel has reportedly granted Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn’s request to search for Democratic lawmakers who have left the state. Several Democratic lawmakers left Texas in an attempt to thwart Republicans’ plans to gerrymander the state to flip five Congressional seats. We need to pay attention to this use of federal law enforcement, especially given that during Trump’s second term, federal agents have detained multiple government officials who publicly disagreed with his administration.

This week marked the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which prohibited racial discrimination in voting laws. The Supreme Court has hollowed out the VRA, and voting rights have been continuously under attack, especially in states under Republican control (see Texas gerrymander plans above). In response, this week, Democratic Senators Raphael Warnock and Dick Durbin reintroduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would strengthen the VRA.

Yes, there’s good news somewhere: This week, Seattle voters passed Proposition 1, reupping the city’s first-of-its-kind Democracy Voucher Program, which provides city residents with four $25 vouchers that they can contribute to local candidates of their choice. “Seattle’s pioneering effort shows that reclaiming influence from big money and returning it to everyday citizens makes our democracy fairer, more resilient, and better reflective of all voices,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United. The program has been shown to increase voter turnout and civic participation. Spencer Olson, a leader of the Yes on Prop 1 campaign, told Democracy News that the vouchers program can also be a model for other cities, because, “What starts in Seattle doesn’t always stay [in Seattle].”

Local reformers are hard at work in Montana, too: A new initiative to curb dark money in Montana politics is getting off the ground. Reformers are attempting to use a novel strategy to pass a state constitutional amendment that would restrict how corporations can make political donations. If you want to consider possible creative solutions to our money in politics problems, give this Daily Montanan article a read.

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