Corruption Watch: Protecting Big Tech Donors, Repealing Paid Sick Leave, Getting Dark Money out of Democratic Presidential Primaries, and More

Good could prevail in the battle over the soul of the Democratic Party. Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee chairman, just introduced a proposal for creating “real, enforceable steps the D.N.C. can take to eliminate unlimited corporate and dark money in its 2028 presidential primary process,” reports The New York Times. Martin argues that restricting dark money in presidential primaries would show voters that Democrats are willing to “walk the walk” on cleaning up politics. End Citizens United supports the effort. There’s also a strong argument to be made that if Democratic presidential primary candidates have to appeal first and foremost to voters, not mega-donors, the candidate who ends up winning the Democratic primary will be in a better position to win the general election. This could get exciting.

New polling finds, yet again, that decreasing the influence of big money in elections is wildly popular. The Brennan Center reports on a new poll that shows that New Yorkers support the statewide small donor matching funds program that started last year: “The poll found that 89 percent of New York voters believe that wealthy donors have outsize influence on politicians, and two-thirds of voters want their elected representatives to prioritize countering this influence.” In that case, Democratic reformers trying to eliminate dark money are on to something.

It’s just not right. The Guardian reports on the unfair-beyond-words situation Missouri workers are in after the Missouri Republican legislature appeased business lobbyists and repealed Prop A, which guaranteed paid sick leave to workers in the state– after Missouri voters supported it 58% to 42% in November. Look out for an upcoming Democracy News dispatch to hear from Richard von Glahn, Missouri Jobs with Justice’s policy director, who worked to get Prop A passed.

“Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to reporting that Trump has attempted to slash crypto regulation while simultaneously enriching himself with crypto. The Intercept reports that, according to the watchdog group Accountable, “Nearly 73 percent of Trump’s wealth – $11.6 billion of an estimated $15.9 billion – comes from crypto holdings that he built at a record pace by misusing his office.” The Accountable memo breaks it down.

Of course, there’s more. This week Public Citizen published a new report detailing how Trump is protecting Big Tech by killing lawsuits and investigations. “The Trump administration has halted or withdrawn one third of targeted investigations into suspected misconduct and enforcement against technology corporations,” says the very damning report. Watch Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, and Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, discuss tech spending and more: