Corruption Watch: Secret Private Helicopters, Trump’s UnitedHealth Bonds, Protesting the Rigged System, and More
End Citizens United filed a complaint asking ethics officials to investigate Pennsylvania Congressman Rob Bresnahan.
What private helicopter? NOTUS reports that End Citizens United filed a complaint asking ethics officials to investigate Pennsylvania Congressman Rob Bresnahan for failing to disclose a private helicopter in his 2024 public financial disclosures. End Citizens United’s complaint says Bresnahan’s helicopter’s estimated value is between $1 and $1.5 million. As previously described by Democracy News, this isn’t the first time multi-millionaire Bresnahan has drawn attention for questionable ethics. After campaigning on banning Congressional stock trading, he’s made at least 626 stock trades worth an estimated $7.2 million since January, making him the second-most-active trader in Congress.
Trump has bought over $100 million in bonds since his inauguration. He’s purchased bonds in state and municipal governments – and in major companies such as Citigroup, Meta, and UnitedHealthGroup. Reuters reports, “The holdings cover sectors that could benefit from U.S. policy shifts under his administration, such as financial deregulation.”
Our courts should not be for sale – and yet. The Keystone reports that a billionaire-backed group is trying to unseat Democratic Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices that decide cases related to residents’ access to everything from abortion to clean water – and the ballot box. These judicial races have outsize consequences for redistricting and elections, with national ramifications. Stay tuned for more on this next week from Democracy News.
“Do not let this moment pass without a fight,” Beto O’Rourke told the crowd in Austin, just before the Republican legislature approved its new gerrymandered maps, fulfilling Trump’s request to deliver him more Congressional seats. In Austin, thousands of protesters gathered and some even camped out to condemn the transparent power grab. Last weekend, protests were held across 34 states. “The incredible support we’re seeing – not just back home in Texas, but from Democrats, Republicans, and independents across the country – proves this fight is bigger than any one state,” said Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus. “We’re defending our entire country from the Trump takeover, and I’m honored to stand with every patriotic American who refuses to let extremists rig the system.”
Arizonans showed up to demand that Republicans stop defunding public safety. Tucson ABC9 reports that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Congressional candidate Adelita Grijalva, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, Emma Brown of GIFFORDS, and Tiffany Muller of End Citizens United participated in a packed town hall to hold Representative Juan Ciscomani and his fellow Republicans accountable for prioritizing the gun industry over public safety. Check out the dispatch here.
And, finally, this weekend, if a volunteer for New York Mayor Eric Adams’s reelection campaign offers you an open bag of potato chips, look inside.
LIVE: 08/18/2025 - After the Town Hall with Tiffany Muller and Emma Brown
End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller was joined LIVE by Giffords Executive Director Emma Brown, for a conversation about the importance of common sense gun laws. Adelita Grijalva, who won the special AZ-07 election in July, briefly joined the conversation as well.
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