May 18, 2021 – Yesterday, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sent a letter to congressional leadership calling for the reauthorization of the Voting Right Act. Senator Murkowski is the only Republican Senator who cosponsored a bill in the last Congress to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act. Only one Republican Representative voted for that […]
Fred Wertheimer, Democracy 21
Fred Wertheimer: Trump’s Michigan voter fraud comments reveal America’s desperate need for reforms
May 24, 2020 – Last week, President Donald Trump took his attacks on voting by mail to new heights as he threatened to withhold federal funds from Michigan and Nevada if they continued to implement vote-by-mail their states. “The threatening to take money away from a state that is hurting as bad as we are right […]
Fred Wertheimer: Trump puts his name on the stimulus checks to start his own version of presidential public financing – for Trump only
April 15, 2020 – In a surprise move, and in the face of Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s longstanding opposition, President Trump now appears to have embraced public financing of elections – but only for his own re-election. It appears, some say, that the only plausible reason for Trump’s unprecedented decision to have his unneeded name added […]
Fred Wertheimer: House Judiciary Committee Resolution Makes Clear It Is Conducting an Impeachment Inquiry
Sept. 13, 2019 – There has been some confusion raised about the investigation being conducted by the House Judiciary Committee. Earlier this year, on March 4, the House Judiciary Committee opened an investigation “into the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates, and members of his Administration.” […]
Fred Wertheimer: Unfit to Serve: The Case Against William Barr
May 23, 2019 – Just who appointed William Barr to be President Trump’s guardian and his avenging angel? Oh, that’s right – it was President Trump who finally got his Roy Cohn-type Attorney General to protect him and his lawless ways, and the mandate of Barr’s position as Attorney General be damned. Barr has repeatedly […]
Fred Wertheimer: Attorney General Barr’s Letter on No Obstruction has No Credibility
March 25, 2019 – Attorney General Bill Barr decided his position on the obstruction of justice issue nearly a year ago at a time when, as a private citizen, Barr had no information on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings or the factual record upon which Mueller reached his findings. This did not stop Barr from […]
Fred Wertheimer: The Case for a New Small Donor, Public Matching Funds System
Feb. 25, 2019 – An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll last fall found that 77 percent of registered voters said that “reducing the influence of special interests and corruption in Washington” is “the most important or a very important issue facing the country.” This is not going to happen until an alternative system is created for officeholders […]
Fred Wertheimer: Newly Appointed Acting AG Matthew Whitaker Is Conflicted And Must Not Oversee Mueller Investigation
Nov. 7, 2018 – President Trump has appointed Matthew Whitaker to serve as Acting Attorney General. Whitaker has attacked Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation in the past and cannot be allowed to have anything to do with the investigation now. Members of Congress should immediately demand that Whitaker recuse himself from overseeing the investigation or […]
Fred Wertheimer: Federal Law Prohibits the “Solicitation” from a Foreign Source that Occurred with Regard to the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower Meeting
Aug. 7, 2018 – Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Federal law prohibits a person from soliciting contributions, including in-kind contributions, from foreign nationals in connection with a federal election. The prohibition on soliciting a contribution is violated regardless of whether the person receives the contribution being solicited. President Trump has admitted, in writing, […]
Fred Wertheimer: Nevada Becomes Third State in 2017 to Rescind Previous Call for a Constitutional Convention
May 10, 2017 – Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Nevada yesterday became the third state this year to rescind its previous call for a constitutional convention to adopt a balance budget constitutional amendment. Successful rescission efforts in New Mexico and Maryland earlier this year, along with Nevada’s rescission yesterday, have stopped the momentum […]
Fred Wertheimer: Legislation Needed to Require Trump to Comply with Blind Trust Requirements of Ethics in Government Act
November 21, 2016 – 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 “blind trust” to […]
Fred Wertheimer: House Freedom Caucus Pushes for Sept Vote on Unprecedented & Baseless Impeachment Resolution Against IRS Commish Koskinen
Aug. 31, 2016 – In July, Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) introduced a resolution of impeachment (H.Res. 828) against Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen. In August, Rep. Jim Jordan (D-OH), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said that House Freedom Caucus members would push for a House vote on the impeachment resolution when Congress returns […]