Michael Beckel

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Trump's properties remain an epicenter of his conflicts and corruption in second term - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington In his first 365 days back in office, Trump visited his properties 198 times, and visited his golf courses 116 times.

Forbes calls Trump's first year back in office "the most lucrative" of his life.

CREW already found over 3,700 conflicts of interest between the Trump Organization and the presidency during his first term—and his second term is even more outrageous.

The “Corporate Powers Reset” Movement: How States Are Trying to Outflank Citizens United | BillTrack50 An analysis of state bills attempting to circumvent the Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

What's the idea behind the corporate power reset?

"If a corporation only exists because state law says it does, the theory goes, then state law can also define what that corporation is allowed to do — including whether it may spend money to influence elections" www.billtrack50.com/info/blog/th...

Three previously unknown donors gave $26 million to Trump-aligned dark money group - Issue One An Issue One examination of tax filings has revealed three previously unknown donors who gave more than $26 million to Securing American Greatness, a dark money group that supported President…

Pro-Trump dark money group Securing American Greatness raised $275 million in 2024 from fewer than 100 unknown donors.

@issueonereform.bsky.social has uncovered 3 of them:

American Prosperity Alliance: $17M
MAGA Action Inc: $7.7M
Bitcoin Advocacy Project: $2M

issueone.org/press/three-...

What Are the Likely Partisan Effects from a Pro-Party Supreme Court Decision in NRSC v. FEC? #ELB I’ve been asked this question a lot by journalists and others, so I thought I’d post my answer. As this recent story from the NYT notes, the Republican Party currently raises more of its money through...

Smart take from @rickpildes.bsky.social about pending NRSC v FEC SCOTUS case about coordinated spending: Republicans would likely get a boost from a pro-party ruling, "but the history of campaign-finance regulation suggests any such short term boost would be short lived" electionlawblog.org?p=154528

Three previously unknown donors gave $26 million to Trump-aligned dark money group - Issue One An Issue One examination of tax filings has revealed three previously unknown donors who gave more than $26 million to Securing American Greatness, a dark money group that supported President…

A Trump-aligned dark money group called Securing American Greatness raised $275 million in 2024.

@issueonereform.bsky.social has uncovered 3 donors that gave a combined $26M.

The Bitcoin Advocacy Project gave $2M, while two pro-Trump dark money groups gave even more

issueone.org/press/three-...

The 75 Elections to Watch This March - Bolts The 2026 midterms really are starting. Five states hold all of their primaries for federal and state offices in March, and voters there face high-profile choices. They’ll decide which Democrat... Read...

NEW: We're there. The midterms really are starting.

March has the year's 1st supreme court race. Primaries for Senate, AG, & legislature. Sheriff & DA races rocked by ICE. Special elections that may flip. Even a minimum wage measure!

My guide of the *75* elections to watch in March:

Henry Waxman: Congressional Chameleon | RealClearPolitics The following is an excerpt from the forthcoming book, “Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress.” Standing five feet, five inches...

"Money is now deciding not just who gets elected, but how much power they have within the chamber" writes @kornbergmaya.bsky.social of @brennancenter.org about the broken party dues system in Congress and the price of power www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/202...

Well, someone is "richer than ever before" anyway...

The 118th Congress’ Fundraising Treadmill - Issue One The presidential election in 2024 wasn’t the only race setting campaign finance records. Recently filed federal filings illuminate the massive sums House and Senate candidates raised during the 2023-2...

Fast forward to 2024: Nearly all members of Congress now have a leadership PAC

Lawmakers raised a combined $260 million through their leadership PACs between January 2023 and December 2024, @issueonereform.bsky.social found

Median amount raised was $177,000

issueone.org/articles/the...

All Expenses Paid: Another Look - Issue One In 1978, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), in coordination with powerful allies in California’s Democratic Party, asked the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to allow for the creation of “leadership PAC” acco...

What loophole have leadership PACs been abusing?

A loophole that enables some members of Congress to enjoy the perks of lavish living on someone else's dime, as @issueonereform.bsky.social & @campaignlegal.org detailed in this 2021 report

issueone.org/articles/all...

Democrat Henry Waxman pioneered the leadership PAC.

Back in 2020, he told @issueonereform.bsky.social he had concerns about the loophole leadership PACs have been abusing — a loophole that could be fixed by adding a comma and three words to existing rules

issueone.org/articles/swa...

Arnie Arnesen Attitude February 24 2026 Podcast Episode · Attitude with Arnie Arnesen · February 24 · 58m

So great talking with @nharnie.bsky.social about @issueonereform.bsky.social's "Corruption Chronicles" series, which highlights how Donald Trump has sidestepped anti-corruption safeguards and used public office for private gain. Listen to our full conversation podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...

Generative Influence - Public Citizen

Artificial intelligence boom on K Street:

More than 3,500 lobbyists – a quarter of all federal lobbyists – reported lobbying on AI issues at least once in 2025, finds @publiccitizen.bsky.social

www.citizen.org/article/gene...

Trump's crypto ventures present a danger of foreign nationals seeking access and influence.

~65 wallets control ~90% of the publicly available memecoin launched by Trump last year, each of which holds $1M or more.

~70% of these are likely foreign nationals, per @issueonereform.bsky.social review

8 in 10 Americans, republicans and democrats, think there is too much corporate money in politics. We agree! Help us do something about it at transparentelection.org #CampaignFinance #DarkMoney #TEI #TheMontanaPlan

Polling done last year by @issueonereform.bsky.social found that Americans across the political spectrum agreed that large contributions to super PACs create a risk of corruption and the appearance of corruption issueone.org/press/new-po...

Jasmine Crockett Swears Off Corporate Cash — But Transferred Thousands From Her House Campaign A Democrat running for Senate in Texas has a complicated history with corporate America and the crypto industry.

What’s in a pledge to reject corporate PAC money? @akelalacy.bsky.social @theintercept.com reveals that @crockett.house.gov transferred funds from corporate PACs given to her House campaign to help fund her Senate bid theintercept.com/2026/02/13/j...

Wow. New FEC reports show billionaire Matt Moroun gave Trump’s super PAC $1 million last month.

A few weeks later, Moroun met with Trump officials, and the next day, the president came out publicly against a rival bridge project that would cut into Moroun’s profits. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/w...

New FEC filing shows who gave big money to Trump's super PAC last month:

$5 million from Foris Dax, aka Crypto dot com

$1 million from Matthew Moroun, whose family owns and operates the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Canada

docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...

New FEC filing reveals who got $$ last month from PAC of private prison operator and ICE contractor GEO Group:

NRSC - $15,000
Tom Cotton (R-AR) - $2,500
Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) - $2,500
Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) - $2,500
Aaron Bean (R-FL) - $1,000

docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...

The States’ Secret Weapon: Reclaiming the Authority to Limit Corporate Power - The States Forum American democracy has taken a beating in recent years, and it’s no longer clear that our institutions can withstand the forces pressing against them. On the

What secret weapon do states have for curbing dark money and corporate spending in elections? Reclaiming the authority to limit corporate powers, writes @thmoore.bsky.social @americanprogress.bsky.social www.statesforum.org/the-states-s...

7 days after House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Renee Good of "taunting ICE officers" before federal agents shot her, the PAC of Minnesota-based utilities company Xcel Energy gave $2,500 to Johnson's campaign, new campaign finance filing shows docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...

The PAC of private prison operator and ICE contractor CoreCivic donated money to just one federal politician last month, a new campaign finance filing shows: Rep. Matt Van Epps (R-TN), whose campaign received $5,000 on Jan 27th docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...

Lobbying transparency bill awaits House floor hearing - New Mexico In Depth A bill that would require lobbyists in New Mexico to publicly disclose which legislation they are working to influence and whether they support or oppose passed its final House committee a week ago, b...

Will New Mexico be the next state to bring more transparency to lobbying activities?

Lawmakers are considering legislation that would require lobbyists in New Mexico to disclose which bills they are working to influence and whether they support or oppose those bills

nmindepth.com/2026/lobbyin...

Yoon Suk Yeol: South Korea’s ex-president jailed for life for masterminding an insurrection Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and indicted for declaring martial law in 2024.

Accountability for an insurrection? South Korea's former president jailed for life after insurrection conviction www.bbc.com/news/live/cq...

A New Generation of MAGA Megadonors Is Emerging — And They’re Swamping Democrats Donors with little or no history of federal contributions are suddenly pumping millions into a pro-Trump super PAC.

DEEP DIVE: Meet the new generation of MAGA megadonors who are stepping to with tens of millions of dollars as other Trump-centric megadonors die off or step back.

From @taylorgiorno.bsky.social of @notus.com: www.notus.org/money/maga-m...

Even Republican election officials are balking at Trump Justice Department’s voter roll crusade | CNN Politics As the Trump administration has sued 25 mostly-Democratic state election chiefs for their voter rolls, it has also encountered quieter resistance from Republican officials who have balked at the Just...

Protecting our free, fair, and secure elections from federal overreach isn't a partisan issue. At least a half-dozen Republican-led state election offices have declined U.S. Justice Department requests for private voter data.
www.cnn.com/2026/02/16/p...

This Presidents’ Day, we recommit to upholding the democratic promise our Founding Fathers made and defending these foundational truths to protect our rights, our people, and our future.

Democracy is when voters choose their leaders. Autocracy is when leaders choose their voters.