Noah Bookbinder

For supporters of the current administration to get bent out of shape about purportedly politicized investigations right after the current president literally demanded the prosecution of a perceived opponent, pushed out prosecutors who wouldn't do it, and put in a loyalist who did -- is a bit rich.

White House withdraws E.J. Antoni's nomination to lead BLS Trump tapped the Heritage Foundation economist after firing the agency's previous commissioner in August.

The President fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics when he didn't like the job data it released and then put forward a highly partisan nominee for that role who had said incendiary things. The withdrawal of that nomination is rare good news in bleak times; facts still matter.

Let's not forget that the DOJ both reportedly dropped an investigation of the White House border czar, and brought charges against former FBI Director Jim Comey over the recommendation of career prosecutors after Donald Trump demanded it. This is politicized justice, and it is dangerous.

Trump administration moves to defund inspector general watchdog group The decision marks the latest example of the administration’s push to limit government oversight activities.

It may not seem important given everything else going on, but the administration undercutting and defunding the offices that are tasked with finding waste, fraud, and abuse in government is one more piece of their effort to eliminate any checks on their power to do whatever they want.

Whatever people on any part of the political spectrum may think of Comey, no one should be okay with the president demanding that political opponents be prosecuted and then using his power to make it happen. If that's okay, none of us are safe.

He then forced out a prosecutor who reportedly wouldn't indict because career prosecutors didn't find enough evidence to do so, and appointed a loyalist with no prosecutorial experience, who reportedly overrode the recommendation from career prosecutors not to indict.

It is hard to overstate how dangerous for democracy the indictment of former FBI Director Comey is. The President of the United States specifically called for prosecution of perceived political opponents, including Comey, calling them guilty before trial or even indictment. 🧵

Political violence is never acceptable, period.

Oil Tycoons Bet Big on Trump. It’s Paying Off. The Trump administration has opened land to drilling and is moving to roll back environmental restrictions and hobble renewable energy. But crude prices have dropped.

When Donald Trump was running for president, he promised oil executives that if they gave massively to his campaign, his policies and changes to regulations would make it worth their while. That is exactly what has happened. It is corrupt influence of moneyed interests to the extreme.

Public servants with nearly 450 years of experience have resigned in protest - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington In Trump's second term, about 70 government officials with nearly 450 years of experience have resigned in protest.

72 career officials with nearly 450 years of service have resigned in protest rather than compromise their oaths. When public servants of this caliber are driven out, it's an alarming signal that our democracy is under extraordinary strain.

CREW statement on bipartisan stock ban bill - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington The introduction of the Restore Trust in Congress Act is a huge step forward in the fight to ban congressional stock trading.

The introduction of bipartisan compromise legislation is a huge step forward in the fight to ban congressional stock trading. For years, we've fought for meaningful reforms to ensure that public servants are working in the best interest of the public—not their stock portfolios. Let's get this done.

Rep. Nick Begich did well with Bitcoin. He wants the government to own some, too. Begich spent $100 on Bitcoin in 2013. It's worth about $760,000 now. A bill he sponsored would make the government a big buyer of the cryptocurrency and create a "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve."

While legal, a member of Congress owning Bitcoin and promoting a bill that could raise the value of Bitcoin raises all sorts of red flags. We want members to be making decisions that are in the best interest of the country, not in their personal financial interest.

Political spending tops $900K at Trump properties since inauguration - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Political committees have spent $931,129 at Trump properties since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.

Political committees have spent $931,129 at Trump properties since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, according to a new analysis by @citizensforethics.org of FEC filings. This is one more stunning example of how Trump is profiting from his office.

Opinion | The brazenness of Trump’s profiteering is a billion-dollar scandal After leaving office in 2001, Bill Clinton signed a “record book deal” for $10 million. The amount of money Trump has made has no historical equivalent.

NEW: Donald Trump has profited from the presidency to the tune of billions. This is unlike anything the country has seen before, and it affects all Americans because it means our president may be acting for himself, not us. We cannot let it become the new normal. I explain why in @msnbc.com.

Court tosses lawsuit by Trump against Maryland federal judges, calling it 'potentially calamitous' A federal judge has dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Maryland’s entire federal bench, slamming it as “potentially calamitous.” U.S.

Note that the judge who just threw out in very strong terms Donald Trump's lawsuit against all the Maryland federal judges, noting that it was unprecedented and would offend the rule of law, was appointed by Donald Trump.

Seven months in, Trump’s revolving door reaching full swing White House staffers are already leaving the administration to cash in on their time there.

We should not let Donald Trump's unprecedented business conflicts of interest and authoritarian actions distract us from the regular, everyday corruption that is also happening--in this case, administration officials already leaving to cash in on their government work as lobbyists.

Trump bought $100 million in bonds from companies like T-Mobile and Meta this year Presidents aren’t required to divest potentially conflicted assets, but most except for Trump have anyway

Donald Trump has bought up tens of millions of dollars in debt from corporations whose value is directly affected by his policies. Just because he does it all the time does not mean we can be okay with the risk of him making key decisions in the interest of his own enrichment, not the country.

The endgame of Trump’s war on the judiciary - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Trump is engaged in a sustained, and deeply dangerous, effort to threaten and delegitimize our federal judges.

The courts have been one of the few effective checks on Donald Trump's extreme assertions of power. So Trump has effectively declared war on courts, most recently with a bogus ethics complaint against one of his top judicial targets. @greggnunziata.bsky.social and I explain why this is so dangerous.

The endgame of Trump’s war on the judiciary - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Trump is engaged in a sustained, and deeply dangerous, effort to threaten and delegitimize our federal judges.

NEW: Courts have fulfilled their constitutional responsibility by refusing to bless Trump's blatantly unconstitutional executive orders.

So Trump has declared war on the courts, rather than simply filing appeals. Read @greggnunziata.bsky.social and @noahbookbinder.bsky.social:

Appeals Court Gives Trump Admin Green Light to Proceed With Foreign Aid Cuts Wednesday’s ruling determined that only the head of the Government Accountability Office has the authority to sue under the Impoundment Control Act.

A court recently greenlit Donald Trump's cuts of billions of dollars of USAID funding, even though Congress had approved the funding. Undermining constitutional checks is dangerous, and it's a part of the administration's full-on power grab.

Bessent says he’ll push to end congressional stock trading House and Senate GOP leaders have sought to address bipartisan efforts to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is pushing for a ban on congressional stock trading while his failure to divest from his assets is raising concerns. All officials should behave ethically, including those in Congress--and the administration.

Spending transparency data posted by Trump budget office after court order Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that the apportionment information must be “promptly made public.”

The Trump administration took down a website required by law that showed whether or not it was spending money as required by Congress. @citizensforethics.org and others sued and won in multiple courts. Now the website is back, so the American people can see what money its government is spending.

Trump businesses seek to hire more foreign workers as his administration supercharges deportations - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington While the Trump administration supercharges deportations, President Trump’s own businesses are again seeking to hire foreign workers at his luxury properties.

Donald Trump has said that the growing immigration crackdown should include carveouts for the hospitality industry, which conveniently allows his companies to continue hiring foreign workers without fear of raids. The hypocrisy seems pretty stark.

At least 10 pardoned insurrectionists face other criminal charges - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington At least 10 January 6th insurrectionists pardoned by President Trump have already been rearrested, charged or sentenced for other crimes.

Let's not forget that at least 10 of the insurrectionists Donald Trump pardoned also face other criminal charges, suggesting that his concern about crime is selective at best.

If he really cared about public safety, he wouldn't pardon repeat offenders.

How Much Is Trump Profiting Off the Presidency? A comprehensive estimate of how much Trump and his family are making, from hotel mega-deals to crypto schemes, has been elusive—until now.

The New Yorker estimates Trump has made $3.4 billion from the presidency. I told them, "The American people ultimately don’t like people using public office to enrich themselves. It’s like a President turning a national park into his summer home—and, in this case, maybe building a skyscraper there."

Just to be clear: Donald Trump just threatened force against people who spit on police officers in DC. Also, in January, Trump pardoned January 6 insurrectionists who had violently assaulted DC police officers. So it feels like this is a bit more about his power than about looking out for officers.

How Trump is reshaping government data The Trump administration has influenced data used by researchers, economists and scientists — an effort that drew more attention after the president fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Objective data about what's happening is a key form of accountability for our leaders, showing how their policies are affecting people. Donald Trump's attack on data by stopping it from being collected and published, and even firing those in charge of it, is one more attack on accountability.

Up on the Roof, Trump Surveys the Home He’s Making His Own

Donald Trump raising money from donors for a White House ballroom is highly unusual. There is certainly a risk that donors to this project, which Trump has made clear is important to him, could see it as one more way to curry favor with the administration.

Trump fires labor statistics boss hours after weak jobs report The president implied that the BLS commissioner, long-time federal employee Erika McEntarfer, manipulated the data "for political purposes."

Donald Trump is firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics right after they reported weak jobs numbers. If firing someone in charge of statistics because the objective statistics make you look bad isn't some authoritarian nonsense, I don't know what is.

Corporate America has largely abandoned its post-January 6 promises on democracy - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Since the January 6 insurrection, over 2,000 corporate and industry group PACs have given over $174 million to members of the Sedition Caucus as well as Donald Trump and the new members of Congress wh...

Since the Jan. 6 insurrection, more than 2,000 corporate and industry group PACs have given over $174 million to members of the Sedition Caucus. These companies clearly miss the danger of choosing short-term economic interests over safeguarding democracy.