Elizabeth Warren even has a plan to fight presidential corruption
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe may be on its last legs, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) isn't done sniffing out possible corruption.
On Wednesday, Warren led a coalition of 30 Democrats in reintroducing what's called the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act in the Senate. The bill would require the president, vice president, and their families to disclose and divest from potential conflicts of interests, and adds to Warren's bevvy of policies and promises she's compiled so far in her 2020 run.
Warren first proposed the act with 23 other senators in January 2017, and picked up a few more supporters — including all the Democratic senators running for president — this time around. It follows her 2018 anti-corruption act that would crack down on lobbying and boost government transparency, and a few probes into other alleged conflicts of interest in the Trump administration.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This act in particular is a very clear rebuke of President Trump, seeing as Warren explicitly said in a Wednesday statement that "corruption has always been the central stain of this presidency." If enacted before Trump's term ends, it would force him to completely disclose his business investments and put potential conflicting interests in a blind trust. Violating the act would be an impeachable offense.
The conflicts of interest bill is also an obvious follow-up to the largely-wrapped Mueller report, from which Attorney General William Barr declined to indict the president, The Washington Post's Greg Sargent writes. Interest in Trump's alleged corruption is at its peak, giving Warren momentum to press this bill further than it got before, Sargent explains.
Read Sargent's breakdown of the bill at The Washington Post, or read Warren's whole proposal here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setback
Speed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump case
Speed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdown
Speed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdown
Speed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdown
Speed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorism
Speed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about Bidens
Speed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes charges
Speed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published