Friend, we’ve spent years watching Washington closely, and we need to be honest with you: We have never seen corruption operate this openly. From pay-to-play donations to the presidential inauguration, to projects like the White House ballroom, to no-bid contracts for businesses with ties to campaign contributors, to pardons for the rich and well-connected, to a Justice Department that dissolved its own crypto crimes unit as the Trump family’s crypto venture brought in an estimated $1.4 billion, we are in what can only be described as a corruption vortex.
Here’s the problem for you: every moment those in power spend making money is a moment not spent working for the people. Every no-bid contract handed to someone with the right connections is a door closed on fair competition. Corruption doesn’t just offend our sense of fairness; it drains resources, erodes trust, and leaves ordinary people footing the bill. That’s why, on Monday, POGO’s Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette testified before a group of Congress members not just to list grievances, but to lay out a concrete plan for closing the loopholes that let corruption thrive, no matter who’s in office. Our plan to fix this: |
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- Amend 18 U.S.C. Section 208 to cover the president and vice president. This is the law preventing government officials from making decisions on issues in which they have a financial stake.
- Codify a law that rescinds the Department of Justice’s internal policy that prevents a sitting president from being prosecuted for federal crimes while in office.
- Prohibit federal officials across all three branches from trading stocks and engaging in similar financial transactions — including crypto and prediction markets — while serving in their public positions.
- Prohibit prediction markets from allowing bets on certain categories of event contracts like war, terrorism, and electoral outcomes, as they put our troops and election systems at risk.
- Work with the Office of Government Ethics to identify the gold standard of previous presidential ethics pledges for incoming appointees and codify those standards.
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Left unchecked, corruption doesn’t stay contained. It becomes the norm, and future officials inherit a system with even fewer guardrails. Congress has the power to draw the line now, before that happens. You deserve a government that serves your best interests, not one that is twisted and abused for the benefit of those at the top. That’s the fight POGO is in. We will keep sounding the alarm bells and demanding accountability and reform. Thanks for being with us, friend. — POGO |
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https://prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/PGO/PGO/1/78922/gSX5sdOnnd2p-QdmI6DwzsaPPxks7SoaP7FK07ZQqoL_archive
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