Noah Bookbinder

@noahbookbinder.bsky.social

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President of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (@CREW). Former federal corruption prosecutor. Fighting for an ethical democracy.

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After years of ducking accountability for corruption, Sen. Bob Menendez has finally been convicted by a jury of his peers. There is no room in the Senate for a convicted felon, especially not one convicted of taking bribes. He must resign today or be immediately expelled.

CREW statement on Menendez guilty verdict - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org After years of ducking accountability for corruption, Sen. Bob Menendez has finally been convicted by a jury of his peers.

Reminder that @crew.bsky.social submitted an amicus brief back in April rebutting many of the bogus claims made by Justice Thomas and Judge Cannon in their attacks on Jack Smith's authority.

CREW files brief against Trump's Supreme Court immunity arguments - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org Presidents should not be beyond reproach and allowed to exist and operate above the law.

Judge Cannon's decision this morning is a lawless, outlier decision with no basis in statute or case law. It is deeply dangerous for accountability and checks and balances going forward. This decision should and assuredly will be appealed immediately.

CREW statement on Judge Cannon ruling - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org Judge Cannon ruling the appointment of the Special Counsel was unconstitutional is a lawless, outlier decision.

Signaling in advance that elections will be illegitimate is dangerous, and it's exactly the kind of rhetoric that helped lead directly to the January 6th insurrection.

Trump allies at Heritage declare 2024 election illegitimate in advancewww.washingtonpost.com A “war game” presented at the right-wing foundation imagined far-fetched scenarios for election interference to justify preemptive measures.

Justice Thomas’s serious misconduct, including consistent failure to report lavish gifts from a wealthy benefactor and repeated failure to recuse from cases in which he had a clear conflict of interest, requires thorough investigation and genuine accountability. I spoke with Jennifer Rubin.

Opinion | About time: Senators demand special counsel to investigate Clarence Thomaswww.washingtonpost.com For once, Attorney General Merrick Garland should act quickly.

NEW: The Supreme Court just finished its term; what will Justice Thomas be up to for the summer? @crew.bsky.social put together a new timeline of Thomas's wild 2019 summer with yacht trips, private jet flights, parties and games paid for by millionaires and billionaires.

A timeline of Justice Thomas's wild summer of 2019 - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org If past summer recesses are any indication, Justice Clarence Thomas could have a summer full of travel paid for by his billionaire friends.

NEW from @crew.bsky.social: Fake electors who participated in efforts to keep Donald Trump in power after he lost an election have been criminally charged in four states. We track the status of all the cases against fake electors: www.citizensforethics.org/reports-inve...

The cases against fake electors and where they stand - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org As part of Donald Trump and his allies’ nationwide effort to undermine the 2020 presidential election, 84 total fake electors across seven states signed false electoral certificates claiming that Trum...

After Jan. 6, corporations distanced themselves from Donald Trump. But @crew.bsky.social now finds one company maxed out to Trump's campaign, along with giving big money to affiliated groups. It's private prison giant GEO Group, which thrived during Trump's presidency and spent at his properties.

Private prison behemoth is first corporation to max out to Trump - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org The private prison behemoth GEO Group became the first corporation whose PAC maxed out to former President Donald Trump’s campaign in late February.

ICYMI: The Supreme Court granted sweeping immunity for presidents including for at least some aspects of Donald Trump's attempt to overturn an election. The next day, Trump reposted calls for jailing opponents and a military tribunal for Liz Cheney. www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/p...

Trump amplifies posts calling for televised military tribunal for Liz Cheney | CNN Politicswww.cnn.com Former President Donald Trump amplified posts on social media calling for a televised military tribunal for former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and the jailing of top elected officials, including Presid...

Today’s decision is dangerous and devastating. This threatens our system of democratic checks and balances by placing presidents above the rule of law, as well as throwing the future of Trump’s federal criminal cases into question. Our statement: www.citizensforethics.org/news/press-r...

CREW statement on presidential immunity decision - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org

Donald Trump asking oil and gas industry executives to raise him $1 billion and promising massive favors to the industry on day one may have gone beyond merely distasteful and crossed into soliciting a bribe. CREW yesterday asked DOJ and the FBI to investigate.

CREW files criminal bribery complaint on Trump meeting with oil and gas executives - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org The FBI and Department of Justice should investigate whether Donald Trump violated the law by promising political favors, if re-elected, to the oil and gas industry in exchange for $1 billion in campa...

The Supreme Court's delay in the presidential immunity case has gone from unacceptable to unconscionable. It's a straightforward question, they've decided harder ones (like Trump v. Anderson) much faster, and getting that case to trial this year is of immense nation importance.

Jared Kushner did extensive work in the Middle East for the Trump White House, including working on policies favorable to Saudi Arabia. He then formed a private equity fund with a $2 billion Saudi investment. Senate investigation is appropriate.

Senate Democrats launch investigation into Jared Kushner's businesswww.axios.com Kushner's private equity fund raised $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, just months after Trump left office.

Let's not lose sight of this transparency win in Florida, where an appeals court struck down Governor DeSantis's arguments that he could shield records from the public using executive privilege.

Appeals court rejects DeSantis push for executive privilegewww.politico.com The state court refused to engage with the governor’s arguments, which could have amounted to a significant expansion of his power.

I was a counsel for Senate Judiciary Committee during Justice Alito's confirmation hearing, and I heard him make serious commitments on ethics that he has not kept, and needs to. Don't want to take my word for it? @crew.bsky.social has the video:

What Justice Alito said on ethics and recusal in his confirmation hearingswww.youtube.com During Justice Samuel Alito’s confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court in January 2006, he committed to holding himself to an even higher standard for recusals than the judicial code of conduct required. He also represented himself as an impartial judge who would have no ideological agenda and repeatedly asserted that the president is not above the law. Alito’s commitments to impartiality and abiding by the highest ethical standards during his confirmation hearings stand at odds with his failure to recuse despite the clear conflicts at play in cases related to January 6th and the 2020 election.

ICYMI: Contrary to what Donald Trump is saying, the New York trial in which he was convicted was an example of the justice system working as it should. President Biden had nothing to do with it, and the DA, judge, and jury acted based on the facts and law.

Donald Trump was the only threat to the fairness of Trump’s NY trial - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org Trump was convicted of 34 felonies by a NY jury. It was an example of our criminal justice system working exactly as it is supposed to.

NEW: CREW pulled together key moments from Justice Alito's confirmation hearing, where—among other things—he promised to abide by the highest ethical standards as to when to recuse and said the president is not above the law.

What Justice Alito said on ethics and recusal in his confirmation hearings - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org Alito’s commitments to impartiality and abiding by the highest ethical standards during his confirmation hearings stand at odds with his failure to recuse despite the clear conflicts at play in cases ...

I spoke with Jessica Denson about the crisis of ethics and bias at the US Supreme Court, the threat posed by Donald Trump and others to our democracy, and what @crew.bsky.social is doing about it. Always great to be on @meidastouch.bsky.social's Lights On podcast.

Amazingly we are still learning about additional valuable gifts Justice Thomas received, that he should have disclosed, from a billionaire with an interest in the direction of the Supreme Court and in at least one case. Thomas should resign.

Harlan Crow Provided Clarence Thomas at Least 3 Previously Undisclosed Private Jet Trips, Senate Probe Findswww.propublica.org The Supreme Court justice flew to Montana and other destinations on the billionaire GOP donor’s dime. Crow’s lawyer revealed these flights to the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose ongoing investigatio...

Before heading off to Home Depot to pick up something for Fathers' Day, you might be interested to know that Home Depot scores a 383, that's 6th worst, in @crew.bsky.social's measure of companies giving the most support to those undermining democracy the most.

Bankrolling the Big Lie - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org We're scoring companies’ support for democracy based on how much they are giving to members who have done the most to undermine it.

A reminder that Justice Clarence Thomas appeared to violate the Ethics in Government Act by secretly accepting free trips with Harlan Crow, and the Department of Justice needs to investigate.

DOJ, Chief Justice must investigate Clarence Thomas - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonwww.citizensforethics.org Justice Clarence Thomas's failure to report GOP billionaire Harlan Crow's payments for Thomas's grandnephew's tuition requires investigation.

If you're an employee, customer, investor, etc. looking to see how your company has been doing on safeguarding or undermining democracy, @crew.bsky.social has the resource for you (spoiler alert, if it's AT&T, the answer is not good; if it's Airbnb, it's much better):

However politically expedient it might be, no one, including congressional Republicans, should forget that Donald Trump tried to keep himself in power after losing an election and incited an insurrection. Congress should strengthen our checks and balances.

Trump, seeking to show unity, to meet with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hillwww.washingtonpost.com It will be Trump’s first public visit to Capitol Hill since the Jan. 6 insurrection and his first meetings with congressional Republicans since his conviction.

NEW: Each aspect of what we witnessed in Donald Trump's New York trial was our criminal justice system working exactly as it is supposed to. I break it down and debunk bogus claims to the contrary in a new analysis piece:

A new study finds that Justice Thomas has likely received nearly $6 million in gifts over the past two decades. I don't even know how you do that, but the corruption is astonishing.

Clarence Thomas Accepted Millions in Gifts – Far More Than All Other Justices Combinedwww.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s extravagant, luxury lifestyle is fueled by millions in gifts from billionaire benefactors, but a new study puts into context just how extreme the 75-year old ju...

Bookmark this link. As part of @crew.bsky.social's Bankrolling the Big Lie report, we have a place where you can search for a company--if you're interested as a customer, employee, investor, etc.--and see how they are doing on supporting or undermining democracy.

The Supreme Court has now taken much longer on the Donald Trump immunity case, an easier case, than it did on the Colorado 14th amendment disqualification case. Disgraceful. The Court must decide now and allow this crucial case for accountability and democracy to move forward.

Check out this conversation I was lucky to have with Jon Stewart and Jane Mayer on the premier episode of The Weekly Show podcast about the unique threat to democracy posed by Donald Trump, but also the insidious money in politics issues that go much deeper. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQp7...

Democracy Under Threat | The Weekly Show with Jon Stewartwww.youtube.com Despite what cable news may have you believe, Donald Trump is not the sole threat to our democracy. This week, we’re peeling back the rhetoric and taking a look at where the vulnerabilities in our institutions lie. In conversation with Jane Mayer, chief Washington correspondent for the New Yorker magazine and Noah Bookbinder, President of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Jon explores the roots of our democratic dysfunction. From ever-multiplying dark money to shark tanking ideas for tax transparency, this episode has it all. Plus, hear from producers of the pod and get a taste for what you can expect in episodes to come! #TheWeeklyShowWithJonStewart #TheWeeklyShow #JonStewart #ComedyCentral Fact Check: Jane Mayer mentions that Jon said the FEC is about as useless as male nipples. It was, in fact, Jordan Klepper who said this. Follow The Weekly Show: X: https://www.x.com/weeklyshowpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weeklyshowpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@weeklyshowpodcast

It was truly wild to be able to speak with the incomparable Jon Stewart and the brilliant Jane Mayer about corruption, money in politics, the unique threat to our democracy right now, and what we can do about it on the first episode of the Weekly Show podcast.

‎The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart: Democracy Under Threat: The Soft Hum of Corruption on Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com ‎Show The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, Ep Democracy Under Threat: The Soft Hum of Corruption - Jun 6, 2024

The corporation doing the most to undermine democracy with its political giving, based on @crew.bsky.social's new report? Koch Industries. Companies that are close that you may run into more? AT&T, UPS, Home Depot, Comcast, Rocket Mortgage, FedEx. www.citizensforethics.org/reports-inve...