September, 10 2018, 12:00am EDT
Common Cause Calls for Immediate Hearings on Reports of White House Turmoil
WASHINGTON
Today, Common Cause called on Congress to uphold its oversight responsibilities and immediately investigate the alarming accounts of President Trump's "reckless" and "erratic behavior" since taking office that were made by a "senior official in the Trump administration" in an op-ed published anonymously in The New York Times last week. In a letter to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Common Cause urged immediate hearings on the disturbing reports of a President run amok and a nation being run behind his back by unelected senior officials.
"Americans deserve to know the truth behind these accusations that the President poses a severe enough threat to our nation that the cabinet weighed invoking the 25th Amendment in order to remove him from office, and that those same unelected officials are in effect running the nation to mitigate the damage that would be done by the President," said Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn. "The President and the administration described in the op-ed is one completely out of control and Congress must step in and determine the answers to critical questions concerning the issues raised. A shadow presidency is not among the constitutional mechanisms to address a president unable to discharge their powers and duties. It is past time for the Republicans in the majority in Congress to put their country before their party and provide investigatory oversight, because no legislation nor nominee is worth the potential threat to our democracy outlined in recent accounts of the Trump White House."
The letter urges Congress to demand answers from senior Trump administration officials regarding the extremely troubling accusations made in the op-ed. The portrait of the presidency depicted in the piece raises very serious questions about the President's fitness for office and how the nation is being governed and whom is calling the shots.
The letter emphasizes that our democracy "is threatened by ineptitude compounded by complicity of those in power who do not exercise their co-equal responsibility of providing a check against instances outlined" by the senior administration officials who wrote the op-ed. The letter urges key committee leadership to put country before party and do what is best for the nation.
To read the full letter, click here.
To read The New York Times op-ed, "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration, click here.
To view this release online, click here.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
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Brutal Murder of Insurance CEO Sparks Wave of Dark Humor, Including Fictionalized Denial of Coverage Letter
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The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside of a Manhattan hotel Wednesday has sparked a wave of dark humor and fresh fury at the for-profit U.S. healthcare system.
The barbs at UnitedHealthcare—the country's largest private insurer—included a mock denial of coverage letter posted to the subreddit r/nursing in a thread on Thompson’s murder.
"We regret to inform you that your request for coverage has been denied," the letter reads. "Our records indicate that you failed to obtain prior authorization before seeking care for the gunshot wound to your chest." The Daily Beastreported a spoof rejection letter was also posted to a since closed thread on r/medicine.
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The words "deny," "defend," and "depose" were found written on the ammunition used by the gunman, three words that partially echo the title of the book "Delay, Deny, Defend," which details how the insurance industry avoids paying claims.
In addition to dark humor, reactions to Thompson's assassination have brought to the fore the public's downright rage at the health insurance industry.
In the comment section of Common Dreams' coverage of the murder, one commenter wrote: "I guess if you steal people's labor and deny them healthcare in order to line your own pockets, you might occasionally expect retaliation." Another wrote: "For profit health care is unethical and immoral."
"Thoughts and deductibles to the family," read one comment below a video of the shooting posted by CNN, according to The New York Times. "Unfortunately my condolences are out-of-network."
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As Common Dreamsreported, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has expressed concern about the practices of data brokers—but as Trump's nominee to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a yet-to-be-created commission that would cut regulations and government spending, Musk has pledged to "delete" the CFPB.
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This story has been updated to include a statement from Public Citizen.
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