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For Immediate Release
December, 07 2023, 03:26pm EDT
Contact:
Henry Burke, burke@therevolvingdoorproject.org
The Revolving Door Project, A Government Ethics Watchdog, Alerts Media Of Possibility That CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam Is Considering Leaving Government To Cash Out In Private Industry
President Biden’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Has Used A Light-Touch Approach To Regulation Throughout His Tenure, Making A Lot Of Friends On Wall Street And In The World Of Cryptocurrency. He May Be The Biden Administration’s Highest-Profile Regulator To Revolve Thus Far.
In response to rumors that CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam is considering ending his tenure at the agency prematurely for a post in private industry, Revolving Door Project Executive Director Jeff Hauser released the following statement:
“Regulators taking positions with the industries that they were recently charged with reigning in is corrosive to good governance and public trust in government. This issue is magnified with the Commodities Future Trading Commission—an agency tasked with regulating the derivatives industry that crashed the global economy in 2007 and one that Behnam has thrust forward as a potential chief regulator of the fraudulent world of cryptocurrency.”
“Despite what many in Washington seem to believe, the revolving door between private industry and government not only has the image of impropriety, it is a genuine hindrance to effective policymaking. Government officials who know they will seek post-government employment with the industries they have regulated are incentivized to maintain a friendly if not openly deferential relationship.”
“Behnam’s choices at the CFTC could easily be seen through this prism. His recent decision to vote with Republican CFTC commissioners to enact a Trump administration-proposed weakening of swaps regulation well into the Biden administration is a great example of this, as is his cozy relationship with cryptocurrency companies including the now-bankrupt FTX and its criminal former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.”
“If Behnam does leave the CFTC years before his term expires to pursue a lucrative job with the industries he recently oversaw, President Biden should seize the opportunity to fill his vacated seat with a public servant dedicated to the furtherance of the public good rather than their own financial situation.”
The Revolving Door Project has submitted a FOIA request seeking records of communications between Behnam and the CFTC Acting Inspector or CFTC Agency Ethics Officials to monitor any official ethics disclosures on his potential future employment and will continue to file updated FOIA requests in the coming months. Any disclosures uncovered by these requests will be shared with the media immediately.
The Revolving Door Project’s Henry Burke and Kenny Stancil wrote a piece for The American Prospect on the potential of Behnam leaving the CFTC and the relative odds of his post-government employment. The piece can be read here.
The Revolving Door Project (RDP) scrutinizes executive branch appointees to ensure they use their office to serve the broad public interest, rather than to entrench corporate power or seek personal advancement.
LATEST NEWS
'Your Tax Dollars Being Used to Raise Your Gas Prices': US-Israel Bomb Major Iranian Oil Depots
Scenes from Tehran on Saturday were described as "apocalyptic" and widely condemned.
Mar 07, 2026
In what was described as a "major escalation" of an attack already denounced as an illegal war of choice, the US-Israeli military coalition bombed major oil depots and other fossil fuel infrastructure in and around Tehran on Saturday, unleashing huge fireballs, turning streets to fire, and sending plumes of black smoke into the night sky while garnering fresh condemnation from the international community.
"Your tax dollars being used to raise your gas prices," Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democrat running for the US Senate, said in reaction to dramatic footage of the explosions circulating online.
"Scenes from Tehran look apocalyptic," said Assal Rad, a fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, DC, sharing footage of the massive fire storm.
Scenes from Tehran look apocalyptic. This is a city of 10 million people.
pic.twitter.com/gVj2GvrJBI
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) March 7, 2026
Separate footage showed the Aqdasiyeh Oil Depot in flames with Iranian first responders trying to create a perimeter around the inferno:
'آتشسوزی انبار نفت اقدسیه از فاصله نزدیک'
ویدیوی دریافتی از سوهانک، انتهای بزرگراه ارتش #تهران'
شنبه ۱۶ اسفند #Iran #Tehran pic.twitter.com/ikqloDGwbm
— Vahid Online (@Vahid) March 7, 2026
"Iran is being destroyed," declared British journalist Owen Jones.
In the wake of last week's attack, ordered by US President Donald Trump and carried out in conjunction with Israeli forces, the price of crude futures jumped by 35%, which CNBC characterized as "the biggest weekly gain in the history of the futures contract dating back to 1983."
On Friday, Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, told The Financial Times that crude prices could reach $150 per barrel in the coming weeks if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed to tanker traffic. Kaabi warned this could “bring down the economies of the world," though Trump has said he is not worried about gas prices, saying Thursday: "If they rise, they rise."
Meanwhile, others on Saturday shared video of a city streets of Tehran blazing with fire as oil from a destroyed depot flowed into sidewalks and sewer tunnels.
Spill of oil in the sewage system has created a flowing burning river in parts of #Tehran after oil depots were bombed earlier tonight, setting the streets in the Iranian capital on fire. pic.twitter.com/tHIFE6Z5EW
— Living in Tehran (LiT) (@LivinginTehran) March 8, 2026
"I don’t know how many times I can say this but my god," said Iranian political commentator Kev Joon in a social media post, describing what he was seeing as "apocalyptic," unprecedented, and intentionally cruel.
"I have never seen something like this," he added. "These are gutters and streams that run the sides of streets on almost every street and alley in Tehran. They are destroying a city in ways we haven’t witnessed before."
According to the New York Times:
Iran’s Ministry of Oil said in a statement that multiple oil storage depots in the provinces of Tehran and Alborz had been targeted.
The Israeli military confirmed in a statement that it had attacked several fuel storage and energy complexes in Tehran, saying the facilities were being used by Iran’s armed forces. Israel’s military called it a “significant strike” aimed at dismantling the military infrastructure of the government.
"What is happening tonight is that US and Israel are targeting oil depots and desalination plants," said Joon. "These aren’t military targets. They’re the infrastructure of everyday life. This isn’t a liberatory war. It’s an attempt to break the backs of Iranian people."
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US Argues 'Emergency' of Iran War Means Israel Needs 20,000+ More Bombs Without Congressional Approval
'Who cares about Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and aggression?" asked one human rights expert.
Mar 07, 2026
The US State Department is hiding behind the war against Iran that was started by US President Donald Trump last week to justify an emergency order to ship more than 20,000 bombs—estimated at a value of $660 million—to Israel, skirting a pending approval process for the sale by Congress.
In a statement issued quietly on Friday night, the State Department said 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose, 1,000-pound bombs had been determined for approval, noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has "provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and defense services is in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act."
Not included in the statement, according to the New York Times, were additional parts of the sale that "include 10,000 bombs of 500 pounds each and 5,000 small-diameter bombs."
"This is an emergency of the Trump administration's own creation." —Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.)
According to the Times:
The State Department did not mention these details in the announcement, but two current US officials and a former, Josh Paul, who worked on weapons transfers at the State Department, said they were part of the emergency sale. The current officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive arms transactions.
This is the first time that the second Trump administration has formally declared an emergency, allowed under the Arms Export Control Act, to bypass Congress to sell arms to Israel. The administration has bypassed the informal approval process in Congress three times to sell arms or send weapons aid to Israel, but previously has not declared an emergency.
The push for the "emergency" arms sale comes as Israel pummels Lebanon with airstrikes, forcing an estimate 500,000 people or more in southern regions outside of Beirut to flee their homes. It also coincides with Israeli forces hitting targets in Iran alongside the US in what experts say is a wholly illegal attack on that country.
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, denounced the move by the Rubio in a Friday statement.
“Today's invocation of the Arms Export Control Act's emergency authority to bypass congressional review for two munitions cases to Israel exposes a stark contradiction at the heart of this administration's case for war," said Meeks. "The Trump administration has repeatedly insisted it was fully prepared for this war. Rushing to invoke emergency authority to circumvent Congress tells a different story. This is an emergency of the Trump administration's own creation."
Others also questioned the emergency sale, especially given Israel's record of genocide in Gaza over the last two years and its pivotal role in pushing the Trump administration toward a war of choice with Iran.
Meeks, in his statement, argued that key questions about Trump's war in Iran remain unanswered.
"What is the endgame? What preparations have been made to protect American citizens in the region? And how much will this war cost the American people?" asked Meeks. "The administration has provided no credible answers. The American people deserve answers, and Congress must demand them.”
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Rights Group Says Massacre at Iranian School—Likely by US—Should Be Investigated as 'War Crime'
"Trump loves putting his name on things, but this should be the only building for which he is remembered by history."
Mar 07, 2026
The bombing of a primary school by US-Israeli coalition forces in southern Iranian town of Minab that killed an estimated 160 or more civilians—mostly children—on February 28 should be investigated as a possible war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.
After reviewing satellite footage from before and after the strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school—as well as reviewing video taken in the wake of the bombing and other materials—the international human rights group said the available evidence indicates "that the attack was carried out by highly accurate, guided munitions, rather than errant weapons whose guidance or propulsion systems failed or were otherwise disrupted and randomly struck the area."
The attack on the school would be among the deadliest war crimes against civilians by US forces in years. Occurring on the first day of bombings of what President Donald Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dubbed Operation Epic Fury, the slaughter of schoolchildren—though the US has denied responsibility thus far—coincides with Hegseth repeatedly bragging that the US military would no longer follow "stupid rules of engagement" in the execution of its operations.
"The school was in use, and children were in attendance on the day of the attack," the group said. "Human Rights Watch found no evidence that would indicate that the school was being used for military purposes, though researchers were not able to speak to witnesses of the strikes, families of those killed, or other informed sources."
President Trump should hold Secretary Hegseth and everyone else responsible for killing Iranian children accountable, and bring this illegal, unnecessary war of choice to an end.”
According to HRW:
The United States should immediately assess its responsibility for this strike and make the findings public. If the US military carried out the strike, it should conduct a full investigation into the operational and policy failures that led it to strike a school, fully account for the civilian harm caused, hold those responsible accountable including through prosecution, and commit to changes that would ensure such failures will not be repeated in future operations.
Analyses of the bombing by various news outlets have provided strong evidence that US forces were the most likely culprits of the attack. HRW was told by an Israeli military spokesperson that it was “not aware of any [Israeli military] strikes in the area.” Hegseth said during a Wednesday press conference that the Pentagon was investigating the matter, but offered no further indication of concern in the matter.
During that same press briefing, as HRW notes in its analysis of the attack, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said that US forces from the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group were providing “pressure” in preceding days along the “southeastern side" of the Iranian coast as he pointed to an area of a map showing coalition bombings that included Minab.
“A prompt and thorough investigation is needed into this attack, including if those responsible should have known that a school was there and that it would be full of children and their teachers before midday,” said Sophia Jones, open source researcher with the Digital Investigations Lab at Human Rights Watch. “Those responsible for an unlawful attack should be held to account, including prosecutions of anyone responsible for war crimes.”
“Allies of the US and Israel should insist on accountability for the Shajareh Tayyebeh school attack and for an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure in all of their operations across the region, before more civilians, including children, are unlawfully killed,” she added.
Human Rights Watch is not the only one demanding an independent investigation.
"This mass killing of children is unconscionable. It bears the hallmarks of a war crime," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Friday after a New York Times investigation found that US forces were likely behind the strike. "Trump and Hegseth must answer for the US's role and they must be held accountable. People deserve the full truth. There must be an immediate and transparent investigation."
On Friday, as Common Dreams reported, another school in Iran was struck by US-Israel bombings, bringing the total number of schools hit to four in the first six days of the unprovoked military attack.
"The American people do not want their tax dollars spent on killing children in Iran, just as they did not want their tax dollars spent on killing children in Gaza," said the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in a statement. "The latest U.S.-Israel attacks on schools in Iran are blatant war crimes. So was the original slaughter of 180 schoolgirls that the Pentagon refuses to take responsibility for."
“Every child murdered or injured in these indiscriminate US-Israel bombing attacks is a sign that the Pentagon under Pete Hegseth is mimicking the tactics of the cowardly and genocidal Israeli military, which has mastered the art of bombing men, women, and children from afar," the group added. "The American people expect better from our armed forces. President Trump should hold Secretary Hegseth and everyone else responsible for killing Iranian children accountable, and bring this illegal, unnecessary war of choice to an end.”
While the war continues and Trump on Saturday said the people of Iran should expect bombing and destruction to increase not decrease over the weekend, voices for peace continued to demand a swift end to the violence and said the US president should forever be held responsible for unleashing such unnecessary bloodshed—including the specific devastation unleashed on the school in Minab.
"Trump loves putting his name on things, but this should be the only building for which he is remembered by history," said Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy, referencing the school where the massacre took place.
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