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Trump adviser attacks Public Citizen
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Robert Weissman, Public Citizen robert@citizen.org via mail.salsalabs.net
2:29 PM (1 hour ago)
to me
Update from Public Citizen
Peter,
Public Citizen is under attack from one of Donald Trump’s closest advisers.
Here’s what you need to know:
Carl Icahn is a notorious corporate raider with a net worth of $16.3 billion, making him the 43rd richest person on earth, according to Forbes.
He’s also a friend of Donald Trump.
And — lo and behold — Trump named Icahn a “special adviser to the president” on regulatory policy (which of course means DE-regulatory policy in this administration).
But Trump didn’t make him an actual employee of the federal government, allowing Icahn to keep his extensive investment portfolio.
So Icahn is “advising” Trump on which regulations to slash and burn, including regulations that directly impact Icahn’s investments.
For example, Icahn recently pushed the administration to change an obscure government rule about ethanol. When the proposal was announced, his stock jumped $126 million overnight.
And if the change goes into effect, Icahn reportedly would pocket another $200 million a year.
I really don’t know how much more blatant a conflict of interest there could be.
That’s why Public Citizen submitted a formal request to Congress yesterday that it determine whether Icahn is in compliance with federal lobbying laws.
He responded with a diatribe attacking Public Citizen in The Hill — a highly influential newspaper here in Washington, D.C., that is read throughout Congress and the rest of the government.
Icahn compared our work to “fake news” and asserted that we are on a “witch hunt” underwritten by “dark forces.”
Let me repeat:
An already obscenely rich man — who may make hundreds of millions more by having Trump’s ear — just called Public Citizen’s supporters “dark forces.”
Well, it’s thanks to hundreds of thousands of everyday people like you, all over America, that we’ve been standing up to powerful (if thin-skinned) corporate titans like Carl Icahn for 46 years and counting.
And we have no intention of backing down.
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Not ever.
So I just wanted to say, “Thank you!”
Thank you for signing petitions, emailing and calling your members of Congress, donating, and doing all the other things you do that make this shared project called Public Citizen so effective and so resolute.
Onward,
Robert Weissman
President, Public Citizen
P.S. It takes a lot of resources to fight the Trump Regime and billionaires like Carl Icahn day in and day out. If you can, please chip in today or even join our monthly giving program.
P.P.S And stay tuned — we’ve challenged Icahn to debate us on live television.
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