Public service should not be a pathway to profit. It’s time for real, enforceable rules to stop insider trading and conflicts of interest – because our government should work for us, not for their bottom line.
We’re tired of politicians using their influence for personal gain – making massive profits betting on events like war or government shutdowns. People in power should not be trading on events they influence or have inside information about.
A bipartisan bill was just introduced to ban members of Congress, the president, and senior officials from trading on prediction markets tied to political events and policy decisions. The PREDICT Act would also apply to their spouses, dependents, senior staff, and political appointees.
When freedom starts to look like something you can buy, it raises two basic questions: is justice equal – or are some people above the law? What precedent is being set if wealthy offenders can buy their way to a pardon?
The perception that freedom is for sale has outraged victims. It looks like paying the right person to deliver a message tailored to Trump’s politics or grievances matters more than showing remorse or a low likelihood of reoffending.
Pardon seekers are routinely offering $1 million or more, often with bonus payments tied to success. In total, lobbying firms disclosed nearly $5.2 million in payments last year from individual clients seeking clemency – likely only a fraction of the true spending.
Schwartz is one of several wealthy and white collar offenders who have received pardons from Trump, after making substantial payments to lobbyists or people close to Trump.
The Arkansas Attorney General, a Republican, had said Schwartz “didn’t just take advantage of our vulnerable population, he also preyed on Arkansans who worked in his facilities.”
Schwartz had served three months on a three-year sentence, after pleading guilty to several offenses related to allegations he endangered residents and cheated employees of a nursing home empire he ran in Arkansas.
One detainee, Joseph Schwartz, spent heavily on his clemency campaign – paying nearly $1 million to operatives, over $100,000 to a lobbyist, and thousands more to lawyers with connections to Trump allies – to secure a pardon.
A NYT investigation reveals a growing “pardon industry” has emerged around Trump. Wealthy offenders pay lobbyists and lawyers with ties to President Trump’s orbit to seek clemency – sometimes spending hundreds of thousands or even millions to try to secure a pardon.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/u...
Congress is ramping up debate on the SAVE Act this week.
If there’s ever been a moment to tell your member of Congress where you stand, this is it.
Call them. Email them. Speak up now.
represent.us/fairelections26
I learned a lot from the brilliant CEO of @represent.us @mariamcfarlandsm.bsky.social on today's show!
standupwithpete.libsyn.com/1552-maria-m...
When a handful of billionaires can pour millions into elections, it raises questions: Who is the government really working for? Who gets a seat at the table? Who gets left out? How do these donations affect elected officials and their decisions?
Now, he said, the country is nearing a point where wealthy people can legally spend millions to direct how our government runs.
A former Montana governor and chair of the Republican National Committee, Marc Racicot, says wealthy people used to avoid looking like they were influencing policy – and the law limited their contributions.
Billionaire money is influencing more than federal races. Ultrawealthy donors are also pouring money into state legislatures, city councils, school boards, and courts, helping shape policy on issues from taxes to education to housing, even in districts far from where they live.
Money at this level is reshaping our elections. According to the NYT, campaign spending pays for TV ads, targeted digital advertising, canvassing tech, and organizing – tools that can be decisive in tight races.
The scale of billionaire giving dwarfs ordinary donors’. In 2024, billionaire families gave an average of $10 million each–roughly the same as what 100,000 typical donors gave combined. That doesn’t even count money they contributed through dark money groups who don’t have to disclose their donors.
Five presidential elections ago, billionaire campaign money was almost nonexistent – just 0.3% of contributions before the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling that lifted many campaign finance restrictions. Today their share has exploded.
Billionaires are reshaping American politics. In the 2024 election cycle, 300 billionaires and their immediate family members donated more than $3 billion – about 19% of all federal campaign contributions, according to a New York Times analysis.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/u...
Fortunately, there’s a real solution pending in Congress: the bipartisan Restore Trust in Congress Act. It bans members, spouses, and dependent children from trading individual stocks, requires divestment, and imposes real penalties. If Congress wants trust, prove it.
Trump rightly said that we need to , “ensure that members of congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information.” But some proposals floating around Capitol Hill, including the bill he endorsed, the Stop Insider Trading Act, won’t actually do that.
In his State of the Union speech, Trump endorsed a ban on members of Congress trading stocks, drawing bipartisan applause in the chamber. If Congress is serious about ending insider trading, it needs to pass a bill that actually bans it – not one that leaves loopholes.
Holdings like this raise concerns about conflicts of interest. If you want to serve in Congress, you should not be able to trade individual stocks tied to federal policy. Tell Congress: ban congressional stock trading. No more conflicts of interest!
Last month, Suozzi voted to fund DHS and federal immigration enforcement – while Palantir has earned tens of millions from DHS contracts and secured more than $80 million in ICE obligations since Trump returned to office.
Suozzi bought between $1,001–$15,000 in Palantir in 2023. By the end of 2024, he valued those holdings at $15,001–$50,000. The stock has skyrocketed more than 2,000% over three years.
