If you’re a liberal activist or union member, the Trump administration wants to know everything about you. But if you’re a foreign oligarch laundering money, you can count on it looking the other way.
James Baratta
James Baratta is a writing fellow at The American Prospect. He previously worked as a reporter at MandateWire from the Financial Times. His work has appeared in Truthout, Politico, and The Progressive. James is a graduate of Ithaca College and a life-long member of the Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society. He is currently based in New York City.
Posted inTransportation
Regulators Finally Poised to Review America’s Biggest Rail Merger
The $85 billion proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. Workers, shippers, and even business rivals are against it.
Posted inTAP
The Great ‘Made in the USA’ Gambit
Amazon and Walmart are well equipped to detect deceptive claims about where products are made. Their own AI chatbots describe the choice not to act as a business decision.
Posted inPolitics
Jay Clayton’s Subpoena Slop Job
The Justice Department is dropping its subpoenas of New York Times journalists. The episode may make it impossible to extend the government’s warrantless spying program.
Posted inEducation in America
Student Loan Borrowers Beware
President Trump’s overhaul of the federal student loan system is now underway. It seems to have inadvertently expedited a legal challenge to his alleged shadow repeal of a repayment plan established more than a decade ago.
Posted inPolitics
Clayton’s Trump Loyalty Becomes a Problem for Warrantless Spying
Critics say Jay Clayton, fast-tracked to be confirmed as director of national intelligence, is poised to run point on election interference for President Trump.
Posted inPolitics
Pop-Up Super PAC Plays Dirty in Colorado’s First Congressional District
The dark money flowing into the Democratic primary pitting entrenched 15-term incumbent
Rep. Diana DeGette against progressive insurgent Melat Kiros has helped energize Kiros’s
campaign.
Posted inPolitics
Reclaiming the Majority Is One Way to End Warrantless Surveillance
Flipping either one or both chambers of Congress could give Democrats enough leverage to force fair votes on privacy reform, but ending warrantless surveillance remains an uphill battle.
Posted inEnergy and the Environment
Blackstone’s Utility Gambit in New Mexico Could Slip Away
Both the firm and the utility company it’s trying to take private face potential maximum fines and a hard reset of the acquisition process for flouting New Mexico state law.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Ultimate Fighting Beyond the South Lawn
President Trump is helping Dana White implant UFC in the cultural mainstream with a fight night at the White House. But MMA athletes say they’ve been shortchanged.