Tom Steyer’s Need to Impeach to File More than 200 FOIA Requests Demanding Information About Trump and Kushner’s Business Interactions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:                                                                                                                                         Erik Olvera, Head of Communications                                                                                                    Need to Impeach                                                                                                                                      Erik.Olvera@NeedtoImpeach.com                                                                                                          415-994-3242 Tom Steyer’s Need to Impeach to File More than 200 FOIA Requests Demanding Information About Trump and Kushner’s Business Interactions Requests, to be made on Freedom of Information Day, also seek information into cabinet members’ spending (SAN FRANCISCO, March 15)—Tomorrow, Tom Steyer’s Need to Impeach campaign will submit more than 200 Freedom of Information Act requests seeking government records of Donald Trump and Jared Kushner’s business interactions with federal agencies, cabinet members’ expenditures, and dozens of other requests that demand transparency from the Trump Administration and the federal government. The requests will be made on Freedom of Information Day, an annual event celebrating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the birthday of President James Madison, who was a fierce advocate of government transparency. The requests also raise the visibility of the Trump Administration’s refusal to provide information to the public and its rejection of more than 75% of FOIA requests. “Every single person across the country has a right to know if Donald Trump’s private business dealings are intertwined with the federal government and whether taxpayers are footing the bill,” said Steyer. “We are filing each and every one of these requests with the public’s well-being at heart. This president entered office with more conflicts of interest than any other in history, but because he and his family have skirted disclosure practices, we don’t know how those conflicts have influenced his administration. We need to lift the curtain to see if his inner circle’s financial entanglements with foreign governments have put our safety at risk, if they’re fleecing working people of their tax dollars, and if political appointees are exploiting their offices to enrich themselves.” The FOIA requests include inquiries about the following: Information about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into Apollo Management that was dropped just weeks after Jared Kushner received a large loan from the corporation. Details on federal support for a ferry service from downtown New York City to one of Jared Kushner’sprivate properties in Long Branch, NJ. Emails conducting federal business from private email accounts, potentially endangering national security. How much taxpayer money has been spent on Kushner’s Office of American Innovation, which aims to reduce federal bureaucracy but lacks any documented achievements. Expenditures by the offices of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and others. The Need to Impeach FOIA requests are part of a new public education campaign intended to raise the visibility of Trump and his family’s business dealings and the growing list of offenses that legal scholars agree surpass the standard for Trump’s impeachment. Just last week, the campaign launched a new ad analyzing the connections between Trump’s businesses, Russian investors, and potential interference with the 2016 election. Steyer launched the Need to Impeach campaign on October 20, 2017, through national television and social media ads. More than 5 million people have since signed on to support the campaign, creating a digital army that several political strategists call one of the most powerful political tools in the Democratic party. So far, six national commercials have aired, reaching more than 2 billion viewers through television and more than 454 million through social media. A seventh commercial—the first in Spanish—began airing nationwide this week. Learn more at www.NeedtoImpeach.com. ###

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