Trevor Potter Helps Craft & Launch the American Anti-Corruption Act

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Yesterday, Legal Center President Trevor Potter, along with a broad coalition of unexpected bedfellows from across the political spectrum, launched an effort to drastically overhaul the laws governing campaign finance, disclosure, government ethics and lobbying.   The far-reaching American Anti-Corruption Act is supported by prominent Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street activists, government officials, former lobbyists, legal scholars, and other experts of all political stripes and championed by the Represent.Us campaign.

The Anti-Corruption Act’s site credits Potter as the architect of the legislation:

“The Act was crafted by former Federal Election Commission chairman Trevor Potter in consultation with dozens of strategists, democracy reform leaders and constitutional attorneys from across the political spectrum. Mr. Potter was one of the chief architects of the McCain-Feingold law. The Act would transform how elections are financed, how lobbyists influence politics, and how political money is disclosed. It is a bold, sweeping proposal that would reshape the rules of American politics, and restore ordinary Americans as the most important stakeholders instead of major donors. The Anti-Corruption Act’s provisions enjoy support from progressives and conservatives alike. Constitutional attorneys confirm that the provisions are constitutional.”

The site also outlines in further detail the Act nine overarching goals:

  1. Stop politicians from taking bribes
  2. Limit super PAC contributions and “coordination”
  3. Prevent job offers as bribes
  4. Call lobbyists lobbyists
  5. Limit lobbyist donations
  6. End secret money
  7. Level the playing field with a small donor tax rebate
  8. Disclose “bundling”
  9. Enforce the rules

The first goal of the group is to collect one million citizen co-sponsors of the new law through a petition drive.

To read more about the American Anti-Corruption Act or to sign the petition, click here.

To watch a video of Trevor Potter discussing the Act, click here.