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Taxpayers Submit UN Report Charging US Officials With Genocide in Gaza
"The United States government has continued to make possible, with massive arms shipments, Israel's genocide in Gaza," said one advocate. "The U.S. courts have failed to intervene. World bodies absolutely should."
Apr 07, 2025
In a 57-page report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday, grassroots groups representing thousands of U.S. taxpayers compiled what they said was "incontrovertible" evidence that U.S. policymakers are "directly participating in genocide in Gaza" and called on international authorities to intervene.
Taxpayers Against Genocide (TAG), a grassroots movement comprising 2,000 taxpayers and endorsed by several national progressive advocacy groups, submitted the report four months after the organization filed a federal class action lawsuit against members of Congress for "illegally using" tax dollars to fund Israel's assault on Gaza, which began in October 2023 in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack.
That case, targeting Democratic U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson, both of California, was dismissed in February, with U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria saying it posed a "political question" to the court—a ruling that TAG said "gave a green light to the ongoing unconstitutional allocation of tax dollars to fund genocide."
Tarik Kanaana, a Palestinian activist in California who was the lead contact for the report, suggested that with rulings like Chhabria's, "all three branches" of the U.S. government have ensured the country is "a full partner and bares responsibility for this genocide."
"The American people have no recourse within the U.S. political or judicial systems when it comes to their government's crimes against the people of the world," said Kanaana. "We, Americans who cannot accept our government's actions, are forced to appeal to international bodies to influence our own government to do what its citizens overwhelmingly want."
In TAG's report—endorsed by peace groups including CodePink, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP), and RootsAction—the organization points to "violations of U.S. obligations by the U.S. Congress and executive in committing residents' tax dollars—including those of Palestinian-Americans whose families have been decimated in Gaza" to support "an unfolding genocide in Gaza."
"We, Americans who cannot accept our government's actions, are forced to appeal to international bodies to influence our own government to do what its citizens overwhelmingly want."
International groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Médecins Sans Frontières have recognized Israel's bombardment and near-total humanitarian aid blockade—which have killed more than 50,000 Palestinians—as a genocide, while the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza last year and the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report filed by TAG details how the group believes members of Congress, President Donald Trump—who welcomed Netanyahu to the White House on Monday—former President Joe Biden, and other U.S. officials have broken federal laws and statutes forbidding the government from providing military support to countries that violate human rights, and international laws prohibiting genocide and apartheid.
In April 2024, 366 members of the U.S. House and 79 senators voted to send an additional $26.38 billion in aid to Israel, primarily for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), on top of billions of dollars in military support the U.S. had already provided since October 2023.
In addition to ignoring rising public opposition to Israel's U.S.-backed assault on a civilian population, said TAG, citing analyses by Amnesty International and HRW, "the April congressional votes were taken in the face of overwhelming evidence that the Israeli military was carrying out genocide in Gaza with U.S.-provided weapons and munitions."
The group also cited its lawsuit and another dismissed lawsuit filed last year by Defense for Children International-Palestine against Biden and members of his administration as evidence that U.S. taxpayers have been left with little recourse to stop their elected representatives from supporting genocide.
"International law and minimal human decency prohibit genocide," said Norman Solomon, national director of RootsAction. "But the United States government has continued to make possible, with massive arms shipments, Israel's genocide in Gaza. The U.S. courts have failed to intervene. World bodies absolutely should."
Additionally, TAG pointed to the grip that the pro-Israel lobby, empowered by the Citizens UnitedSupreme Court ruling that permitted unlimited corporate spending on U.S. elections, has on the political system—with politicians who speak out against Israel's violent policies in Palestine regularly targeted by anti-Palestinian groups. Powerful politicians like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Biden have also smeared demonstrators demanding a cease-fire in Gaza and an end to U.S. funding of the IDF as "antisemitic," while the Trump administration is overseeing the repression of anti-Israel speech and threatening colleges' funding if they don't join in cracking down on Palestinian rights advocacy.
"With insurmountable obstacles to accountability in the U.S. electoral and judicial systems and an increasing disregard of international human rights and humanitarian law by the U.S. government, intervention and oversight by the U.N. Human Rights Council is urgently needed to challenge U.S. repression and the impunity of U.S. legislators and officials for aiding and abetting genocide with U.S. tax dollars," reads the report.
Margaret DeMatteo, an attorney and one of the TAG report's lead authors, said the group's decision "to charge our own government with complicity in genocide is not just an act of accountability, it is an act of mourning."
"I carry the weight of documenting what should never be ignored: the U.S. government's complicity in genocide," said DeMatteo. "While we seek justice through words and international mechanisms, the people of Gaza endure unimaginable suffering—suffering that demands urgent action, not silence."
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Watchdogs Launch 'No Corporate Cabinet' Site Targeting Trump Appointees
"No Corporate Cabinet calls out the Trump administration for empowering those who prey on Americans on behalf of billionaires and corporations," explained one advocate.
Jan 27, 2025
A coalition of watchdog groups on Monday launched a "No Corporate Cabinet" website raising the alarm about "persons of interest" who were selected to serve in Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration.
"No American executive branch has ever been entirely free of corrupting influence—but this administration appears to be nearly free of anything or anyone that isn't corporate," said Jeff Hauser, executive director and founder of Revolving Door Project, in a statement. "No Corporate Cabinet will be a vehicle by which we can monitor the people who appear to be in government for the purpose of gaining greater wealth and power for themselves and their friends and family."
The website, NoCorporateCabinet.org, came just a week after Inauguration Day. Along with Hauser's group, it is backed by Demand Progress Education Fund, Justice Democrats, Progressive Change Institute, and RootsAction.
"No Corporate Cabinet will be a vehicle by which we can monitor the people who appear to be in government for the purpose of gaining greater wealth and power for themselves and their friends and family."
So far, it features six individuals: Paul Atkins, a Wall Street ally nominated to be Securities and Exchange Commission chair; Scott Bessent, a hedge fund founder and fossil fuel investor nominated to be treasury secretary; Frank Bisignano, a bank executive nominated to be Social Security Administration commissioner; Linda McMahon: a billionaire and former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO nominated to be education secretary; David Sacks: a Big Tech venture capitalist named as Trump's artificial intelligence and crypto czar; and Chris Wright, a fracking executive nominated to be energy secretary.
"Whether inside or outside of government, Paul Atkins... has spent his whole career undermining the federal government's regulation of Wall Street," states the website, highlighting his opposition to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, climate disclosure policies, and investors considering environmental, social, and governance factors. The site adds that he also "frequently disapproved of enforcement actions" and "has long disparaged progressive efforts to shape corporate behavior while praising conservative efforts to dominate politics."
Bessent—whom the Senate is set to vote on Monday evening—is "a former investor for billionaire George Soros" who "made a name for himself by bringing down the British economy in the 'Black Wednesday' scandal of the 1990s," the site says, pointing to investments in oil and gas as well as companies including Meta, Monsanto, and Palantir.
Bisignano "has spent his professional career working for the big banks, prioritizing the corporate profits of the financial industry over the concerns of everyday Americans, for example supporting organizations that support raising the retirement age," the website details. "Bisignano has no experience in government and should have no role in the Trump administration, he would simply represent yet another corporate voice who has been rewarded for their financial support of Donald Trump."
Although Trump has teased dismantling the U.S. Department of Education entirely, in the meantime, he has tapped scandal-plagued McMahon to lead it—despite allegations that she has, as End Rape on Campus CEO Kenyora Parham recently put it, a "documented history of enabling sexual abuse of children and sweeping sexual violence under the rug."
McMahon also "denied health oversight and coverage for her workers, helped bust unions, seems to have dodged federal lawsuits over widespread steroid abuse, ignored her workers' deaths," and " became something of a Republican megadonor," the new website notes. During Trump's first presidency, she led the Small Business Administration.
Sacks "reportedly did not want to step down from his VC firm, Craft Ventures," so he is serving in "a part-time, nonformal role" and "could serve up to 130 days a year without divesting or publicly disclosing his assets," the site explains. "Sacks' long and documented history as a vocal and inflammatory conservative voice does not bode well for the development of egalitarian AI models that prioritize public benefit over innovation."
The full Senate hasn't yet voted on Wright, but his confirmation hearing earlier this month was disrupted by the arrest of climate activists with the youth-led Sunrise Movement—whose executive director, Aru Shiney-Ajay, said: "The climate crisis is here. Oil and gas CEOs like Chris Wright have blood on their hands, and they have no place in our government."
Wright "was the CEO and co-founder of Liberty Energy, an oilfield service and fracking company, and sat on the board of small modular nuclear reactor start-up Oklo," which was "initially denied approval for a nuclear reactor in Idaho after providing inadequate information regarding safety measures," the new site says. "Wright regularly makes public statements downplaying the effects of climate change, carbon pollution, and the environmental impacts of fracking."
Sean Vitka, policy director at Demand Progress Education Fund, said Monday that "Wall Street, Big Tech, Big Pharma, dirty energy, and other corporate interests are only interested in maximizing profits."
"Executives, lobbyists, and donors are reshaping government services and regulatory oversight to enrich corporate America at the expense of everyday Americans," he added. "No Corporate Cabinet calls out the Trump administration for empowering those who prey on Americans on behalf of billionaires and corporations."
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Ahead of DNC Elections, Forum Urges Democrats to Leave 'Corporate Party' Behind
"If we're gonna win, the only path is representing regular, everyday Americans who are about to get screwed by Trump and the oligarchs," said the head of Our Revolution.
Jan 14, 2025
Amid intense nationwide debates about what Democrats should learn from devastating electoral losses to Republicans last November, progressive groups on Monday night held a two-hour virtual forum for candidates seeking Democratic National Committee leadership roles.
"This forum is different than the official Democratic forums that are now underway," Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, said in his opening remarks. His group organized the event with Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), RootsAction, and the State Democratic Party Progressive Network.
These organizations "represent the progressive, working-class base, the Warren-Sanders wing, of the Democratic Party," said Geevarghese, referring to U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose 2016 presidential campaign led to the formation of Our Revolution.
Participants in Monday's forum are preparing to face off against a Republican-controlled Congress and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to be sworn in next week. Since the GOP's November victories, Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, has been a leading critic of, in his words, "the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party."
Geevarghese similarly said Monday that "we don't believe, I don't believe, that the corporate hacks who got this party into trouble in the first place are gonna be the ones to save us," and "we need a Democratic Party that is on the side of America's working class."
"Give up on being the corporate party. Trump has got that locked up," he urged party leadership. "If we're gonna win, the only path is representing regular, everyday Americans who are about to get screwed by Trump and the oligarchs."
The DNC elections are scheduled for February 1, and The American Prospect last week published a previously secret list of "448 active members of the national committee, including 200 elected members from 57 states, territories, and Democrats Abroad; members representing 16 affiliate groups; and 73 'at-large' members who were elected as a slate appointed in 2021 by the party chairman, Jaime Harrison."
Harrison, who has been hostile to arguments that Democrats lost last year because working-class voters felt abandoned by them, is not seeking another term. Seven candidates to replace him joined Monday's forum: Quintessa Hathaway, Ken Martin, Martin O'Malley, Jason Paul, James Skoufis, Ben Wikler, and Marianne Williamson. Robert Kennedy Houton and Nate Snyder did not participate in the livestreamed event, which had over 25,000 viewers and is available below.
Since last month, Our Revolution has been circulating a petition that calls on Democratic Party leaders to adopt four key reforms: ban dark money in primaries and reject corporate money; invest in state parties and grassroots organizing; make the budget transparent and hold consultants accountable; and adopt a progressive platform and small-donor democracy.
During the forum, chair candidates were asked what they planned to do to curb the influence of corporate interests and lobbyists in the party, particularly dark money political action committees (PACs).
"We need to make sure we call out the dark money in our politics, and it's corrosive," said Martin, who chairs Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and is endorsed by several key Democrats from his state. "These billionaire donors and these large corporations who are trying to essentially subvert the will of the people, they do it by buying people off."
Martin said the party must ensure "that we are only taking money from people and entities that share our values" and pledged that under his leadership, the DNC wouldn't take money from corporations that are union-busting or "preying on" the most vulnerable people in U.S. communities, and would focus on small-dollar donor programs.
Wikler, who chairs the Wisconsin Democratic Party, called for building "a party strong enough to be able to resist the people who are trying to ransack this nation top to bottom, to divide us across our identities, to divide us by cutting us apart, in order to rip off everybody, no matter what our skin color is, no matter who we love, no matter how we pray or whether we pray."
He suggested that Democrats can fight big money in politics "by choosing the fights that we fight and choosing those not based on who's making donations, but choosing those based on actually delivering change in the lives of working people, and stopping the far-right ultrawealthy from rigging this country to ensure that working people don't have a voice."
Wikler is backed by key leaders in his state plus Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). He and Martin are widely seen as front-runners in the chair race, though Wikler has faced some scrutiny for his relationship with billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who has poured millions into Wisconsin politics.
Chair candidates were also asked about whether to reform the process for at-large members, and the responses were mixed, with some supporting a change to the bylaws and others favoring the current approach but recognizing the importance of being thoughtful about appointments.
The forum also featured remarks from two potential vice chairs, Shasti Conrad and James Zogby, as well as Jane Kleeb, who is running to head the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC), currently led by Martin.
Zogby is the founder of the Arab American Institute, a strong advocate of progressive priorities including Palestinian rights, and a longtime DNC member. He explained Monday that although he initially considered stepping aside after the last cycle, "to this day, I'm the only Arab American in a leadership role in the party and I'm not giving it up."
Sharing some of his frustrating experiences at the DNC over the past three decades, Zogby said that "we need accountability and transparency," particularly with the budget. He railed against a "sick, corrupt system" in which consultants "never lose an election" because they make money either way and called for investments in state parties.
In a Monday opinion piece published by Common Dreams hours before the forum, PDA executive director Alan Minsky wrote that "rank-and-file Democrats want a progressive party. Unfortunately, the defining feature of American politics in the neoliberal era is that money matters more than people. The heretofore dominant wing of the Democratic Party, aka the party 'establishment,' is first and foremost a money-raising behemoth."
"This is why progressives must bring their A-game," he argued. "Many party loyalists embrace centrist policies out of a misguided notion of pragmatism. Our goal is not to chase these Democrats away, but to persuade them to support something more ambitious and inspiring. We have a very compelling case to make on all fronts. We can win them over."
Calls for major shifts within the party aren't just happening in and around events for potential Democratic leaders—who participated in the first DNC-sanctioned forum on Saturday and are set to join another one co-hosted by Politico in Michigan on Thursday.
As Common Dreamsreported earlier Tuesday, the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group, and several allied organizations, launched an open letter calling on DNC leadership candidates to revive a ban on corporate donations to the committee and to prohibit super PAC spending in Democratic primaries.
Also on Tuesday, the PAC Justice Democrats—which helped elect leaders like Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.)—launched a 50-state effort to recruit "everyday, working-class people to run for Congress after a cycle of unprecedented spending from the billionaire class and right-wing super PACs in Democratic primaries."
"Until party leadership leads the way to take big money out of politics, ends the billionaire influence over our elections and policies, and puts the needs of working-class people back at the center of its agenda," said Justice Democrats, "voters will see its populist platitudes as lip service."
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