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Larry Summers
is confirming rumors that he plans on leaving his job as the
President's chief economic adviser at the end of the year. While some
may consider this a panicky attempt to hightail it out the door before
he is blamed for significant Democratic losses this election cycle, I
see it in a more positive light. Just think of the reception he will
receive when he returns to Wall Street!
Larry Summers
is confirming rumors that he plans on leaving his job as the
President's chief economic adviser at the end of the year. While some
may consider this a panicky attempt to hightail it out the door before
he is blamed for significant Democratic losses this election cycle, I
see it in a more positive light. Just think of the reception he will
receive when he returns to Wall Street!
On Wall Street, Summers will be greeted like a conquering hero. Never
have so many financiers been made so rich because of the actions of one
man. Plus, he can go back to that genius Wall Street salary. When he
worked for one world's largest hedge funds, D.E. Shaw, he worked one day a week and
earned $5.2 million before being picked by Obama to head the National
Economic Council. Ka-ching! There will be plenty of time for him to
teach a class Harvard (although you can be sure they won't let him
anywhere near that endowment again.)
A Resume Only Wall Street Could Love
Summers has a long resume that makes him an ideal candidate for a job
on the Street. For years, he promoted the concept of "a post-industrial
age" where manufacturing takes a back seat. An expression he was fond
of repeating was, "Financial markets do not just oil the wheels of
economic growth. They are the wheels." And has he worked very hard his
entire career to grease those wheels.
Between 1992 and 2001, Summers held various positions in the U.S. Treasury Department,
including that of Treasury Secretary from 1999 to 2001. Summers has
described the 1990's as a time when "important steps" were taken to
achieve "deregulation in key sectors of the economy" such as financial
services. He has also said that during this period, government officials
and private financial interests collaborated in a spirit of cooperation
"to provide the right framework for our financial industry to thrive."
Role in the elimination of Glass-Steagall: Along with Robert Rubin and Alan Greenspan, Summers brought about elimination of key U.S. financial regulations, including the Glass-Steagall Act.
Summers argued for elimination of the Glass-Steagall Act by saying it
imposed "archaic financial restrictions. "Our leadership of the world's
financial markets would be enhanced. And consumers would see the
benefits in the form of greater innovation and lower prices." That
"innovation" led directly to the formation of "too big to fail firms"
that were allowed to gamble in the securities market like never before,
and which were a key contributor to the collapse of the global economy.
Role in killing derivatives reform: Summers was
particularly aggressive in his efforts to block regulations of
derivatives, regulations that might have prevented the 2008 economic
meltdown. While he was at the Treasury Department, his enthusiasm for
financial deregulation conflicted with the views of Brooksley Born,
Chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CTFC). Born had
extensive experience working as a lawyer in the derivatives area, and
was concerned about the lack of transparency in this multi-trillion
dollar financial market. Summers collaborated with Alan Greenspan,
Robert Rubin, and Arthur Levitt to block Born's efforts to regulate this
burgeoning market.
According to New York Times reporter Timothy O'Brien,
"They were all part of a very concerted effort to shut her up and to
shut her down. And they did, in fact, shut her up and shut her down. Bob
Rubin is not a guy who likes confrontation. He's confrontation-averse.
But he understands that you need someone in there who can swing a heavy
axe, and that person was Larry Summers. He was the enforcer."
Former CFTC attorney Michael Greenberger has recounted how Summers
called Born personally to accuse her of risking a major financial crisis
with her proposal to bring transparency to the derivatives market.
Summers echoed the concerns of the "13 Bankers"
who were in his office at the time he made the call to Born, a
conversation that gave birth to the title of Simon Johnson's great book,
13 Bankers, about the history of the financial crisis.
Role in the Enron Crisis: When he was about to take office as Treasury Secretary, Summers received a congratulatory letter from Ken Lay, the President of Enron
Corporation. The letter was addressed "Dear Larry." In his response
addressed to "Ken," Summers promised, "I'll keep my eye on power
deregulation and energy-market infrastructure issues." And he did.
During California's energy crisis in 2000, Summers rejected the idea
that energy companies like Enron were manipulating the market and
gouging consumers. He opposed Governor Gray Davis' plan for government
intervention with price controls, claiming "This is classic supply and
demand. The only way to fix this is ultimately by allowing retail prices
to go wherever they have to go."
Role in Harvard's Financial Losses: Summers became
President of Harvard University in 2001 and resigned under a cloud in
2006, leaving behind a ticking time bomb of interest rate swaps that he
helped negotiate in 2004. According to Bloomberg,
"the swaps, which assumed that interest rates would rise, proved so
toxic that the 373-year-old institution agreed to pay banks a total of
almost $1 billion to terminate them."
Role in the Bailout and Stimulus: Summers had a key role in determining the size of the federal bailout of the financial services industry (all government programs add up to $4.7 trillion)
and of the economic stimulus package the Obama administration submitted
to Congress ($787 billion). The stimulus package was much smaller than
what was being recommended by many economists, and as a result, the U.S.
has been stuck at near double digit unemployment for almost two years.
Last year, economist Paul Krugman warned that while cutting the size of
the stimulus might get more Republican votes, it would fail to
significantly reduce unemployment. This failure would then be blamed on
the Democrats and be used to argue that government spending does not
work. Krugman's prediction has held true.
Today, Wall Street is bouncing back with healthy profit margins and
even healthier bonuses, while Main Street is still mired in the Great
Recession. Because Obama is seen as doing too little for the middle
class, Democrats are likely to suffer steep losses this November.
The sooner Obama replaces Summers with a competent economist, the
better. There's a high-speed Acela train leaving for Wall Street at 2:00
p.m. today, perhaps Vice President Biden will be kind enough to show
Mr. Summers the way?
This article was based on the original research by the Center for Media and Democracy in our Sourcewatch Wikipedia.
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Larry Summers
is confirming rumors that he plans on leaving his job as the
President's chief economic adviser at the end of the year. While some
may consider this a panicky attempt to hightail it out the door before
he is blamed for significant Democratic losses this election cycle, I
see it in a more positive light. Just think of the reception he will
receive when he returns to Wall Street!
On Wall Street, Summers will be greeted like a conquering hero. Never
have so many financiers been made so rich because of the actions of one
man. Plus, he can go back to that genius Wall Street salary. When he
worked for one world's largest hedge funds, D.E. Shaw, he worked one day a week and
earned $5.2 million before being picked by Obama to head the National
Economic Council. Ka-ching! There will be plenty of time for him to
teach a class Harvard (although you can be sure they won't let him
anywhere near that endowment again.)
A Resume Only Wall Street Could Love
Summers has a long resume that makes him an ideal candidate for a job
on the Street. For years, he promoted the concept of "a post-industrial
age" where manufacturing takes a back seat. An expression he was fond
of repeating was, "Financial markets do not just oil the wheels of
economic growth. They are the wheels." And has he worked very hard his
entire career to grease those wheels.
Between 1992 and 2001, Summers held various positions in the U.S. Treasury Department,
including that of Treasury Secretary from 1999 to 2001. Summers has
described the 1990's as a time when "important steps" were taken to
achieve "deregulation in key sectors of the economy" such as financial
services. He has also said that during this period, government officials
and private financial interests collaborated in a spirit of cooperation
"to provide the right framework for our financial industry to thrive."
Role in the elimination of Glass-Steagall: Along with Robert Rubin and Alan Greenspan, Summers brought about elimination of key U.S. financial regulations, including the Glass-Steagall Act.
Summers argued for elimination of the Glass-Steagall Act by saying it
imposed "archaic financial restrictions. "Our leadership of the world's
financial markets would be enhanced. And consumers would see the
benefits in the form of greater innovation and lower prices." That
"innovation" led directly to the formation of "too big to fail firms"
that were allowed to gamble in the securities market like never before,
and which were a key contributor to the collapse of the global economy.
Role in killing derivatives reform: Summers was
particularly aggressive in his efforts to block regulations of
derivatives, regulations that might have prevented the 2008 economic
meltdown. While he was at the Treasury Department, his enthusiasm for
financial deregulation conflicted with the views of Brooksley Born,
Chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CTFC). Born had
extensive experience working as a lawyer in the derivatives area, and
was concerned about the lack of transparency in this multi-trillion
dollar financial market. Summers collaborated with Alan Greenspan,
Robert Rubin, and Arthur Levitt to block Born's efforts to regulate this
burgeoning market.
According to New York Times reporter Timothy O'Brien,
"They were all part of a very concerted effort to shut her up and to
shut her down. And they did, in fact, shut her up and shut her down. Bob
Rubin is not a guy who likes confrontation. He's confrontation-averse.
But he understands that you need someone in there who can swing a heavy
axe, and that person was Larry Summers. He was the enforcer."
Former CFTC attorney Michael Greenberger has recounted how Summers
called Born personally to accuse her of risking a major financial crisis
with her proposal to bring transparency to the derivatives market.
Summers echoed the concerns of the "13 Bankers"
who were in his office at the time he made the call to Born, a
conversation that gave birth to the title of Simon Johnson's great book,
13 Bankers, about the history of the financial crisis.
Role in the Enron Crisis: When he was about to take office as Treasury Secretary, Summers received a congratulatory letter from Ken Lay, the President of Enron
Corporation. The letter was addressed "Dear Larry." In his response
addressed to "Ken," Summers promised, "I'll keep my eye on power
deregulation and energy-market infrastructure issues." And he did.
During California's energy crisis in 2000, Summers rejected the idea
that energy companies like Enron were manipulating the market and
gouging consumers. He opposed Governor Gray Davis' plan for government
intervention with price controls, claiming "This is classic supply and
demand. The only way to fix this is ultimately by allowing retail prices
to go wherever they have to go."
Role in Harvard's Financial Losses: Summers became
President of Harvard University in 2001 and resigned under a cloud in
2006, leaving behind a ticking time bomb of interest rate swaps that he
helped negotiate in 2004. According to Bloomberg,
"the swaps, which assumed that interest rates would rise, proved so
toxic that the 373-year-old institution agreed to pay banks a total of
almost $1 billion to terminate them."
Role in the Bailout and Stimulus: Summers had a key role in determining the size of the federal bailout of the financial services industry (all government programs add up to $4.7 trillion)
and of the economic stimulus package the Obama administration submitted
to Congress ($787 billion). The stimulus package was much smaller than
what was being recommended by many economists, and as a result, the U.S.
has been stuck at near double digit unemployment for almost two years.
Last year, economist Paul Krugman warned that while cutting the size of
the stimulus might get more Republican votes, it would fail to
significantly reduce unemployment. This failure would then be blamed on
the Democrats and be used to argue that government spending does not
work. Krugman's prediction has held true.
Today, Wall Street is bouncing back with healthy profit margins and
even healthier bonuses, while Main Street is still mired in the Great
Recession. Because Obama is seen as doing too little for the middle
class, Democrats are likely to suffer steep losses this November.
The sooner Obama replaces Summers with a competent economist, the
better. There's a high-speed Acela train leaving for Wall Street at 2:00
p.m. today, perhaps Vice President Biden will be kind enough to show
Mr. Summers the way?
This article was based on the original research by the Center for Media and Democracy in our Sourcewatch Wikipedia.
Larry Summers
is confirming rumors that he plans on leaving his job as the
President's chief economic adviser at the end of the year. While some
may consider this a panicky attempt to hightail it out the door before
he is blamed for significant Democratic losses this election cycle, I
see it in a more positive light. Just think of the reception he will
receive when he returns to Wall Street!
On Wall Street, Summers will be greeted like a conquering hero. Never
have so many financiers been made so rich because of the actions of one
man. Plus, he can go back to that genius Wall Street salary. When he
worked for one world's largest hedge funds, D.E. Shaw, he worked one day a week and
earned $5.2 million before being picked by Obama to head the National
Economic Council. Ka-ching! There will be plenty of time for him to
teach a class Harvard (although you can be sure they won't let him
anywhere near that endowment again.)
A Resume Only Wall Street Could Love
Summers has a long resume that makes him an ideal candidate for a job
on the Street. For years, he promoted the concept of "a post-industrial
age" where manufacturing takes a back seat. An expression he was fond
of repeating was, "Financial markets do not just oil the wheels of
economic growth. They are the wheels." And has he worked very hard his
entire career to grease those wheels.
Between 1992 and 2001, Summers held various positions in the U.S. Treasury Department,
including that of Treasury Secretary from 1999 to 2001. Summers has
described the 1990's as a time when "important steps" were taken to
achieve "deregulation in key sectors of the economy" such as financial
services. He has also said that during this period, government officials
and private financial interests collaborated in a spirit of cooperation
"to provide the right framework for our financial industry to thrive."
Role in the elimination of Glass-Steagall: Along with Robert Rubin and Alan Greenspan, Summers brought about elimination of key U.S. financial regulations, including the Glass-Steagall Act.
Summers argued for elimination of the Glass-Steagall Act by saying it
imposed "archaic financial restrictions. "Our leadership of the world's
financial markets would be enhanced. And consumers would see the
benefits in the form of greater innovation and lower prices." That
"innovation" led directly to the formation of "too big to fail firms"
that were allowed to gamble in the securities market like never before,
and which were a key contributor to the collapse of the global economy.
Role in killing derivatives reform: Summers was
particularly aggressive in his efforts to block regulations of
derivatives, regulations that might have prevented the 2008 economic
meltdown. While he was at the Treasury Department, his enthusiasm for
financial deregulation conflicted with the views of Brooksley Born,
Chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CTFC). Born had
extensive experience working as a lawyer in the derivatives area, and
was concerned about the lack of transparency in this multi-trillion
dollar financial market. Summers collaborated with Alan Greenspan,
Robert Rubin, and Arthur Levitt to block Born's efforts to regulate this
burgeoning market.
According to New York Times reporter Timothy O'Brien,
"They were all part of a very concerted effort to shut her up and to
shut her down. And they did, in fact, shut her up and shut her down. Bob
Rubin is not a guy who likes confrontation. He's confrontation-averse.
But he understands that you need someone in there who can swing a heavy
axe, and that person was Larry Summers. He was the enforcer."
Former CFTC attorney Michael Greenberger has recounted how Summers
called Born personally to accuse her of risking a major financial crisis
with her proposal to bring transparency to the derivatives market.
Summers echoed the concerns of the "13 Bankers"
who were in his office at the time he made the call to Born, a
conversation that gave birth to the title of Simon Johnson's great book,
13 Bankers, about the history of the financial crisis.
Role in the Enron Crisis: When he was about to take office as Treasury Secretary, Summers received a congratulatory letter from Ken Lay, the President of Enron
Corporation. The letter was addressed "Dear Larry." In his response
addressed to "Ken," Summers promised, "I'll keep my eye on power
deregulation and energy-market infrastructure issues." And he did.
During California's energy crisis in 2000, Summers rejected the idea
that energy companies like Enron were manipulating the market and
gouging consumers. He opposed Governor Gray Davis' plan for government
intervention with price controls, claiming "This is classic supply and
demand. The only way to fix this is ultimately by allowing retail prices
to go wherever they have to go."
Role in Harvard's Financial Losses: Summers became
President of Harvard University in 2001 and resigned under a cloud in
2006, leaving behind a ticking time bomb of interest rate swaps that he
helped negotiate in 2004. According to Bloomberg,
"the swaps, which assumed that interest rates would rise, proved so
toxic that the 373-year-old institution agreed to pay banks a total of
almost $1 billion to terminate them."
Role in the Bailout and Stimulus: Summers had a key role in determining the size of the federal bailout of the financial services industry (all government programs add up to $4.7 trillion)
and of the economic stimulus package the Obama administration submitted
to Congress ($787 billion). The stimulus package was much smaller than
what was being recommended by many economists, and as a result, the U.S.
has been stuck at near double digit unemployment for almost two years.
Last year, economist Paul Krugman warned that while cutting the size of
the stimulus might get more Republican votes, it would fail to
significantly reduce unemployment. This failure would then be blamed on
the Democrats and be used to argue that government spending does not
work. Krugman's prediction has held true.
Today, Wall Street is bouncing back with healthy profit margins and
even healthier bonuses, while Main Street is still mired in the Great
Recession. Because Obama is seen as doing too little for the middle
class, Democrats are likely to suffer steep losses this November.
The sooner Obama replaces Summers with a competent economist, the
better. There's a high-speed Acela train leaving for Wall Street at 2:00
p.m. today, perhaps Vice President Biden will be kind enough to show
Mr. Summers the way?
This article was based on the original research by the Center for Media and Democracy in our Sourcewatch Wikipedia.
The president signaled an end to birthright citizenship and a prompt start to deportation raids as migrants at the southern border were barred from entering the U.S.
President Donald Trump had barely finished his inauguration speech Monday when his anti-immigration agenda's human impact became clear, with families at the U.S.-Mexico border learning their existing appointments with Customs and Border Protection had been cancelled after waiting months to speak with officials about applying for asylum.
Arelis R. Hernández of The Washington Post was among the journalists who shared the stories of devastated migrants on Monday, posting a video of one person who had been determined to enter the U.S. through a port of entry.
"Existing appointments are no longer valid," read a message on the CBP One app that was launched by the Biden administration, following Trump's inauguration speech in which he detailed several anti-immigration executive orders that he planned to sign immediately.
The app was rendered inoperable after Trump pledged to declare a "national emergency at the southern border" and said that "all illegal entry will immediately be halted," with administration officials beginning "the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came"—a reference to Trump's mass deportation plan that was a signature theme of his election campaign.
Ahead of Trump's inauguration, Pope Francis was among the faith leaders who condemned his anti-immigration agenda, saying he was praying that under the second Trump administration, Americans "will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination, or exclusion."
If Trump moves forward with his mass deportation plan, said the pope, "this will be a disgrace."
"That's not how things are resolved," said Pope Francis.
Trump's "border czar," Thomas Homan, who previously served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), attempted to backtrack on Saturday regarding details of an administration plan to launch immigration raids across Chicago just after Inauguration Day.
"ICE will start arresting public safety threats and national security threats on day one," Homan told the Post. "This is nationwide thing. We're not sweeping neighborhoods. We have a targeted enforcement plan."
But other incoming Trump officials, including Homan, have previously said that any of the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in the United States could be targeted as the administration begins enforcement immediately.
Homan said in December that—contrary to the hope expressed by Pope Francis ahead of the inaugural speech—the administration is planning to "set up a phone line for members of the public to alert immigration authorities to undocumented people in their communities."
Chris Thomas, an attorney with the law firm Holland & Hart, who has represented people and businesses swept up in immigration raids, told Forbes that the Trump administration is likely to target workplaces without providing any notice to business owners as a way of generating publicity.
"When the government encourages [informing authorities about undocumented people], we've seen people turning in ex-boyfriends, ex-girlfriends, business competitors, and neighbors they don't like," Thomas told Forbes.
Trump said Monday that he plans to promptly end birthright citizenship via executive order, reinterpreting the 14th Amendment and excluding from its protections U.S.-born babies whose parents were born outside the country. Legal scholars have signaled such a move would be challenged in court.
Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of the immigrant rights group America's Voice, noted that Trump's "radical plan for mass deportations is not what the American people want, especially when they learn the details and see it unfold," citing polls from CNN and Fox News.
"Scores of business leaders in key industries are fearful that mass deportation will gut entire sectors of our economy and public schools are taking the dramatic step of preparing their classrooms and parking lots for raids by federal agents," said Cárdenas. "Much like we saw during his family separation policy, we expect backlash from Americans upon witnessing the harms of Trump's second-term immigration agenda, including on the American economy and our core values."
Ronnate Asirwatham, director of government relations for NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, said Trump's speech indicated that "in the coming days we will see an onslaught of executive orders, proclamations, and legislation that will attempt to criminalize our neighbors, family members, and friends."
"We will not let our community be divided in this way," said Asirwatham. "From doctors to grocery store workers, if our neighbors are ripped from our communities, we will be grieving their loss, absence, gifts, and contributions to our community and country. We refuse to stay silent as the state unnecessarily targets people, all the while pursuing policies that benefit only the ultrawealthy."
Joan F. Neal, interm executive director of NETWORK, said the group will "shed light on these heinous policies and hold our government accountable, with a vision of an inclusive, pluralistic democracy that welcomes those fleeing persecution, keeps families together, and supports an economy for all so that we can build a more just future."
"We will not remain silent," said Neal, "while our neighbors are harmed by cruel and vicious treatment."
"The victory of freeing Leonard Peltier is a symbol of our collective strength—and our resistance will never stop," vowed one Indigenous organizer.
Just minutes before leaving office, Joe Biden on Monday commuted the life prison sentence of Leonard Peltier, the elderly American Indian Movement activist who supporters say was framed for the murder of two federal agents during a 1975 reservation shootout.
"It's finally over, I'm going home," Peltier, who is 80 years old, said in a statement released by the Indigenous-led activist group NDN Collective. "I want to show the world I'm a good person with a good heart. I want to help the people, just like my grandmother taught me."
While not the full pardon for which he and his defenders have long fought, the outgoing Democratic president's commutation will allow Peltier—who has been imprisoned for nearly a half-century—to "spend his remaining days in home confinement," according to Biden's statement, which was no longer posted on the White House website after Republican President Donald Trump took office Monday afternoon.
🚨BREAKING🚨 Leonard Peltier Granted Executive Clemency After 50 years of unjust incarceration and the tireless efforts of intergenerational grassroots organizing and advocacy, our elder and relative Leonard Peltier has been granted executive clemency.
[image or embed]
— NDN Collective ( @ndncollective.bsky.social) January 20, 2025 at 9:02 AM
"Tribal Nations, Nobel Peace laureates, former law enforcement officials (including the former U.S. attorney whose office oversaw Mr. Peltier's prosecution and appeal), dozens of lawmakers, and human rights organizations strongly support granting Mr. Peltier clemency, citing his advanced age, illnesses, his close ties to and leadership in the Native American community, and the substantial length of time he has already spent in prison," Biden explained.
Biden Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Indigenous cabinet secretary in U.S. history, said in a statement: "I am beyond words about the commutation of Leonard Peltier. His release from prison signifies a measure of justice that has long evaded so many Native Americans for so many decades. I am grateful that Leonard can now go home to his family. I applaud President Biden for this action and understanding what this means to Indian Country."
Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who last month led 34 U.S. lawmakers in a letter urging clemency for Peltier, said in a statement that "for too long, Mr. Peltier has been denied both justice and the pursuit of a full, healthy life at the hands of the U.S. government, but today, he is finally able to go home."
"President Biden's decision is not just the right, merciful, and decent one—it is a testament to Mr. Peltier's resilience and the unwavering support of the countless global leaders, Indigenous voices, civil rights and legal experts, and so many others who have advocated so tirelessly for his release," Grijalva added. "While there is still much work to be done to fix the system that allowed this wrong and so many others against Indian Country, especially as we face the coming years, let us today celebrate Mr. Peltier's return home."
NDN Collective founder and CEO Nick Tilsen said Monday that "Leonard Peltier's freedom today is the result of 50 years of intergenerational resistance, organizing, and advocacy."
"Leonard Peltier's liberation is our liberation—we will honor him by bringing him back to his homelands to live out the rest of his days surrounded by loved ones, healing, and reconnecting with his land and culture," Tilsen continued.
"Let Leonard's freedom be a reminder that the entire so-called United States is built on the stolen lands of Indigenous people—and that Indigenous people have successfully resisted every attempt to oppress, silence, and colonize us," Tilsen added. "The victory of freeing Leonard Peltier is a symbol of our collective strength—and our resistance will never stop."
Amnesty International USA executive director Paul O'Brien said that "President Biden was right to commute the life sentence of Indigenous elder and activist Leonard Peltier given the serious human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial."
While Peltier admits to having participated in the June 26, 1975 gunfight at the Oglala Sioux Reservation at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, he denies killing Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams.
As HuffPost senior political reporter Jennifer Bendery recapped Monday:
There was never evidence that Peltier committed a crime, and the U.S. government never did figure out who shot those agents. But federal officials needed someone to take the fall. The FBI had just lost two agents, and Peltier's co-defendants were all acquitted based on self-defense. So, Peltier became their guy.
His trial was rife with misconduct. The FBI threatened and coerced witnesses into lying. Federal prosecutors hid evidence that exonerated Peltier. A juror acknowledged on the second day of the trial that she had "prejudice against Indians," but she was kept on anyway.
The government's case fell apart after these revelations, so it simply revised its charges against Peltier to "aiding and abetting" whoever did kill the agents—based entirely on the fact that he was one of dozens of people present when the shootout took place. Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
American Indian Movement (AIM) activist Joe Stuntz Killsright was also killed at Pine Ridge when a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs agent sniper shot him in the head after Coler and Williams were killed. Stuntz' death has never been investigated.
Some Indigenous activists welcomed Peltier's commutation while also remembering Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, an Mi'kmaq activist who was kidnapped and murdered at Pine Ridge in December 1975 by her fellow AIM members. Some of Aquash's defenders believe her killing to be an assassination ordered by AIM leaders who feared she was an FBI informant.
Before leaving office, Biden issued a flurry of eleventh-hour preemptive pardons meant to protect numerous relatives and government officials whom Trump and his allies have threatened with politically motivated legal action.
However, the outgoing president dashed the hopes of figures including Steven Donziger, Charles Littlejohn, and descendants of Ethel Rosenberg, who were
seeking last-minute pardons or commutations.
"Today marks the beginning of an administration dominated by billionaires and corporate interests."
Donald Trump was sworn in Monday as the 47th president of the United States with some of the richest people on the planet standing close behind him on the inaugural platform—a symbol of what observers described as the nation's slide toward oligarchy.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were granted "prime seats" at the event, positioned in front of many lawmakers and Trump Cabinet nominees. Amazon, Google, and Meta each donated $1 million to the president's inaugural fund, and Musk—the world's richest man—spent over $250 million backing the billionaire president's bid for a second White House term.
Tim Cook, Apple's billionaire CEO and a donor to the inauguration, was also in attendance at Monday's event, which was financed by Wall Street banks, tech giants, the pharmaceutical lobby, fossil fuel companies, crypto firms, and other corporate interests.
"Donald Trump's inauguration today is a coronation of our country's descent into oligarchy: billionaires and corporations spending hundreds of millions of dollars lining the pockets of another billionaire—now president—to usher in a presidency governed for and by the wealthy elite," Justice Democrats, a group that works to elect progressives to Congress, wrote in an email to supporters after Trump was sworn in.
"They're buying influence," the group continued. "And they can expect a massive return on their investment. Crypto is already seeing one with Trump promising an executive order handout to the Wall Street-backed Big Tech corporations on Day 1. Banks and developers are already winning out as Trump and Republicans put conditions on aid to desperate Americans who have lost their homes and need immediate disaster relief in California. This administration will be a boon for the already wealthy few and will be crushing to everyday people struggling to get by."
Nabil Ahmed, economic and racial justice director at Oxfam America, described a photo of Zuckerberg, Bezos, Pichai, and Musk standing together on the inaugural platform as "a defining photo for the new Gilded Age."
Trump's inauguration, Ahmed added, "makes clearer than ever the triumph of oligarchy—one that isn't incidental but intrinsic to the politics and policies that we're seeing set out."
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk cheers as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks after being sworn in on January 20, 2025. (Photo: Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump's second administration, which could be staffed by at least 13 billionaires, is expected to bring a fresh push for large-scale deregulation and another round of tax cuts for the rich and large corporations—a giveaway that's expected to be funded in part by cuts to Medicaid, federal nutrition assistance, and other key programs.
"Today marks the beginning of an administration dominated by billionaires and corporate interests," Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) executive director David Kass said in a statement. "Unsurprisingly, a billionaire president and his top adviser—the wealthiest person on earth—will prioritize passing $5 trillion in new tax cuts benefiting themselves and their wealthy allies, all at the expense of everyday Americans."
"Let's be clear: The next four years will be a tremendous challenge," said Kass. "We are committed to fighting back against a second Trump Tax Scam because the first one helped to double billionaire wealth and exploded the deficit. ATF and its coalition members will stand on the front lines pushing back against these deeply harmful measures and fighting for a tax code and economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few."
Trump's return to the White House comes days after former President Joe Biden, in his farewell address to the nation, belatedly warned of the threat posed by "an oligarchy... of extreme wealth, power, and influence."
According to an Oxfam report released Monday, the world's billionaires saw their wealth surge by $2 trillion last year as progress against global poverty remained stagnant. The United States has more billionaires than any other country, and its campaign finance laws allow the ultra-wealthy to pump unlimited sums into elections.
"With the inauguration of President Donald Trump and the installation of his team of billionaires, we must prepare for an administration that's set to pour fuel on already extraordinary inequality," Abby Maxman, president and CEO of Oxfam America, said Monday. "Our country and the world today are extremely unequal; for too long, big corporations and an ultra-wealthy few have rigged the system in their own favor, at the expense of ordinary families."
"The Trump-Musk inequality agenda is not the only threat we are facing around the world, as leaders seek to divide us and conflict and climate change increase the number, severity, and duration of humanitarian crises," Maxman added. "But together, we can and must continue our fight against inequality here in the United States and globally."