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BE SMART ABOUT: Trey Trainor, Trump’s Federal Election Commission Nominee Who LOVES Big Money in Politics
BE SMART ABOUT is our unfortunately endless series highlighting examples of those in power who you need to stay informed about so you can share this knowledge and together we can Be Smart and Actively Dissent.
Today we discuss Trey Trainor who was nominated by Trump in September 2017 to be one of six members of the Federal Election Commission. He faces Senate confirmation which has yet. Why does this matter? Why is Trainor noteworthy?
Trump has nominated Trey Trainor, an Austin lawyer well-known in Texas politics, to serve on the Federal Election Commission. Trainor is a longtime attorney specializing in election law, campaign finance and ethics. He has served as the lawyer for the conservative nonprofit Empower Texans, defending it during its long-running battles with the Texas Ethics Commission over whether it should have to disclose its donors.
Yes, that's right. Trey Trainor's focus is on keeping it secret as to who is giving the dirty money ruining our country. If you're reading this, you know that the Citizens United 2010 Supreme Court ruling allowed corporations to spend unlimited sums. Trainor is a defender of this system, seeking to protect the identity of those who pour millions of dollars into influencing our elections and enriching politicians, and creating policies that benefit them.
Trainor....has challenged the principle that the public benefits from the disclosure of political donors, arguing that voters could be distracted from the content of political messages if they focus on who is financing ads.
In media appearances and public forums, Trainor.... appeared to erroneously suggest that the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision endorsed anonymous political contributions. In fact, the Supreme Court upheld the concept of donor disclosure in Citizens United. “This transparency enables the electorate to make informed decisions and give proper weight to different speakers and messages,” the majority wrote.
“It is incredibly concerning that an individual nominated to the Federal Election Commission either doesn't understand or is willfully ignoring the fact that the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld and endorsed campaign finance disclosure,” said Brendan Fischer, who directs the federal regulatory work of the advocacy group Campaign Legal Center.
Here's some irony as candidate Trump said he wanted transparency. Shocking to hear that he is a liar, right?
Trainor's stance on disclosure is counter to the position that Trump himself took during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he called for more transparency of donors behind big-money groups. “I don’t mind the money coming in,” the then-candidate told Time magazine in August 2015. “Let it be transparent. Let them talk, but let there be total transparency.”
What else has Trainor been up to of late?
Trainor served as general counsel to the RNC platform committee, a job that put him on the front lines of the party's efforts to quell an anti-Trump uprising on the floor.
After Trump took office earlier this year, Trainor went to work at the Pentagon, where he helped with the transition in leadership as a temporary appointee. His title was special assistant to the secretary of defense in the Office of General Counsel.
Trainor has most recently been serving as the assistant general counsel for the Texas GOP.
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