Latest news with #politicaldonor
New York Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
It's Hard to Create a Third Party, Even for Elon Musk
Launching a new national political party in the United States may be more difficult than sending a man to Mars. Elon Musk, the world's richest man, who last year was the nation's biggest known political donor, now says that he is trying to do both. But while the effort to achieve interplanetary travel has made slow progress for over 20 years, the past several decades of American politics are littered with abandoned attempts to disrupt the two-party system. It remains to be seen how serious Mr. Musk is about the new political project, and whether it will evolve from musings on his social-media platform to a fact of real life. While he declared on Saturday that 'Today, the America Party is formed,' so far he has yet to register it with the Federal Election Commission. As with many of his tweet-length proclamations, Mr. Musk's plans for the new party are opaque. His private conversations about it so far have been conceptual and not focused on the details of what it would take to bring it to fruition, according to two people briefed on those talks. Some advisers to Mr. Musk who have also been involved in these early talks, however, appear more focused on those details and are soliciting more feedback from experts, according to one of the people. Mr. Musk has said the America Party would be a new entity and would have the goal of disrupting the two major parties' hold on the federal government. Should he eventually tire of the idea, it would not be the first time he offered a grand pronouncement in an X post before either walking it back or letting it wither as he moved on to a new pursuit. Still, some notions that originated as seeming jokes by Mr. Musk — like his early purchase of shares in Twitter — have ended with world-altering investments. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
05-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Elon Musk Says He Will Start a New Political Party
Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest person and the country's biggest political donor, said on Saturday that he would create a new political party, an enormous and challenging undertaking that would test the billionaire's newfound influence on American politics. 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,' Mr. Musk wrote on X, his social media website, on Saturday. 'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.' Mr. Musk, once a close ally of President Trump's who in recent weeks has repeatedly bickered with him, had not filed paperwork as of Saturday evening for the new party, though he added in a separate post that the America Party would be active in elections 'next year.' Any new party would be required to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission. Even as Mr. Musk has proved that he is willing to use his resources to move quickly and dramatically, he also has a long history of not following through on promises. Mr. Musk, who helped slash government programs and funding by leading the Department of Government Efficiency before publicly feuding with Mr. Trump, had grown incensed by the president's sweeping domestic policy bill. Last month, on social media, he called it a 'disgusting abomination,' adding that it would 'massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit' and that 'Congress is making America bankrupt.' For weeks, Mr. Musk teased that he would start a new political party if the legislation passed, but he had not explicitly stated his intention to do so until Saturday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The two-party system has been a defining feature of modern American politics, and plenty of moderate billionaires have dreamed of a successful third-party effort for decades. But the barriers to creating a new, influential political party are plentiful, including heavily gerrymandered districts, deep political polarization and onerous state laws, some of which require expensive and complicated ballot-qualification procedures that would most likely challenge even Mr. Musk. Mr. Musk donated nearly $300 million to Republican candidates in the 2024 election, and his super PAC led Mr. Trump's get-out-the-vote operation in battleground states. But the tech billionaire failed to deliver the G.O.P. a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat this year, even after putting over $20 million into that race. On Friday, Mr. Musk wrote on X that an initial approach could be to back America Party candidates in just two or three Senate races and between eight and 10 congressional races in next year's midterm elections. 'Given the razor-thin legislative margins,' he wrote, 'that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.' Tyler Pager contributed reporting.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump commutes sentence of major political donor in latest round of clemency
President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the 12-year sentence of a major political donor who was serving time for a number of offenses, including obstructing an investigation into Trump's 2017 inaugural committee, the White House confirmed with Fox News Digital. Imaad Zuberi, 54, was a major Democrat supporter before he backed Trump following his 2016 election victory, The New York Times reported. Before pivoting to Trump on election night, he served as a bundler for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, including stints on both of their campaign finance committees. Zuberi donated more than $1.1 million to committees associated with Trump and the Republican Party months after the 2016 election, the Times reported. Trump 'Pardon Czar' Explains Key Differences Between Trump And Biden Pardons The donations secured him invitations to a pair of black-tie dinners celebrating Trump's inauguration. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal investigation into the source of a $900,000 donation he made through his company to Trump's inaugural committee in late December 2016, the report states. Read On The Fox News App Zuberi also pleaded guilty to falsifying records filed with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act to conceal his lobbying work on behalf of Sri Lanka. Zuberi allegedly directed millions of dollars from the Sri Lankan contract to himself and his wife for personal purposes, shortchanging lobbyists, public relations and law firms, and certain subcontractors who were part of the lobbying effort. Man Who Had Prison Sentence Commuted By Biden Now Facing Drug, Firearms-related Charges His commutation was one of several on Wednesday, as well as a few pardons. Larry Hoover, who is serving time in a federal supermax prison, also had his sentence commuted. Hoover, the co-founder of the Chicago gang Gangster Disciples, was originally imprisoned for a 1973 murder and later convicted in 1998 for operating a criminal enterprise. Trump also pardoned former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who was convicted in two federal criminal cases, including one that contributed to his resignation. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Trump commutes sentence of major political donor in latest round of clemency
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump commutes sentence for donor Imaad Zuberi
President Trump has commuted the sentence of top political donor Imaad Zuberi, who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2021 after giving illegal campaign contributions to former President Biden and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). A White House official confirmed Trump commuted his sentence to The Hill's sister network NewsNation on Wednesday. Zuberi had pleaded guilty in 2019 and 2020 to tax evasion, lobbying top U.S. officials while working as a foreign agent, campaign finance violations and obstruction of justice. Alongside the 12-year sentence, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ordered Zuberi to pay close to $16 million in restitution and a nearly $2 million fine. 'I'm deeply sorry and, of course, humiliated,' Zuberi previously told Phillips. 'I have no excuse for what I've done.' Zuberi has also been accused of putting together meetings with U.S. and foreign politicians as well as being behind a straw donor plot. 'Everyone wants to come to Washington to meet people,' Zuberi said in a decade-old email in which he was attempting to put together a meeting between the president of Guinea and a congressman, according to the AP. 'We get request(s) for meeting(s) from all scumbag of the world, warlords, kings, queens, presidents for life, military dictators, clan chiefs, tribal chiefs and etc.' The New York Times previously reported that Zuberi donated over $1.1 million in the three months following Trump's first election to committees linked with the president and the GOP after previously backing former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her 2016 bid for the presidency. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
29-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump commutes sentence of major political donor in latest round of clemency
President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the 12-year sentence of a major political donor who was serving time for a number of offenses, including obstructing an investigation into Trump's 2017 inaugural committee, the White House confirmed with Fox News Digital. Imaad Zuberi, 54, was a major Democrat supporter before he backed Trump following his 2016 election victory, The New York Times reported. Before pivoting to Trump on election night, he served as a bundler for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, including stints on both of their campaign finance committees. Zuberi donated more than $1.1 million to committees associated with Trump and the Republican Party months after the 2016 election, the Times reported. The donations secured him invitations to a pair of black-tie dinners celebrating Trump's inauguration. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal investigation into the source of a $900,000 donation he made through his company to Trump's inaugural committee in late December 2016, the report states. Zuberi also pleaded guilty to falsifying records filed with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act to conceal his lobbying work on behalf of Sri Lanka. Zuberi allegedly directed millions of dollars from the Sri Lankan contract to himself and his wife for personal purposes, shortchanging lobbyists, public relations and law firms, and certain subcontractors who were part of the lobbying effort. His commutation was one of several on Wednesday, as well as a few pardons. Larry Hoover, who is serving time in a federal supermax prison, also had his sentence commuted. Hoover, the co-founder of the Chicago gang Gangster Disciples, was originally imprisoned for a 1973 murder and later convicted in 1998 for operating a criminal enterprise. Trump also pardoned former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who was convicted in two federal criminal cases, including one that contributed to his resignation.
