11 January 2021
In a shock to Washington Inc.,several corporations are restricting or suspending political contributions after the Capitol siege.
Why it matters: The politics of pandering to the mob have become too dangerous for many of America's business leaders.
What's happening:
- JPMorgan Chase is pausing all giving to both parties for six months. "The country is facing unprecedented health, economic and political crises," said Peter Scher, chair of the Mid-Atlantic Region and head of corporate responsibility. "There will be plenty of time for campaigning later."
- Citi's head of global government affairs, Candi Wolff, said in a letter to colleagues that the bank will pause all contributions in Q1, and that after that, "[W]e will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law."
- Marriott International said the hotel giant will pause donations "to those who voted against certification of the election."
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Associationsaid it will suspend contributions to "lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy" by challenging Electoral College results.
- Boston Scientific, the medical device maker, is pausing all federal gifts.
- Goldman Sachs is freezing donations through its PAC. The company told The New York Times it will conduct “a thorough assessment of how people acted during this period."
- Dow, the chemical giant, told Bloomberg it will not donate to lawmakers who voted to object to the certification for one election cycle — two years for those in the House and six years for senators.
- BlackRock said it will pause all PAC donations, and will meanwhile "conduct a thorough review of the events and evaluate how we will focus our political activity going forward," according to a company memo obtained by Axios.
- Airbnb said its PAC will withhold donations to lawmakers "who voted against the certification of the presidential election results.”
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.