To: Wolf Blitzer, Brooklyn Democratic Debate Moderator and Dana Bash, CNN Anchor
.@WolfBlitzer, @DanaBashCNN, @errollouis: Ask About #PanamaPapers at #DemDebate
Just Foreign Policy
Wolf Blitzer should ask Democratic Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton how they will address the tax evasion revealed in the Panama Papers in U.S. trade policy.
Why is this important?
The Panama Papers [1] has highlighted how Panama encourages the formation of anonymous "shell corporations" that help rich people and corporations avoid taxes and help criminals and terrorists launder money. But the leak has also highlighted how that tax evasion and money laundering was facilitated by the Panama trade agreement that Congress approved in 2011 after the Obama Administration, including then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, pushed for its approval.
The State Department was aware of warnings from watchdog groups [2] that the Panama trade agreement would make it harder for the U.S. to crack down on tax evasion. [3] In his opposition to the agreement at the time, Sen. Sanders said on the Senate floor, “Panama is a world leader when it comes to allowing wealthy Americans and large corporations to evade US taxes by stashing their cash in offshore tax havens. And the Panama free trade agreement would make this bad situation much worse.” [4]
There will be a Democratic debate in New York on April 14; CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Dana Bash and NY1's Errol Louis will be moderators. [5] Urge Blitzer, Bash and Louis to ask about the Panama Papers, tax evasion, and U.S. trade policy by signing our petition.
References:
1. https://panamapapers.icij.org/
2. http://www.citizen.org/documents/PanamaTaxEvasionReportApril2009-FINAL.pdf
3. http://www.ibtimes.com/panama-papers-obama-clinton-pushed-trade-deal-amid-warnings-it-would-make-money-2348076
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrsI0Sw2hq8
5. http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/04/politics/democratic-debate-brooklyn/