Task force proposes reforms to government ethics, rule of law

A nonpartisan task force unveiled 11 proposals to strength and codify government ethics and the rule of law at a Tuesday morning press conference at the National Press Club.

The National Task Force on Rule of Law & Democracy unveiled its report, "Proposals for Reform," which includes calls for Congress to enact legislation obligating presidential and vice presidential candidates to release their tax returns; strengthening the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution; preventing presidents from self-pardoning or from pardoning their closest associates; and better enforcement of federal ethics laws.

The report was commissioned by a group of former government officials and policy experts and hosted at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law.

Those behind the initiative said that it was not just a reaction to the controversies surrounding President Trump since he announced his candidacy in 2015. It is intended chart the way forward.

"It is focused on institutionalizing as much as possible what we consider should be the norms in political discourse and political behavior," said former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a co-chair of the task force. "It's not aimed at any particular administration."

Trump has come in for criticism from some quarters for declining to release his tax returns — breaking with decades of precedent — as he said he is under audit from the Internal Revenue Service.

He has also been accused of conflicts of interest for failing to divest his business empire and for appearing to want to meddle with the U.S. Department of Justice and undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

But the report's authors said their recommendations are about more than Trump, and take into account moments in history like the apparent conflicts of interest that affected Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, and President Richard Nixon's political interference in law enforcement.

Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and a task force co-chair, said the proposals should garner wide support, as they should appeal to those who care about the country's institutions, which he said are "things that are core to the country and go beyond petty policy differences that seem to roil us too much these days."

The co-chairs acknowledged that legislation that fulfills their wishes is unlikely to come up soon, and said that more than anything they hope it helps spark conversations around those topics.

They also acknowledged the political difficulties of getting Congress to take up such legislation, but said the bipartisan Problem-Solvers Caucus that looks to encourage cooperation on key policy areas is a sign that the two parties could work together.

"We've met with the leaders of the Problem-Solvers Caucus, many of the recommendations are things they have already talked about," Whitman said. "We've met with others from the House and Senate who are not members of that caucus but who want to see changes, so we're very hopeful. At least, I am."