If there’s one thing millennial voters are tired of, it’s the old-school politics that weave intricate webs between politicians and controversial billionaires. Enter the latest saga: Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, once heralded by some progressives, now finds herself under scrutiny, not just for her high-profile departure from the Democratic Party, but also for some concerning financial associations.
A recent revelation by The Intercept highlighted a connection between Sinema and billionaire Leon Black, a man tied to the notorious Jeffrey Epstein, and who’s now facing accusations of assaulting a minor at Epstein’s Manhattan property nearly two decades ago. If this wasn’t eyebrow-raising enough, consider this: in 2018, both Black and his spouse donated a whopping $5,400 to Sinema’s campaign – the max permissible legal amount back then.
It’s not just about the money, though that’s alarming enough. Three years post this donation, Black had to exit his leading role at Apollo Global Management, a major firm he co-founded after revelations surfaced of his financial ties with Epstein to the tune of more than $150 million. This sum wasn’t for any business acquisition but, curiously, for “estate planning and tax services.” Now, the Senate Finance Committee is diving deep, probing if this astronomical amount was a guise for tax evasion.
Let’s not kid ourselves: the funds from Black weren’t an anomaly. Sinema’s campaign kitty has been bulging, amassing over $3 million in just six years, primarily from the investment and private equity sectors. To put things in perspective, employees of Apollo Global Management alone chipped in a staggering $172,025 between 2017 and 2022 to back Sinema’s political aspirations.
This cozy relationship with big-money sectors has raised valid questions about Sinema’s legislative decisions, particularly her stance on Democratic initiatives aimed at increasing taxes on the super-rich.
It’s vital for young voters, especially those aligned with TYT’s values, to question the impact of these financial bonds. When politicians drift from supporting the many to prioritizing the privileged few, democracy itself is at risk.
But wait, there’s more: The Senate committee, still digging into Black’s intricate financial dealings, has pointed out that his payments to Epstein were not just sizable but inexplicably massive, dwarfing what other Fortune 500 CEOs were pocketing at that time.
The backdrop to all this is Black’s mounting legal troubles, with the third allegation of rape implicating him. These claims assert that Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s close associate and a convicted trafficker, played a role in the incident. Although Black’s attorneys are vehemently denying these charges, labeling them as vendetta-driven, the emerging narrative is clear: Sinema’s financial affiliations are problematic at best.
For young, progressive voters, this story underscores the critical need for transparency and ethics in politics. It’s time to demand that our representatives keep their hands clean and maintain the trust placed in them by their constituents.
