Dear John,

We all know that money plays a corrupting influence in politics. But you might be surprised to learn some of the ways in which its influence emerges.

Pelosi is the 7th richest Member of Congress, and raises mountains of corporate cash through PACs and other instruments designed to circumvent individual contribution limits.

Even though Pelosi raises millions from corporate donors, she also frequently appeals to grassroots donors for support. We don’t blame her for that, as our own campaign in 2020 was built on contributions averaging just $21.

Can you join us to continue our momentum from 2020—when we won more votes than any previous campaign to ever face Pelosi—in 2022?

It seems, however, that Pelosi may have been enticing donors with false promises to match their contributions.

To be fair, she wasn’t the first one to do it. Donald Trump pioneered the practice, prompting the federal Department of Justice to recently announce an investigation into the unethical use of such enticements.

When reporting on the Justice Department announcement, some press outlets presented the issue as if it were partisan, emphasizing the predictably unethical behavior of our former president and his campaign team.

But just one day before news reports were first published about the DOJ investigation of politicians falsely promising to match grassroots donations by up to 5x, Pelosi sent this message:

Ethics are ultimately not a partisan issue, since corporate Democrats are sadly up to their necks in many of the same practices that Republicans use. From false promises to entice grassroots donors, to orchestrating disinformation campaigns targeting political rivals, and from flooding elections with corporate money, to allowing corporate lobbyists to write their legislative proposals, establishment Democrats could learn a lot about democracy.

You deserve better than that.

Can you join us to help hold Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic establishment accountable?

I’m not in a position to match your donations, but I’m also not going to lie to you about it. We frankly need your support in order to re-launch our campaign, and appreciate you standing with us!

Your voice,

Shahid