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Julia Rock, Andrew Perez, The Daily Poster 

In 2019, Rahm Emanuel left the Chicago mayor’s office in disgrace after the public learned his administration suppressed video of police murdering Black teenager Laquan McDonald. It didn’t take long, however, for the Washington establishment to bring him back into the fold, first welcoming him as a political pundit, and now rewarding him with a potential ambassadorship.

But financial disclosures that Emanuel was required to file after President Joe Biden nominated him for ambassador to Japan shed new light on how corporate interests continued to line Emanuel’s pockets after he left office in Chicago and took to cable news to disparage progressives.

rahm emanuel pointing to the right
Photo by Daniel X. O'Neil, https://www.flickr.com/photos/juggernautco/5172631566

Those disclosures reveal that while he was being paid by ABC News to push a corporate agenda, Emanuel was also being paid millions by a firm that advises companies that stand to win if Biden’s agenda fails. He also received more than $300,000 for speeches to corporations and industry trade groups, and a board seat at a health care company benefiting from privatized Medicare coverage.

Emanuel’s continued presence in elite political and media circles, even after the cover-up of McDonald’s murder was revealed, is a testament to the Beltway’s great moral rot — a reminder that impunity protects those who are loyal and willing to serve capital.

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