As President Biden’s Summit for Democracy kicked off on Thursday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said it is important that the U.S. recognize some of its “iniquities” as it engages with the international community.
Biden has said that he wants his inaugural summit this week to advance efforts to fight corruption around the world. More than 100 countries will be attending the summit.
“I would say we need to behave with our international colleagues a little bit like we had to behave in Glasgow,” Whitehouse said while appearing Hill.TV’s “Rising,” referring to the U.N. climate change conference that was held in Scotland earlier this year.
“We also have to recognize some of our own iniquities, and the very good news is that we come into this particular conference having cleaned up one of the worst cesspools in the U.S., which was the dark money shell corporation mess,” Whitehouse added.
The Treasury Department this week announced its intentions to enact new rules that would crack down on criminals who use shell companies to hide illicit funds. Whitehouse said that the U.S.’s recent actions against shell corporations provide “better credibility” than the country had a few years ago.
See part of Whitehouse’s interview above.
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