Group Seeks Clarification of Comments by Perdue’s Chief of Staff

PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES CALL ON SENATOR PERDUE TO
ADDRESS THREATENING MESSAGE FROM CHIEF OF STAFF

April 19, 2017

Washington, DC — This morning, Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires Morris Pearl sent a letter to Senator David Perdue of Georgia demanding that the Senator clarify a threatening comment made to the Patriotic Millionaires by his Chief of Staff Derrick Dickey. In response to a routine email sent to keep Mr. Dickey up to date on the organization's work to close the carried interest loophole, an unfair tax loophole that benefits only a few thousand of the richest people in the country, Mr. Dickey wrote, "I hope there is an audit in all of your members near future to ensure they are true patriots!" The implied threat, that he will use his political influence to pursue a politically-motivated audit of a group of American citizens, is deeply troubling. In Mr. Pearl's own words:

"Mr. Dickey's threat to those who do not share his political views is simply unacceptable coming from someone who speaks for you: a Senator representing millions of Georgians.

If Mr. Dickey is accountable only to those who support his political positions, I would be concerned about how he treats the significant number of your constituents who may not agree with your every position. Senator Perdue, if you are committed to serving all your constituents, not just your supporters, you really want to address this," said Morris Pearl, Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires. Full text of the letter is enclosed below.

To schedule an interview, or for further comment, please contact Sam Quigley at sam@patrioticmillionaires.org.

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Dear Senator Perdue,

I am writing to you to as the chairman of the board of The Patriotic Millionaires. We are a group of high net worth citizens who are deeply disturbed at the growing level of inequality in our nation. We support higher taxes on millionaires, less political power for the wealthy, and a guaranteed livable wage for working Americans. As part of our work to advance these values in public policy, we have emphatically supported the closure of the carried interest loophole, a grossly unfair tax loophole that benefits a few thousand of the richest people the country.

In response to a routine email sent to keep him up to date on the Patriotic Millionaires’ work on this important issue Derrick Dickey, your chief of staff, wrote “I hope there is an audit in all of your members near future to ensure they are true patriots!” The implied threat here, that Mr. Dickey will use your influence as a United States Senator to pursue a politically-motivated audit of a group of American citizens, is very serious and deeply troubling.

At a time when only 19% of Americans trust the government to do what is right, this is representative of what the public finds wrong with Washington. The American people are looking for leadership and a willingness to compromise to make our country better, not bitter partisan politics as usual. Mr. Dickey’s threat to those who do not share his political views is simply unacceptable coming from someone who speaks for you: a senator representing millions of Georgians.

If Mr. Dickey is accountable only to those who support his political positions, I would be concerned about how he treats the significant number of your constituents who may not agree with your every position. Senator Perdue, if you are committed to serving all your constituents, not just your supporters, you really want to address this.

I would like to hear directly from you: Is it your policy to threaten people with whom you disagree with the enormous power of the federal government?

I look forward to your response outlining whether you believe your Chief of Staff acted appropriately, how you plan on remedying this situation, and whether you will support the closure of the carried interest loophole.

Thank you,

Morris Pearl
Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires

About the Patriotic Millionaires

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of 200 high-net-worth Americans who are committed to building a more prosperous, stable, and inclusive nation. The group focuses on promoting public policy solutions that encourage political equality; guarantee a sustaining wage for working Americans; and ensure that millionaires, billionaires, and corporations pay a greater percentage of taxes. You can find out more at http://patrioticmillionaires.org/about/

The Patriotic Millionaires have appeared on hundreds of media outlets here and abroad, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the PBS NewsHour, The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and many others. You can find more coverage at http://patrioticmillionaires.org/media