John Lothian: How TD Became America ’s Most Convenient Bank for Money La underers; Democratic FTC Commissione rs Dismissed by Trump Administration

"I woke up this morning, as I have every day for nearly the last seven years, eager to get to work on behalf of the American people to make the economy more honest and fair. But today the President illegally fired me from my position as a Federal Trade Commissioner, violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent. Why? Because I have a voice. And he is afraid of what I'll tell the American people.
The law protects the independence of the Commission because the law serves the American people, not corporate power. The reason that the FTC can be so effective for the American people is because of its independence and because its commissioners serve across political parties and ideologies. Removing opposition voices may not change what the Trump majority can do, but it does change whether they will have accountability when they do it. The administration clearly fears the accountability that opposition voices would provide if the President orders Chairman Ferguson to treat the most powerful corporations and their executives-like those that flanked the President at his inauguration-with kid gloves.
I have served across administrations, including during the last Trump administration, and throughout my entire time as a commissioner I applied the same criteria in my work: that the law must be enforced without fear or favor. I have dedicated myself to executing the Commission's statutory mandate to protect consumers and promote competition, fighting against illegal business practices that make groceries more expensive, healthcare inaccessible, and compromise people's privacy and security; it has been my greatest honor to serve."