Kamala Harris Set To Raise Money With Former Wells Fargo Executive
The lobbying executive defended the bank during the fake accounts scandal. When Harris was California attorney general, she sued the bank for privacy violations.
A former Wells Fargo executive who defended the bank during its massive fake accounts scandal is hosting a fundraiser for Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign on Saturday, according to an invitation obtained by HuffPost.
The former executive, Miguel Bustos, worked from 2013 to 2017 as Wells Fargo’s senior vice president of government and community relations, where he oversaw lobbying and community outreach efforts in six western states: California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana and Utah.
Advertisement
Bustos is hosting a fundraiser for Harris on Saturday night in San Francisco, timed to coincide with the city’s Pride Weekend celebrations and one day before the crucial second-quarter fundraising deadline.
The minimum donation for an attendee is $500, while “supporters” need to contribute $1,000 and “sponsors” who get a photo with Harris need to contribute the federal maximum donation of $2,800.
The fundraiser lends ammunition to progressives, many aligned with the rival presidential campaigns of Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who are skeptical of Harris’ willingness to take on Wall Street and the financial industry.
In a statement, Harris spokesman Ian Sams defended the candidate’s record.
“She literally investigated Wells Fargo as Attorney General and won an $8.5 million settlement for Californians, and she’s the only major candidate in this race who’s actually prosecuted banks for screwing people over,” Sams said. “Her record of real action to take on bad corporate actors on behalf of consumers shows exactly who she would fight for as president.”
Advertisement
Sams is referring to an $8.5 million settlement that Harris and five district attorneys in the state reached with the bank in March 2016. The bank had violated state privacy laws by failing to “timely and adequately” disclose it was recording phone calls with members of the public. (The fine is equivalent to about .2% of Wells Fargo’s profit during the quarter the settlement was announced.)
But progressive critics have typically focused on Harris’ role in a more high-profile settlement: the national mortgage settlement that Harris, the Obama administration and other state attorneys general reached with Wells Fargo and the four other largest banks in America in 2012. Progressives have long said the $25 billion agreement didn’t go nearly far enough to punish the banks and help homeowners trapped by the foreclosure crisis in the wake of the Great Recession. No bank executive involved in the foreclosure fraud went to prison.
Wells Fargo’s highest-profile recent scandal was the fake accounts debacle. From 2009 to 2015, the company opened up more than 3.5 million fake bank and credit card accounts, leading nearly 200,000 customers to pay unnecessary fees. Warren aggressively investigated the bank, and the scandal led to the resignation of then-CEO John Stumpf, along nearly $3 billion in fines and settlement costs.
During the scandal, Bustos defended the bank when the city council of Vallejo, California, considered moving its accounts away from Wells Fargo. While Bustos admitted the bank had “made mistakes,” he also pleaded with the city council to stick with it.
Advertisement
“The one thing I learned in life is that no one is perfect, no one,” he said, according to a September 2017 article in the Vallejo Times-Herald. “But one thing I learned is that you have forgiveness and you have redemption. What we are asking is, you know what, work with us to be a better bank.”
The city council eventually voted to cut ties with Wells Fargo.
Bustos’ LinkedIn profile says he is now the senior director of the center for social justice at GlideSF, a prominent progressive church in San Francisco.
Harris’ presidential campaign, meanwhile, has received more than $16,000 from Wells Fargo employees, according to FEC records – including maxed-out donations from the company’s former chief compliance officer and an executive who oversaw the company’s credit card business. Harris also received $2,300 from Brenda Wright, a Wells Fargo executive whose position on San Francisco’s pension board sparked protests in 2013.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.