How The Panama Papers Leak Will Impact The US Presidential Election

Trending News: Bernie Sanders Was Just Given A Gift That Will Make Him President

Why Is This Important?

Because at a time of surging popular anger at the political and economic elite, the revelation that the rich are benefiting on a massive scale by screwing over everyone else may lead to the political upheaval they so are so terrified of.

Long Story Short

A huge scandal over offshore tax havens has just exploded, so expect the five remaining presidential hopefuls to answer some questions that will leave some of the squirming. Probably no one will squirm more so than Hillary Clinton — and no one will benefit more than her rival Bernie Sanders.

Long Story

When you think of the term “global elite,” few names spring to mind more readily than Bill and Hillary Clinton. And while the former and perhaps future First Couple have had a pretty good run despite some spectacular ups and downs, the Panama Papers scandal may permanently dash their hopes of moving back into the White House.

The leak of 2.6 terabytes worth of data from a Panamanian law firm that specializes in facilitating tax dodging by rich people around the world is going to lead to some very uncomfortable questions for some world leaders (it already has, in Iceland’s case). That could include Hillary Clinton, one of the most insider-y of all Beltway insiders.

UPDATE: Panama Papers scandal topples first government.

Sanders has regularly railed against Clinton’s coziness with some of the most morally questionable financial companies out there, notably Goldman Sachs.

Email shows Clinton State Dept pushing Panama pact amid warnings it would help the rich hide money #PanamaPapers pic.twitter.com/OA3Z22Jgjq — David Sirota (@davidsirota) April 4, 2016

So when Sanders tells his throngs of adoring fans that the system is designed to favor a small, wealthy circle, the Panama Papers appear to back him up. And while neither Clinton nor any of her friends have been linked to any mischief, yet, there is no denying that she is part of that same elite that benefits from devious offshore tax havens.

And Bernie so clearly is not. His hands appear clean, and that is a huge part of his appeal to a generation that feels the odds have been deliberately stacked against them for the gain of others. The longer this scandal is kept alive, the better it is for the Sanders campaign.

The reason that our campaign is doing well is that we are doing something unusual in American politics: we are telling the truth. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 4, 2016

With the Wisconsin primaries set for Tuesday, his campaign can use the help. He holds a slight lead over Clinton, but some observers, including the New York Times, appear ready to eulogize it already, in face of what they say are near mathematically impossible odds of securing the delegates needed for the nomination.

But If Sanders can hammer the point that Clinton belongs to that demographic, an enraged and powerless electorate can swing even further against her, and line up firmly behind him.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: Would even the slightest hint of Panama Papers impropriety be enough to sink the Clinton machine?

Disrupt Your Feed: Not many Americans have been named in the Panama Papers yet. But expect big revelations over the course of the week.

Drop This Fact: No matter where you look, news outlets will be discussing the Panama Papers for a while. The 11-million-plus leaked documents have been shared with 109 media organizations in 76 countries.