--- title: Martin O'Malley's Policy Plan Cites a Satirical News Site description: Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley policy paper on financial regulation earned laughs for footnote that cited a satirical news site. canonical: https://time.com/3950927/martin-omalley-footnote-daily-currant/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-09T13:59:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:29.671Z article:section: Politics og:title: Martin O'Malley's Policy Plan Cites a Satirical News Site og:description: A footnote pointed to The Daily Currant. og:url: https://time.com/3950927/martin-omalley-footnote-daily-currant/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f8342299cac9983/69885a3a2dce012dae9e48c6/martin-omalley-footnote.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Democratic presidential hopeful and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley speaks to the media following a campaign event at the Sanctuary Pub on June 11, 2015 in Iowa City, Iowa. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Martin O'Malley's Policy Plan Cites a Satirical News Site twitter:description: A footnote pointed to The Daily Currant. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f8342299cac9983/69885a3a2dce012dae9e48c6/martin-omalley-footnote.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Martin O'Malley's Policy Plan Cites a Satirical News Site > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Know Right Now: O'Malley Enters Presidential Race [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: O'Malley Enters Presidential Race](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yQEbRrxh.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2015-05-31. Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 9, 2015 1:59 PM UTC  Democratic presidential hopeful and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley speaks to the media following a campaign event at the Sanctuary Pub on June 11, 2015 in Iowa City, Iowa. Democratic presidential hopeful and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley speaks to the media following a campaign event at the Sanctuary Pub on June 11, 2015 in Iowa City, Iowa. Scott Olson—2015 Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 9, 2015 1:59 PM UTC Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley sought to make waves Thursday with a detailed policy white paper on financial regulation. Instead, he earned laughs for footnote that cited a satirical news site. In the document, “Protecting the American Dream From Another Wall Street Crash,” O’Malley meant to highlight the revolving door between government and lucrative jobs on Wall Street — a well-documented concern of the progressives he is courting. But the long-shot Democratic presidential candidate sourced a fake news story from September 2014 published on the fake news website _The Daily Currant_ headlined “Eric Holder Takes $77 Million Job With JPMorgan Chase,” to make the case. In fact, Holder was still in office through early this year, as his successor, Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s confirmation was held up. This week it was announced that the former Attorney General returned to his former law firm, Covington & Burling. The unfortunate footnote—the first of the document’s 37—was [first spotted](https://twitter.com/Phil%5FMattingly/status/619132669973151745) by Bloomberg’s Phil Mattingly shortly after the document was posted. “Errant footnotes are just a small side effect of putting out the most comprehensive policy paper of any 2016’er on Wall Street,” said O’Malley spokeswoman Lis Smith in a statement. The document accurately references that Obama selections to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Jo White, and Treasury Department, Secretary Jack Lew, had ties to financial firms before taking their current positions. To be sure, the error has little bearing on the substance of O’Malley’s argument, which he hopes will appeal to those in his party’s base who are skeptical of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s ties to Wall Street and her husband’s role in deregulating the financial markets during his presidency. But it does distract from his case, at a time when O’Malley is struggling to gain notice from the electorate and the news media, as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has emerged as the leading liberal challenger to Clinton. The white paper, which has since been updated to fix the footnote without correction, indicated that the two-term Maryland governor would aim to reinstate a barrier on commercial and investment banking practices that was abolished in 1999\. O’Malley also calls for a transaction tax on high-frequency stock trading and increasing the budgets and investigations divisions of Wall Street regulators. _The Daily Currant_, a more deadpan version of _The_ _Onion_, has previously fooled several news outlets. The Washington _Post_ cited a satirical story about Sarah Palin from the website in 2013 and a [Breitbart.com](http://breitbart.com/) columnist reported a _Daily Currant_ story about Paul Krugman going bankrupt. ### Photographing the Presidential Campaign With an iPhone 6  Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush runs to catch up after shaking hands in the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Hillary Clinton greets the crowd at a campaign event on the campus of Dartmouth University in Hanover, N.H., July 3, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A supporter of Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina sits by a float before the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie departs a campaign event at Goodwin's Eatery &Sports Bar in Barnstead, N.H., July 3, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry takes a photo of fellow candidate Lindsay Graham while at the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  While waiting for Hillary Clinton to appear at a New Hampshire campaign event, a woman shields herself from the sun while eating a piece of pie, July 3, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush throws a baseball at the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley holds a sign before the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Hillary Clinton appears at a grassroots organizing campaign event on the campus of Dartmouth University in Hanover, N.H., July 3, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Huma Abedin, long-time aide to Hillary Clinton, is approached by a member of the crowd after a campaign event in Hanover, N.H., July 3, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry on a float in the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A supporter of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has a logo painted on her face before a parade in the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Members of the crowd watch as Hillary Clinton appears at a campaign event on the campus of Dartmouth University in Hanover, N.H., July 3, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  A supporter of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders on a parade bus in the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush walks in front of a group of Hillary Clinton's supporters at the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Signs for presidential candidates line a fence before the Amherst, N.H. Independence Day parade, July 4, 2015. Brooks Kraft—Corbis ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] And we will take stands, important ones. I believe that we are standing at the threshold of a new era of American opportunity, if only we have the guts and have the foresight. 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