Washington, D.C. — In response to the apparent lack of ethics reviews of Cabinet nominees, Kedric Payne, Vice President, General Counsel and Senior Director for Ethics at Campaign Legal Center and former Deputy Chief Counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics, issued the following statement: 

“Those nominated by the president-elect to help lead this next administration will hold immensely privileged positions of power if confirmed. That is why the Office of Government Ethics is tasked with meticulously reviewing the nominee’s financial holdings and any potential conflicts of interest they pose before they can be considered for Senate confirmation. 

"Without this crucial review — which is mandated by law — nominees may enter office with conflicts of interest (obvious or hidden) that they are not ordered to remedy. If this occurs, not only are Americans deprived of critical information about those poised to hold immense power, but those powerholders could manipulate the government for their own personal benefit while facing little to no consequence. 

"We are less than six weeks away from Inauguration Day, and it is incredibly alarming that the incoming administration has not begun what is typically a month's long transition process. Trump may be attempting to have confirmation hearings happen before ethics investigations are completed. 

"When Trump’s first term nominations approached confirmation hearings without a completed ethics investigation, we relied on Senators pushing back and postponing confirmation until the rule of law was followed. But we do not seem to have the same resistance to his power this time around — Trump may very well try to usher his appointments through without any sort of ethics review process at all.

"This is not just a break from precedent — Trump is breaking the law and setting a dangerous tone for the role that accountability and ethics will play in this next administration if the nominees are not reviewed for conflicts of interest. If we do not bother to hold some of the most politically powerful members of our government to ethical guidelines before they even enter office, there is little hope that these leaders will bother with ethics guidelines throughout their public service.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), over reports that the ‘Friends of Matt Gaetz’ campaign committee misreported over $1.2 million in payments to Stripe, a payment processing vendor. This is concerning because the magnitude of these payments appears to indicate that the recipients or purposes for these expenditures were possibly misreported, denying voters accurate information about how the campaign was spending its money. 

All federal campaigns and committees are required by law to file accurate and complete reports on how much money they spend, the purpose of these expenses, and the recipients of these expenditures. 

Based on Stripe’s fee structures for processing online contributions, the Gaetz campaign should not have paid more than $97,000 for Stripe to process its itemized contributions during the 2024 election cycle — yet it paid Stripe twelve times that amount, a substantial difference that strongly suggests an error in the campaign’s reporting. 

If the Gaetz campaign’s reports are accurate, one out of every six dollars it spent would have gone towards these “e-merchant fees” — which would be extraordinary. The campaign’s $1.2 million in payments to Stripe also far exceeds the amount paid to Stripe by any other political committee this election cycle. In fact, major national fundraising operations like the Harris Victory Fund and the Republican National Committee, each of which raised hundreds of millions of dollars from donors across the country, reported paying far less to Stripe than Gaetz’s campaign—which raised a little over $6 million this cycle. 

“Voters have a right to know how campaigns are spending their money,” said Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at Campaign Legal Center (CLC). “It appears that this spending by former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s campaign was not reported accurately, which would be a clear violation of the law. The FEC should immediately investigate the true nature of the $1.2 million in payments that ‘Friends of Matt Gaetz’ reported making to the vendor Stripe.” 

When candidates or committees fail to provide complete and accurate reporting on their expenditures, voters are deprived of critical information they need on how candidates are spending their campaign funds, undermining transparency and accountability. 

The FEC has previously issued major financial penalties to political committees that have failed to provide the agency with accurate and complete information on their expenditures. The FEC must investigate the true nature of the Gaetz campaign’s expenditures during the 2024 cycle and hold this campaign committee accountable for any wrongdoing.

Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass H.R.9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. This legislation grants the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department the right to revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations with views that political leaders may oppose — with little to no recourse for these organizations.  Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has previously expressed concerns with this legislation, given its potential to be used by the government to sanction organizations with dissenting views. Trevor Potter — CLC’s president — issued the following statement in response:  

“Campaign Legal Center (CLC) strongly opposes H.R. 9495, a dangerous bill that could be used to silence dissent and suppress the views of those President-elect Donald Trump — or any future president — believes to be political enemies. We urge the Senate to kill this bill that could silence dissenting voices and punish groups that do important work to make America a more perfect union.”

Read more about the implications of H.R. 9495 here.

Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted to advance S.2270, the Executive Branch Accountability and Transparency Act. This bipartisan legislation, which is led by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Gary Peters (D-MI), would strengthen ethics in the executive branch by promoting public access to vital information needed to hold officials accountable. 

This bill is also the Senate counterpart to legislation recently approved by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) endorses the legislation and Kedric Payne — CLC’s vice president, general counsel, and senior director, ethics — issued the following statement of support: 

“CLC applauds the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s decision to move the Executive Branch Accountability and Transparency Act a step closer to a full vote by the whole Senate. 

“This bipartisan legislation would establish a new database that tracks information like financial disclosures, recusal agreements, and other relevant ethics documents for key executive branch officials and political appointees. 

“As the nation prepares for a new presidential administration, voters have a right to access these records, so they can know whether their federal officials are prioritizing the needs of the public. 

“Ethics violations and conflicts of interest by members of the executive branch risk eroding public trust if left unchecked. Without enhanced transparency, elected and appointed leaders can serve their own personal interests unbeknownst to voters, ultimately harming everyday Americans and our country. 

“Following today’s important committee action, both chambers of Congress must not delay in passing this critical legislation.”

This week, President-elect Donald Trump chose doctor and TV personality Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Kedric Payne — CLC’s vice president, general counsel and senior director, ethics — released the following statement in response to this developing story:

“The nomination of Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is deeply concerning given the ethical implications of his past holdings in healthcare industry stocks. 

“Elected and appointed leaders must prioritize the public good over their own financial interests. Dr. Oz’s past holdings in healthcare, insurance and pharmaceutical companies raise serious concerns about the conflicts of interest he may have as CMS Administrator.” 

“Dr. Oz has held significant stock in health insurance giants including United Healthcare and Cigna, and in the pharmaceutical company CVS. If confirmed to this position, Dr. Oz will hold sway over how Medicare is administered and could make decisions that make those stocks more valuable while adversely impacting the healthcare of millions of Americans.

“Dr. Oz’s holdings would raise questions about his ability to impartially run drug coverage programs under Medicare and Medicaid, as decisions CMS leadership can make about the way these programs operate and negotiate prices can impact those holdings.  

“These possible conflicts — made public thanks to transparency laws — could lead to an influx of wealth for Dr. Oz if he is confirmed as CMS Administrator. Voters have a right to know about these conflicts of interest so that he (and others in leadership positions) can be held accountable. These factors should be of utmost consideration throughout the nomination process and should weigh heavily on each and every Senator poised to vote on his confirmation.”