WASHINGTON – Today, the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump concluded with 57 Senators voting to convict, falling short of the 67 votes required by the Constitution for conviction.

Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and a Republican former Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, released the following statement:

“By today’s vote, 43 Senators failed to hold former President Trump to full account for his conduct, which threatened our 228-year tradition of peaceful transfers of the presidency under our Constitution. There is, however, action which Congress can now take that will bind some of the wounds of our democracy and strengthen it for elections to come. With the images of violence on January 6 fresh in our minds, we must pass comprehensive democracy reform that brings us a system that rewards accountable government over tribal partisanship.

We’ve already seen the real consequences of declining public confidence in elections and can’t afford further erosion. We need reform that will free Americans from voter suppression and extreme gerrymandering. We must also reimagine our campaign finance system and break its reliance on wealthy special interests. We need a government that puts American interests before self-interest.

Congress has the bill to do it. The For the People Act (introduced as H.R. 1 in the House, S.1 in the Senate) would address a number of long-identified problems with our election system and create a more inclusive democracy for all. Congress should move quickly to do so.”

Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and a Republican former Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, released the following statement:

“Any elected official who incites mob violence as part of a campaign to subvert our democracy is unfit to hold public office in the future.

This week’s impeachment trial is an opportunity for the public to hear the extent to which former President Trump used a campaign of disinformation to bully election officials and attempt to steal an election he had lost at the ballot box, leading up to the attempted insurrection by supporters carrying his flag on January 6. The outcome of this trial should be a lifetime ban on Trump holding federal office.

Trump’s disinformation campaign included lies to his supporters, but also blatant attempts to pressure state officials to break the law during the post-election period and an unprecedented demand of the vice president to circumvent the entire Electoral College once the vote had already been certified.

Lives were lost on January 6 and confidence in our system of government was shaken. Now, 71% of Americans say that democracy in the U.S. is under threat. We cannot begin to address this threat and rebuild trust unless we send a clear message that future presidents cannot incite an insurrection at the end of their term and get away with it. To prevent the most dangerous abuses of power in the future, we must first have accountability.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted a letter to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics calling for immediate action in response to congressional staff threats to withhold official actions and access for companies that suspended campaign contributions following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Prior to the riot at the Capitol several lawmakers allegedly made comments to incite the attack and many objected to the official certification of the electoral votes. In response, over 70 companies announced that they would suspend all or some of their political action committee (PAC) contributions. Following the announcement, it was reported that congressional staffers for Republican and Democratic lawmakers threatened to prohibit lobbyists from companies that have pulled their political donations from coming into their offices and  allow legislation that would be harmful to those same companies to pass without objection.  

“Lawmakers revealing that they are considering punishing companies based on political contributions is akin to extortion,” said Kedric Payne senior director of ethics and former deputy chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics, “The very public nature of the threats is yet another symptom of the collapse of core ethics rules in Congress.”

House rules are clear that “members and staff are not to take or withhold any official action on the basis of the campaign contributions or support of the involved individuals . . . members and staff are likewise prohibited from threatening punitive action on the basis of such consideration.”  The committee, “has long advised members and staff that they should always exercise caution to avoid even the appearance that solicitations of campaign contributions are connected in any way with an action taken or to be taken in their official capacity.” Moreover, these actions implicate bribery, illegal gratuities and other criminal laws.

“The Committee on Ethics is often criticized for not investigating or disciplining lawmakers for ethics violations, but it routinely issues public advisories to lawmakers to prevent foreseeable ethics violations,” Payne said, “If the committee fails to at the very least issue a statement prohibiting this conduct, it is setting a tone in the beginning of a new Congress that fundamental ethics principles are not enforced and thereby meaningless.” 

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is urging the U.S. House Committee on Ethics to take action on the blatant ethics violations. If the committee fails to act on these very public threats, the integrity of the committee and the House of Representatives will be called into question at a time when many feel our democracy is under attack.