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CLC sent a letter on December 19, 2018 to Chairman Gowdy and Ranking Member Cummings about potential undisclosed conflicts of interest on the part of Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who was paid $1.2 million from a single, untraceable source in the three years before joining the Department of Justice. Whitaker was executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), and was the organization's only full-time employee.
CLC wrote the Chair of the Committee on Competitiveness in the Michigan House of Representatives and the Chair on the Committee on Elections and Government Reform to support transparency and Michigan citizens' right to effective enforcement of the state's campaign finance and ethics laws. CLC opposes SB 1176 and SB 1250.
CLC submitted a FOIA Request to the Department of Commerce to obtain information regarding Secretary Wilbur Ross' travel. The request comes in light of at least four U.S Cabinet members and one agency administrator who have used military or chartered aircrafts for personal use at the taxpayers' expense.
CLC filed a complaint with the Department of Commerce's Inspector General calling for an investigation into whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated the criminal laws on conflicts of interest and false statements. The complaint provides a detailed roadmap for the Inspector General to determine whether Ross has violated the law, pointing to the fact that Ross has not accounted for 46 assets that he pledged to divest.
Today, CLC filed a supplemental complaint with the Office of the Inspector General concerning Secretary Ross's possible violations of the conflict of interest law. CLC sent an earlier letter to the Inspector General on the same issue on August 13, 2018.
Walter Shaub released 13 policy recommendations to insulate ethics program from political retaliation, strengthen transparency, increase effectiveness of agency oversight capacity.
CLC filed comments with the Philadelphia Board of Ethics regarding the Proposed Amendments to Board Regulation No. 1. Board Regulation No. 1 relates to campaign finance and CLC supports the Board’s decision to update the regulation.
CLC supports North Dakota's Measure One, which would increase the transparency of spending in state elections, reduce the undue influence of lobbyists, limit the misuse of campaign funds, and establish a state ethics commission. State voters will be able to vote on this on November 6.
CLC filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel against Donald M. Benton, the Director of the U.S. Selective Service System, for an apparent violation of the Hatch Act.
Today, a coordinated letter was sent to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The letter urged the representatives to support H. Res 1043, the Rice Reed Resolution, that was recently introduced by Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-New York) and Tom Reed (R-New York). This letter was sent as a coordinated effort between Business for America, CLC, Common Cause, Government Accountability Institute, Issue ONe, League of Women Voters of the United States, MapLight, Project on Government Oversight, R Street Institute, Stand Up Republic, Sunlight Foundation, Take Back Our Republic, and Taxpayers for Common Sense.
On August 17, 2018, CLC sent a letter to Chairman Chuck Grassley of the Judiciary Committee, about recent reporting that indicates that White House staffers have been required to sign nondisclosure agreements. CLC is asking that Grassley use his oversight authority to figure out whether these nondisclosure agreements complied with the anti-gag rule, and if not, obtain assurances from the White House that it will not seek to enforce them.
Campaign Legal Center collaborated with Demos on a fact sheet about President Trump's nominee to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh. The document lays out Kavanaugh's unsettling record on democracy, including his views on presidential power, money in politics and voting rights.
CLC signed onto a letter to the ethics official at the Department of Veterans Affairs, expressing concern regarding the agency's proposal to issue a blanket ethics waiver to all its employees related to for-profit education benefits provided.
CLC filed complaints urging enforcement of the Hatch Act and has called out violations in the media.
Poll after poll indicates the public’s growing distrust of American government institutions and, to a degree, democracy itself. Americans expect the people who work for them to be accountable for their actions. A strong independent ethics agency is an essential part of a government that is representative, responsive and accountable. This type of agency, referred to here as an "ethics commission," provides oversight that is critical to a functional democratic system by overseeing ethics, financial disclosure, lobbying and campaign finance laws.
The Campaign Legal Center filed a letter with the FEC providing additional evidence that private prison company GEO Group illegally contributed a total of $225,000 to the Donald Trump-affiliated super PAC Rebuilding America Now, in violation of the 75-year-old ban on government contractors making political contributions.
A coalition of watchdog groups and congressional scholars urged House and Senate leaders from both parties to strengthen ethics rules and address known weaknesses in current rules. The package of proposed reforms cover travel, conflicts of interest, campaign activities by members and staff while Congress is meeting, the revolving door and enforcement.
Walter Shaub, senior director, ethics at CLC released 13 policy recommendations to insulate ethics program from political retaliation, strengthen transparency, increase effectiveness of agency oversight capacity.
CLC filed a complaint against EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt asking for an investigation into his ethics conduct when he used his official position and government resources to try and secure a franchise opportunity for his wife at Chick-fil-A. CLC sent this to the EPA's Inspector General and the Office of Government Ethics.
CLC filed an ethics complaint before the EPA's Inspector General, asking for an investigation into conduct by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for misuse of government position by trying to secure a business opportunity for his wife.