CLC filed an ethics complaint with Mary Kendall, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior, to call to her attention the troubling conduct of Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. CLC is urging Kendall to conduct a full investigation to determine whether Bernhardt violated his ethics pledge, and whether he violated his ethical obligation to avoid the appearance of favoritism in government decision-making.

See also CLC’s March 28, 2019 supplement to the complaint.

The Office of Inspector General at the Department of the Interior responded to CLC's request for an investigation into potential ethics violations committed by several senior members of Interior including Acting Secretary Bernhardt.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of the Interior (DOI) responded to the complaints submitted by CLC and other groups about various conflicts of interest by David Bernhardt and announced on April 15, 2019 that it is opening an investigation.

CLC sent a letter to Interior’s Inspector General in response to the February 19, 2019 memo from Interior ethics officials seeking to retroactively clear Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s participation in California water matters. CLC filed a complaint in February alleging that Bernhardt violated his ethics pledge by participating in these matters.

See also CLC’s original February 28, 2019 complaint.

The conduct of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has shown a concerning pattern with respect to his compliance with the legal requirements of public service and his stewardship of public funds. CLC is urging the Inspector General to open a full investigation into these matters and take appropriate action.

A nationwide survey of likely 2020 general election voters commissioned by Campaign Legal Center finds that voters overwhelmingly support that contributions to organizations that spend money on elections be publicly disclosed.

The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) requests that the State Department’s Inspector General investigate whether president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, should have complied with ethics laws due to his diplomatic responsibilities on Ukraine matters.

CLC signed a coalition letter to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), urging the agency to create a legal expense fund regulation that is transparent, open and accessible to the public.

CLC and the Center for Responsive Politics formally request that the Federal Election Commission require full, transparent financial reporting of the millions of dollars that pass through national political parties’ special-purpose bank accounts.

See CLC and CRP's comments on this petition here.

CLC and the Center for Responsive Politics filed comments with the FEC on our joint rulemaking petition asking the FEC to clarify reporting requirements for the national party committees’ special-purpose “Cromnibus” accounts.

See the original petition here.

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that Ros-Lehtinen for Congress/South Florida First PAC violated the prohibition on converting campaign funds to personal use

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that President Trump’s “approved” super PAC, America First Action, illegally coordinated up to $6.6 million in expenditures with three federal campaigns in 2018. 

In a letter sent to U.S. Congressmen today, 36 organizations, including Campaign Legal Center urged all U.S. House Members to support H.R. 4617, the SHIELD Act, introduced by House Administration Chair Zoe Lofgren and Rep. John Sarbanes to “strengthen the laws to protect U.S. elections against foreign intervention.” The organizations also strongly urged members to vote against “any amendments to weaken or undermine the legislation.” The SHIELD Act was reported out of the House Administration Committee on October 21, 2019.

CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about a top donor to a pro-Trump super PAC after discovering evidence that a Russian-speaking Ukrainian businessman named Igor Fruman and a Russian-born businessman named Lev Parnas may have created Global Energy Producers, LLC as a shell corporation for the purpose of anonymously funneling six figures to the super PAC.

On June 20, 2019, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a supplement to its original FEC complaint after additional facts came to light. 

On October 9, 2019, Fruman and Parnas were arrested on criminal campaign finance charges, and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York filed an indictment that stemmed from CLC's complaint. 

Two Soviet-born donors to a pro-Trump fundraising committee who helped Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to investigate Joe Biden were arrested late Wednesday on criminal charges of violating campaign finance rules.

On June 20, 2019, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a supplement to our July 25, 2018 Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint outlining additional facts.

On October 10, 2019, CLC President Trevor Potter joined a group of conservative and libertarian lawyers in an open letter to stand firm against foreign interference in American elections. 

A research study, produced by University of Wisconsin Professor Young Mie Kim, in conjunction with CLC and Issue One, is the first empirical research of political ads used on Facebook to influence the 2016 elections. The research supports the need for the Honest Ads Act.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a supplement to our July 25, 2018 Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint outlining additional facts.

This statement is by Adav Noti, senior director of trial litigation and chief of staff at CLC. It was delivered before the Committee on House Administration of the United States House of Representatives on September 25, 2019.

On August 26, 2019, a California appeals court in Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association v. Newsom affirmed a decision striking down a state law that would have enabled public financing programs at the state and local level in California. The legislature enacted the law in 2016 in an effort to rein in political corruption and broaden electoral participation.