Campaign for Accountability (CfA) is a
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
ethics
watchdog group headquartered in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
[Andy Sher]
Sen. Corker bites back at watchdog group's second ethics complaint against him
''Chattanooga Times Free Press'' (March 22, 2016). CfA was co-founded in May 2015 by Anne Weismann, former legal counsel for the watchdog group
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and nonpartisan U.S. government ethics and accountability watchdog organization.''Washington Information Directory 2017-2018''; CQ Press; 2017; Pg. 327 Founded ...
(CREW), and Louis Mayberg, former chairman of CREW. CfA group states that it "uses research, litigation and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life."
[About: Our Mission](_blank)
Campaign for Accountability (accessed January 11, 2018).
History and staff
CfA was co-founded in May 2015 by Anne Weismann and Louis Mayberg (who serves on the group's advisory board).
[New Lawsuit Demands SEC Issue Rule Requiring Corporations Disclose Political Donations](_blank)
Campaign for Accountability; May 15, 2015 Both were formerly part of the watchdog group
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and nonpartisan U.S. government ethics and accountability watchdog organization.''Washington Information Directory 2017-2018''; CQ Press; 2017; Pg. 327 Founded ...
(CREW): Weismann was the group's chief counsel for ten years and Mayberg was the group's former chairman and founder.
Weismann is also past president of the American Society of Access Professionals and a member of the OpenTheGovernment.org steering committee.
Daniel Stevens, formerly a senior researcher at CREW, became deputy director for CfA, and in 2017 became CfA's executive director.
Activities
In May 2015, the CfA filed a lawsuit against the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
, seeking to compel the agency to promulgate a regulation requiring corporations to disclose their political contributions that would inform investors how corporations are spending their money.
The CfA acted on behalf of Stephen Silberstein, a shareholder of
Aetna Inc.
Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans ...
who had unsuccessfully sought to gain information on the company's political contributions.
[Jonathan Stempel]
SEC not required to make firms disclose political contributions: judge
Reuters (January 5, 2016). In January 2016, Judge
Rosemary M. Collyer
Rosemary Mayers Collyer (born November 19, 1945) is an inactive Senior Status, Senior United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia,
and a Judge of the United States Fo ...
of the
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...
dismissed the suit, ruling that the plaintiff had not demonstrated that SEC had a "clear legal duty" to open a rulemaking proceeding or that its failure to do so was
arbitrary and capricious
In law, the standard of review is the amount of Judicial deference, deference given by one court (or some other appellate tribunal) in reviewing a decision of a lower court or tribunal. A low standard of review means that the decision under review ...
.
In November 2015, the CfA asked the
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland s ...
and the
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...
to get to the bottom of allegations that the
Macau casino operations of
Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns th ...
's
Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Las Vegas Sands Corporation is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Its corporate mission is to create "Integrated Resorts" which feature a combination of gambling, accommodation, ...
are tied to organized crime.
[Isaak Arnesdorf]
Group asks for probe of Adelson contributions
''Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' (November 3, 2015). Weismann said that "Given the extent to which Mr. Adelson's wealth derives from Macau and his dominant role in funding Republican candidates, it seems highly likely that illegal foreign money has made its way into American elections." A spokesman for the Las Vegas Sands Corp. denied the allegations,
and the CfA subsequently issued a retraction of its statement, saying: "The available evidence supports further investigation into these alleged matters but does not support the statements made by CfA outside of its filings" with the Senate committee and the FEC.
In December 2015, the CfA asked the
U.S. Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
to investigate
David H. Stevens, the chief executive of the
Mortgage Bankers Association
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the United States national association representing all facets of the real estate finance industry. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., MBA represents over 2,200 member companies. MBA’s membership base in ...
and the former commissioner of the
Federal Housing Administration
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), also known as the Office of Housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a United States government agency founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, created in part ...
, for possible violations of "
revolving door
A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a central shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure. Revolving doors are energy efficient as they, acting as an airlock, prevent drafts, thus de ...
" ethics laws. The
National Legal and Policy Center The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) is a right-wing 501(c)(3) non-profit group that monitors and reports on the ethics of public officials, supporters of liberal causes, and labor unions in the United States. The Center files complaints with ...
joined this call several months later.
In January 2016,
OpenSecrets
OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...
published a report showing that the largest contributors to the campaigns of Senator
Bob Corker
Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Rela ...
, Republican of Tennessee, were the tenants of a commercial building that the senator owns in
Chattanooga
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
. Stevens of CfA said that a tenant's ties to Corker raise questions on whether it was paying
fair market value
The fair market value of property is the price at which it would change hands between a willing and informed buyer and seller. The term is used throughout the Internal Revenue Code, as well as in bankruptcy laws, in many state laws, and by several ...
in rent.
Separately, the CfA filed ethics complaints against Corker with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
and
U.S. Senate Ethics Committee, accusing him of
insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...
in three particular
hedge fund
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...
s.
Corker denied the allegations, calling them "categorically false" and "baseless."
In March 2016, the CfA made a request to
Kim Davis
Kimberly Jean Davis (; born September 17, 1965) is a former county clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky, who gained international attention in August 2015 when she defied a U.S. federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
...
—the controversial
county clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
of
Rowan County, Kentucky
Rowan County (, ) is a County (United States), county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky, in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,662. Its coun ...
, who had gained international attention the previous year after defying a
federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples—for access to
public records
Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential and generally pertain to the conduct of government.
For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the optio ...
under the Kentucky Open Records Act. The CfA specifically sought copies of
retainer agreement
A retainer agreement is a work-for-hire contract. It falls between a one-off contract and permanent employment, which may be full-time or part-time. Its distinguishing feature is that the client or customer pays in advance for professional work ...
s and lawyer-client engagement agreements between Davis and
Liberty Counsel
Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt religious liberty organization that engages in litigation related to evangelical Christian values. Liberty Counsel was founded in 1989 by its chairman Mathew Staver and its president Anita L. Staver, who ...
, the religious advocacy organization that represented Davis in the marriage-license dispute.
[John Cheves]
Kim Davis violated Open Records Act, attorney general says
''Lexington Herald-Leader'' (July 5, 2016).[Morgan Watkins]
AG opinion: Kim Davis violated Open Records Act
''Courier-Journal'' (Louisville, Ky.) (July 6, 2016). Liberty Counsel, which responded to the request on Davis' behalf, refused to comply, arguing that the documents were preliminary and private records not subject to the Act.
The CfA appealed to the Office of the
Kentucky Attorney General
The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), the state's chief law enforcement officer (K ...
, which under Kentucky law has the authority to make binding rulings on the Open Records Act,
and resubmitted its request to Davis' office in April 2016.
In May 2016, the Attorney General's Office sought to
privately review the records at issue to determine if an exemption applied, but Liberty Counsel refused to make most of the documents available for a private review.
In an opinion issued on June 30, 2016, the Attorney General's Office made a finding favorable to the CfA, determining that Davis had violated the Open Records Act, saying that her conduct had the effect of "intentionally frustrating the attorney general's review of an open records request" which "would subvert the General Assembly's intent behind providing review by the attorney general."
In April 2016, the Campaign for Accountability launched the
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
Transparency Project, a website on Google's "influence on government, public policies, and our lives."
Funding for the project, and for the Campaign, was not disclosed, but in August 2016 Ken Glueck of
Oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
confirmed that Oracle, who had been conducting a
high-profile lawsuit against Google, was one of the funders.
In 2017, the group petitioned to unseal the divorce records of
Andrew Puzder
Andrew Franklin Puzder (born July 11, 1950) is an American attorney, author, and businessman. He is the former chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., a position he held from September 2000 to ...
, who was at the time
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's nominee to become the
United States Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...
. Puzder's ex-wife called the group's attempt to unseal her divorce records an "unfair invasion of my personal life."
[ CfA also filed ethics complaint against Republican congressional aides who had worked for the Trump transition team. The group also filed a lawsuit arguing that the ]United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
is failing to comply with a provision in the Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
that requires government agencies to make public "statements of policy and interpretations which have been adopted by the agency."
In March 2017, CfA and other groups asked Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum
Ellen F. Rosenblum (born January 6, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the Oregon Attorney General since 2012. She is the first female state attorney general in Oregon's history, and previously was a judge on the Oregon ...
to investigate solar panel sales practices that "are designed to trick homeowners into buying or leasing solar panels" in violation of Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act. The request to Rosenblum "singled out one company: California-based SolarCity
SolarCity Corporation was a publicly traded company headquartered in Fremont, California that sold and installed solar energy generation systems as well as other related products and services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers ...
." The organization reviewed 58 consumer complaints and said that the complaints indicated "a widespread pattern of apparent fraud and abuse by solar companies." A spokesman for CfA said, "Solar companies often seem to target vulnerable populations, leaving senior Oregonians and those living on fixed incomes with higher monthly utility costs and loans that often exceed what they can afford to pay, plunging them into debt."
In April 2017, CfA filed a complaint with the U.S. Attorney's Office
United States attorneys are officials of the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 United States federal judicial district, U.S. federal judici ...
for the Western District of Missouri, calling for a federal grand jury
Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought. T ...
investigation into Missouri State Senate
The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...
President Pro Tem Ron Richard
Ronald F. Richard (born July 4, 1947) is an American politician from the state of Missouri. A Republican, Richard served in the Missouri House of Representatives, including as Speaker of the House before being elected to the State Senate in 2010. ...
's acceptance of a $100,000 campaign contribution from a Joplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...
businessman, six days after introducing a bill "that would have affected a lawsuit against that donor's company" by restricting the ability of plaintiffs to sue under Missouri's consumer protection
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
law.[Jason Hancock]
Watchdog group calls for investigation of Missouri Senate leader Ron Richard
''Kansas City Star'' (April 19, 2017). Both Richard and the contributor denied wrongdoing, saying that the allegation of pay to play
Pay-to-play, sometimes pay-for-play or P2P, is a phrase used for a variety of situations in which money is exchanged for services or the privilege to engage in certain activities. The common denominator of all forms of pay-to-play is that one mus ...
was false.
In May 2017, CfA filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics
The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), established by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2008, is a nonpartisan, independent entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of the House of Representatives and thei ...
, asking the office to open an investigation into whether U.S. Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen
Rodney Procter Frelinghuysen (born April 29, 1946) is an American former politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2019. The district includes most of Morris County, an affluent suburban county west of New ...
, Republican of New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, the chair of the House Appropriations Committee
The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...
, violated House ethics rules. The complaint involved a campaign fundraising letter that Frelinghuysen had written to a bank board member in which he criticized a progressive activist who was employed by the bank; Frelinghuysen added a handwritten note to the letter: "P.S. One of the ringleaders works in your bank!" The CfA argued that this "poison pen note" was a form of intimidation. Frelinghuysen hired lawyers following the complaint; his campaign adviser said that the complaint was "politically motivated."
In July 2017, CfA sent a letter to the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate what it says are a pattern of unscrupulous sales practices in the residential solar market.
References
External links
* {{official, http://campaignforaccountability.org
501(c)(3) organizations
Business ethics organizations
Government watchdog groups in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Organizations established in 2015
Consumer organizations in the United States