Search

Menu

Close

Press

Featured Press
Trump Must Sign Ethics Pledge & Transition Documents

Press Release

Trump Must Sign Ethics Pledge & Transition Documents

President-elect Donald Trump still has not signed legal documents – including an ethics pledge - needed to formally begin his administration’s transition of power. Candidates usually file these documents well in advance of the election. As a result of this delay, the government cannot provide security clearances, briefings and resources to Trump’s incoming team before he is sworn into office on January 20th.

Media Contacts

David Vance

National Media Strategist
dvance@commoncause.org
240-605-8600

Katie Scally

Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
202-736-5713

Ariana Marmolejo

Regional Communications Strategist (West)
amarmolejo@commoncause.org

Jennifer Garcia

Regional Communications Strategist (South)
jgarcia@commoncause.org

Kenny Colston

Regional Communications Strategist (Midwest)
kcolston@commoncause.org

Common Cause’s network of national and state democracy reform experts are frequent media commentators. To talk with one of our experts, please reach out to any member of the press team above.

Filters

4035 Results

through

Reset Filters

Close

Filters

4035 Results

through

Reset Filters

CNN: What a third White House campaign might mean for Donald Trump and his vast political war chest

News Clip

CNN: What a third White House campaign might mean for Donald Trump and his vast political war chest

"If you walk like a duck, sound like a duck, are a duck, you are supposed to register as a candidate," said Stephen Spaulding, a former Federal Election Commission lawyer who is now senior counsel for policy at the watchdog group Common Cause.

Trump has "clearly bent over backwards to hint about what his intentions are," Spaulding said.

The Oregonian (Op-Ed): The leadership that money can’t buy

News Clip

The Oregonian (Op-Ed): The leadership that money can’t buy

Our communities face urgent issues.

Across Oregon, we struggle with the disparate impacts of an ongoing pandemic, wildfire displacement, economic hardship, racism and more.

We desperately need elected leaders who understand these struggles firsthand – those who come from impacted communities themselves and who share our lived experiences. But who can afford to run for office? And if elected, who can afford to serve in office?

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Posh southwestern Pa. party spotlights how lawmakers and lobbyists mingle out of the public eye

News Clip

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Posh southwestern Pa. party spotlights how lawmakers and lobbyists mingle out of the public eye

“There’s so little trust that there has to be an environment of complete and utter transparency,” said Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause PA, a nonprofit government watchdog group.  

“What we’re seeing with these situations — because of the campaign finance laws, donor disclosure, the wide-open structure of lobbying disclosure — there are a number of ways to circumvent the laws,” Mr. Ali said.

Insider: Trump-endorsed J.R. Majewski, an Ohio Republican running in one of the nation’s hottest congressional races, is violating federal law by not disclosing his personal finances

News Clip

Insider: Trump-endorsed J.R. Majewski, an Ohio Republican running in one of the nation’s hottest congressional races, is violating federal law by not disclosing his personal finances

Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization, said all congressional candidates should follow the law about personal financial disclosures — especially in a race as close as the one for Ohio's 9th Congressional District.

"It allows voters to consider the statements the candidates make, it allows voters to consider any conflicts of interest," Turcer said. "Transparency allows voters to be educated … and to know what each of the candidates are all about and how...

Daily Beast: How a Trumpy Billionaire Is Single-Handedly Reshaping Campaigns

News Clip

Daily Beast: How a Trumpy Billionaire Is Single-Handedly Reshaping Campaigns

“There’s definitely disproportionate involvement of single-candidate super PACs this cycle,” Aaron Scherb of government watchdog Common Cause observed. “These groups tend to have a small number of donors, and they often silence and drown out the voices of small donors and everyday voters.”

“Often these donors want something in return,” he said. ...

“There’s definitely more danger of a quid pro quo with these groups,” Scherb said. “At the very least it creates the perception of corruption,...

Associated Press: Election skeptics rise in GOP races to run state elections

News Clip

Associated Press: Election skeptics rise in GOP races to run state elections

Although secretaries of state are important positions, they do not have unlimited power, said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for expanded voter access.

“Even in states where the secretary of state has an enormous amount of power, a secretary of state cannot — by themselves — overturn a democratic election,” Albert said. “Even where these individuals may want to take actions to undermine the ability for voters to vote and have a ballot count,...

Voice of America: Justice Department Investigating More Than 100 Cases of Threats Against Election Workers

News Clip

Voice of America: Justice Department Investigating More Than 100 Cases of Threats Against Election Workers

The 1,000-plus harassing and hostile contacts made to election officials covered the period from June 2021 to June 2022. The trend continued in July, the task force told the election officials, according to Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, who attended the briefing. ...


In total, 89% of the contacts made to election officials were deemed protected speech and could not be investigated.

“A lot of the questions were aimed at ‘Wait. Really? You can only investigate 11% of...

Broadcasting & Cable: Groups Say Tegna Deal Will ‘Jack Up’ Cable Prices

News Clip

Broadcasting & Cable: Groups Say Tegna Deal Will ‘Jack Up’ Cable Prices

Common Cause, news and broadcast unions and UCC Media Justice, Which petitioned the FCC to deny the Standard General-Tegna merger, told the FCC Tuesday (Aug. 2)  just what it thought of the those merging parties' defense of the deal, including that the petitioners had no legal right to challenge it.

In their comments, the groups minced no words. "The Applicants and their anonymous funders located in the Cayman and British Virgin Islands have proposed a complex series of transactions designed to weaken local journalism and jack...

Common Cause Files Response Opposing Proposed Apollo Global Management-Standard General-Tegna Merger

Press Release

Common Cause Files Response Opposing Proposed Apollo Global Management-Standard General-Tegna Merger

Today, Common Cause joined The NewsGuild-CWA, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA, and UCC Media Justice Ministry in filing a Reply, opposing the proposed merger of Apollo Global Management, Standard General L.P., and Tegna Inc. In June, Common Cause filed its original petition to deny the merger.

PolitiFact/Poynter: How will social media platforms respond to election misinformation? It isn’t clear

News Clip

PolitiFact/Poynter: How will social media platforms respond to election misinformation? It isn’t clear

This decision may have consequences for voters in 2022, said Yosef Getachew, media and democracy program director at Common Cause, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest group. (Common Cause supports PolitiFact's Spanish fact-checking in 2022.)

Many people still believe the 2020 election was stolen, and candidates have been sharing that message. "By not combating this, they're helping fuel the narrative that this big lie was accurate, when it's not," said Getachew.

Emma Steiner, a disinformation researcher at...

Insider: Cenk Uygur Is Pushing for Constitutional Convention. It Isn’t Going Well

News Clip

Insider: Cenk Uygur Is Pushing for Constitutional Convention. It Isn’t Going Well

Nonprofit government watchdog group Common Cause has been one of Wolf PAC's leading opponents, successfully lobbying behind the scenes to convince state lawmakers that any constitutional convention — no matter its stated purpose — lead to chaos and unintended consequences. Common Cause also opposes a conservative-led effort to call for a constitutional convention that aims to significantly limit the size of the federal government and advance other conservative priorities.

"If you think the Constitution is bad now, how do you...

Insider: There’s a 50-50 chance states will call for a constitutional convention within 5 years: conservative legal scholar

News Clip

Insider: There’s a 50-50 chance states will call for a constitutional convention within 5 years: conservative legal scholar

"What we're seeing now, that we haven't really seen before, is people putting money into it. The Mark Mecklers of the world are putting money into it," Viki Harrison, director of Constitutional Convention and Protecting Dissent Programs at Common Cause, told Insider. 

Meckler's groups, Convention of States Action and Citizens for Self Governance, have received millions of dollars from groups including the Koch-connected DonorsTrust, the Mercer Family Foundation, and groups connected to powerful conservative lawyer Leonard...

Load More

Close

    • Close

    Hello! It looks like you're joining us from {state}.

    Want to see what's happening in your state?

    Go to Common Cause {state}