Disclosure & Transparency

Even in California, where strong state campaign finance laws set an example for the nation, it’s not that easy to see who is bankrolling political candidates or initiatives.

For a state formerly known as “Corrupticut,” Connecticut has become a national leader in clean, transparent elections with its model public financing program, the Citizens’ Election Program (CEP).

Today Common Cause, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) supplementing a complaint filed by Common Cause on Monday. The expanded complaint alleges that Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort illegally solicited a contribution from a foreign national, and that Kushner, Manafort and Rob Goldstone illegally assisted Donald Trump Jr. in soliciting an illegal political contribution from a foreign national on behalf of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign.

If these e-mails are not a hoax, they are the smoking gun showing that Donald Trump Jr. illegally solicited a contribution from a foreign national—in the form of opposition research against Hillary Clinton—as our complaints yesterday alleged.

Today, Common Cause filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that Donald Trump Jr., in his role with the Trump campaign, illegally solicited information he was told was damaging to the Hillary Clinton campaign.

A new crop of employers and industries emerged as major lobbying forces in the 2017 Maryland General Assembly, Common Cause Maryland (CCMD) reported today.