Executive Ethics

Emerging stories of his involvement in developing a luxury high-rise in Panama could spell more trouble for President Trump

President Trump’s long campaign to weaponize the Justice Department against Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party may be about to enter a new and dangerous phase.

Today, Common Cause will release a new report - “Putin, Trump and Democracy’s Slippery Slope Toward Oligarchy”- that examines Russia’s attacks on the 2016 presidential election, the continuing threats to our democracy and solutions to address these threats. It also examines how the campaign and Administration of Donald Trump have harnessed our system’s weaknesses to their political and personal benefit.

Today, Common Cause called on the Inspector General of the Commerce Department to investigate Secretary Wilbur Ross’ significant investments in a shipping company closely linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle that came to light through the “Paradise Papers.”

Today’s guilty plea by Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos for lying to investigators about his contacts with Russian nationals with ties to high-level Kremlin officials during the campaign and the indictments against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Richard Gates, hammer home the need to allow Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation to run its course without interference.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has been drumming up business for a group of Washington-based political consultants who some of his fellow Republicans have accused of ripping off party donors.