Trump Administration/Executive Ethics

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” on a bill to establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate the violent attack January 6th on the United States Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The letter notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote final passage of H.R. 3233 to create the “National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex” (H.R. 3233) in our next Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members.

Bell’s super-PAC reached more than 42,000 people with its fundraising emails—as many as 1,000 donated—and his “e-mail marketing contained material misrepresentations including promising ‘5X’ matching of any donation,” prosecutors noted. While that is a far cry from prosecuting anyone for using the tactic, according to Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at watchdog group Common Cause, it still raises the stakes for any campaign thinking about offering matches they can’t actually make. “Would the DOJ go after a PAC making legitimate political expenditures and contributions, but that falsely used ‘match’ language in its solicitation of contributions? I don’t know and won’t venture a guess,” Ryan says. “But candidates and PACs should now be on notice that the DOJ considers such false ‘match’ language to be a material misrepresentation to donors. All candidates and PACs should steer clear from using material misrepresentations when soliciting contributions.”

Today Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the Census FACTS Act to ensure that future censuses do not see the unprecedented level of political malfeasance and politicalization that plagued the 2020 Census count.  The Census Federal Advisory Committee on Transparency and Standards (Census FACTS) Act charges Congress and President Biden to create an expert, nonpartisan committee to identify the specific problems encountered during the 2020 Census -- including political interference by the Trump Administration; the COVID-19 pandemic; and the level of transparency, public participation, and responsiveness on the part of the Census Bureau in making its policy decisions. In highlighting these problems and making recommendations to fix them, the committee established by the Census FACTS Act would help to restore the public confidence in the Census Bureau. Separately, the bill also clarifies the Reapportionment Act of 1929 to ensure that total population is used in Congressional redistricting.

The FEC first launched its inquiry in 2018 after the nonprofit government watchdog group Common Cause filed a complaint against the Trump campaign. On Thursday, Paul S. Ryan, Common Cause’s vice president for policy and litigation, said the decision to drop the case showcased how the federal agency is “broken.” “The FEC’s nonpartisan career staff attorneys recommended that the Commission find reason to believe that Trump, his campaign committee, and the Trump Organization committed the violations alleged in Common Cause’s complaints,” Ryan said in a statement. “Today’s announcement that the FEC will not be holding Trump accountable for his campaign finance violations is just the latest display of dysfunction at the FEC.” Ryan also encouraged the Justice Department to pursue an investigation of Trump’s role in the scheme before the statute of limitations expires in October.

”Continued pursuit of the matter required at least four votes,” said Paul S. Ryan, vice president for policy and litigation at Common Cause, which filed one of the complaints against Trump and his campaign. “Republican Commissioners Cooksey and Trainor overrode the career attorneys and Democratic commissioners and killed the investigation.”

In a statement after the decision, the progressive group Common Cause described it as “an endless cycle of uncertainty,” and it’s hard to disagree. The process could easily stretch through the 2024 election, and given the political interests involved, it’s not clear how it could ever fully resolve.