Press Release

Americans deserve to know the truth about the Russian attacks on the 2016 presidential race. The statements of Chairman Grassley and Senator Graham that they expect to help President Trump confirm a replacement for Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the elections are irresponsible at this time. President Trump should not receive any cover for corruptly replacing the attorney general to appoint a loyalist who will undermine Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation.

Paul Manafort joins a growing list of convictions stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s attack on the 2016 presidential election. Congress must be prepared to act swiftly and decisively if President Trump attempts to subvert the justice system by pardoning Paul Manafort or otherwise undermining the Special Counsel’s investigation. Today’s jury conviction and the continuing threats from President Trump and his attorneys against the Special Counsel hammer home the need for Congress to protect the investigation.

The Department of Justice is sending a strong message that it will enforce the nation’s campaign finance laws. The blatant violations of the law that Common Cause outlined in our complaints to the Department of Justice concerning hush money payments to Stormy Daniels are among those that Cohen pleaded guilty to today. Cohen’s guilty plea directly implicates President Trump in related campaign finance violations detailed in Common Cause complaints.

Today, Common Cause launched a nationwide effort to get candidates running for Congress and state office to go on the record and tell voters where they stand on issues affecting our democracy. The “Our Democracy 2018” campaign and questionnaire includes 18 important questions on campaign finance, ethics, voting rights, redistricting, the 2020 Census, and Net Neutrality.

Today, Tribune Media Company announced it terminated its merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group. The termination comes after the Federal Communications Commission designated the transaction for an administrative hearing. The $3.9 billion merger would have allowed Sinclair to reach 72 percent of households nationwide.

Common Cause joined more than 250,000 individuals and organizations to urge the Commerce Department to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census, citing the threat to census accuracy in all communities that will undermine the fair allocation of political representation, public resources, and private investment for the next decade.