Press Release

President Trump announced via Tweet that he will pardon Dinesh D’Souza signaling again his contempt for the rule of law. D’Souza pleaded guilty several years ago to violating our nation’s campaign finance laws with a “straw donor” scheme that violated federal candidate contribution limits and the public’s right to know who is spending money to influence our elections. The President has taken to boasting about pardons of convicted criminals. His previous pardon of Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt for defying a judge’s order to stop his department’s racial profiling and harassment of Latinos during patrols. Trump’s action sends yet another dangerous signal that he will abuse his power to protect those who would subvert the rule of law, including the laws that protect the integrity of our democracy from corruption.

Common Cause and 25,213 of its members and supporters have filed formal comments urging the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to adopt the stronger of two proposals (Alternative A) to update its rules by requiring online political advertisements to include “paid for by” disclaimers currently required for TV, radio and print ads. Common Cause joins a coalition of pro-transparency organizations delivering to the FEC comments from more than 100,000 people urging the adoption of stronger online ad disclaimer rules.

Tomorrow’s White House briefing by law enforcement and intelligence officials to discuss a confidential informant’s interactions with Trump campaign officials in 2016 cannot be a closed partisan meeting and must include members of both political parties through the “Gang of Eight.” Despite President Trump’s assertions on Twitter, the entire U.S. intelligence community has concluded beyond a doubt that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. And it has been widely documented that numerous members of the Trump campaign, including the President’s own son, took meetings throughout the campaign with Russians and other foreign nationals offering assistance to the campaign.

Common Cause applauds the Senate for passing the joint resolution to restore net neutrality. Special thanks to Senator Markey, Senator Schumer and others for their leadership on this important resolution to undo the FCC’s net neutrality repeal.

Statement of Michael Copps, former FCC Commissioner & Common Cause Special Advisor With the discharge petition filed, the Senate has an opportunity to take a major step forward in restoring the net neutrality rules.  The internet belongs to everyone and is vital to a functioning democracy. Whether accessing news and information, applying for jobs, starting a business, or doing homework, millions of Americans rely on equal access to the internet. It’s no surprise that the most recent polls show an overwhelming majority of Americans support the net neutrality rules. With this Senate vote, the American people will know who’s looking out for them and who’s looking out for the interests of the big internet service providers. People back home are watching, Senators, and they will remember in November how you voted in May.

Tonight, Ohio voters approved a historic state constitutional amendment that will institute strong protections against partisan political gerrymandering in congressional redistricting. After democracy advocates collected over 200,000 signatures to place a redistricting initiative on the 2018 ballot, the Ohio General Assembly voted to place Issue 1 on the May ballot with a strong bipartisan vote. Today Ohioans voted to ratify the measure.