Statement from Daniel Stevens, Executive Director of Campaign for Accountability, on the nomination of David Bernhardt for the position of Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
On January 14, 2019, CfA again called on North Carolina officials to investigate whether Tim Moore, Speaker of the North Carolina General Assembly, improperly used his position to seek preferential treatment from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) regarding a property owned by his company, Southeast Land Holdings, LLC. Additionally, CfA called for an investigation into whether DEQ officials acted appropriately when they issued a Conditional No Further Action letter to Speaker Moore’s company in September 2016.
"The Campaign for Accountability, which has worked to investigate many Trump administration officials, sent a formal complaint to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) Thursday seeking a probe. Grassley’s panel has wide-ranging oversight responsibilities over inspectors general."
On October 25, 2018, CfA asked Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Suzanne Israel Tufts, the Assistant Secretary for Administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to replace Department of Interior Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall amid ongoing investigations into Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s unethical behavior.
"In one of his efforts to “drain the swamp,” President Donald Trump forbade his appointees from participating in matters involving their former employers in any professional capacity. But that's exactly what Scott Lloyd, director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, did, according to an ethics complaint filed Thursday by a government watchdog group."
On October 18, 2018, CfA called on officials at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to investigate whether Scott Lloyd, Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, used his government position to help secure a government contract for his former employer, the Catholic fraternal service organization, the Knights of Columbus.
"The non-profit watchdog group Campaign for Accountability said that Bernhardt should be investigated for continuing to work as a lobbyist even after joining the Trump transition team."
"Given the significance of this issue, it is critical that the American people have confidence that the proposed changes are based on sound policy. This is why my organization, Campaign for Accountability a nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog group focused on public accountability, called on ethics officials at HHS to open an investigation into HHS Secretary Alex Azar and his relationship with his former employer, the pharmaceutical manufacturing giant Eli Lilly."
On August 30, 2018, CfA filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeking communications between Sec. Alex Azar, and any representative or lobbyist for Eli Lilly and Company. Sec. Azar worked at Eli Lilly for a decade, and he has supported a proposed rule change at HHS that would greatly benefit the pharmaceutical manufacturer.
"A watchdog group has asked ethics officials at the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate the relationship between Alex Azar, who heads the department, and Eli Lilly (LLY), his former employer, over a recently proposed rule that would benefit drug makers."