On September 5, 2019, CfA released a new report, BlackRock’s Washington Playbook, which details how BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, implemented a strategy of lobbying, campaign contributions, and revolving door hires to fight off government regulation and establish itself as one of the most powerful financial companies in the world.
On August 21, 2019, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, on behalf of Campaign for Accountability (CfA) and five other plaintiffs, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit to enforce a request for formal written opinions issued by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) prior to February 15, 1994. The request was filed on behalf of CfA and five scholars who believe their work on U.S. history, law, and politics would benefit from a more complete understanding of the legal opinions that have bound policymakers for decades.
On August 19, 2019, CfA, which runs the Google Transparency Project, published a new analysis, "The Curious Transformation of Mike Lee," which documents how Google used its power and influence to turn U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) into a reliable Google ally after years of antagonizing the company.
On August 5, 2019, CfA filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) seeking an investigation into a PAC operated by the Susan B. Anthony List, and a conservative marketing firm, The Lukens Company. The PAC, the Susan B. Anthony List Inc. Candidate Fund, appears to have violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and FEC regulations by filing inaccurate campaign finance reports and accepting an illegal corporate contribution from The Lukens Company.
Western Values Project, a Montana-based nonprofit conservation group, and Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit watchdog group focused on public accountability, have uncovered additional evidence of political appointees interfering with public records at the Department of Interior, leading to requests being delayed or withheld – in a potential violation of open records laws. In response, the groups submitted the new information to Interior’s Acting Inspector General as part of a request for an investigation into Interior’s troubling practices. In response to the groups’ request, the Inspector General confirmed an investigation into the practice will begin.
On July 16, 2019, CfA released a new report, Plumbers, Pub-Keepers and Notaries: Big Tech’s New Disguise, revealing that the Connected Commerce Council (3C), a small, newly-founded Washington-based nonprofit that bills itself as the “voice of small business,” appears to be an Astroturf-style front group for the nation’s largest technology companies.
Last year, CfA called on then-Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to investigate two Ohio crisis pregnancy centers, Elizabeth’s New Life Center and Heartbeat of Toledo, for engaging in deceptive business practices in violation of Ohio’s Consumer Sales Protection Act.
On June 26, 2019, CfA sent letters to executives at Apple and Google calling on the companies to remove from their platforms apps belonging to the anti-abortion behemoth Susan B. Anthony List and anti-choice/anti-LGBT group, the Family Research Council, for violating company policies.
On June 26, 2019, CfA called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate the anti-abortion behemoth Susan B. Anthony List for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
On June 20, 2019, CfA called on the Texas Attorney General to direct the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to release records regarding an incident at a nightclub partially owned by state Sen. Joan Huffman and her husband, Keith Lawyer.