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Watchdogs Submit New Evidence Revealing that Interior Secretary Violated Ethics Rules to Benefit Former Client

On November 12, 2019, CfA and Western Values Project, a Montana-based nonprofit conservation group, submitted additional evidence to ethics officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Office of Government Ethics showing U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt continued to work with his former lobbying client, Westlands Water District, through at least July 2017, which is longer than was previously known.

November 5, 2019 Press Releases, Themis Project

Watchdog Calls on Estée Lauder to Stop Employee from Using Company Name to Promote Anti-choice Group Obria

On November 5, 2019, CfA sent letters to Estée Lauder informing the company of an employee’s inappropriate use of the company’s name in her role as the board chair of Obria Medical Clinics of Southern California, an anti-choice religious ministry masquerading as a healthcare group, and requesting that the company discipline the employee accordingly.

Rep. Scott Plakon hid real estate holdings, ethics complaint alleges

"The complaint was filed by Dan Stevens, executive director of the Campaign for Accountability, with the Florida Commission on Ethics. It cited property records, court filings and other documents to show Plakon bought and sold several properties in Seminole, Lake and Volusia counties that never showed up on his annual financial disclosure forms."

Watchdog Files Ethics Complaint Against Florida State Rep. Scott Plakon for Failing to Disclose Real Estate Empire

On November 4, 2019, CfA called on the Florida Commission on Ethics to investigate whether Florida State Representative David Scott Plakon violated the Florida Constitution and state ethics laws by failing to properly disclose information about his myriad business interests on his personal financial disclosure forms.

CfA Releases Database of Google’s 1,327 Grants to Media Organizations, Totaling More than Half a Billion Dollars

On October 9, 2019, CfA released a new report, Google’s Media Takeover, which documents how Google contributed more than half a billion dollars to news and media organizations around the world. In conjunction with the report, CfA also released a comprehensive database that contains information about each of the 1,327 grants Google gave to journalism initiatives. CfA’s report and database represent the most comprehensive effort to catalogue all of Google’s payments to media organizations.

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