“Public officials need to be aware that this so-called startup advocacy group is really in bed with Silicon Valley’s foremost D.C. influence machine, whose interests are often in conflict with those of disruptive entrepreneurs,” said Daniel Stevens of the Campaign for Accountability, which released the report.
On May 30, 2018, CfA released a new report, “The Lobbyist in the Garage,” revealing that Engine, a San Francisco-based nonprofit claiming to represent the “voice of startups in government,” is little more than an apparent AstroTurf lobbying group created by current and former Google employees to advance Google’s interests.
"When a watchdog group, the Campaign for Accountability, pored over Crapo's campaign finance reports, it could find no record of the senator reimbursing Hart for the use of her pad - or Hart donating the use of her home as an in-kind contribution to the Crapo campaign."
"U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, has admitted to federal election officials that he used a lobbyist-owned Washington, D.C., townhouse 81 times over a four-year period at no cost, including as recently as February."
On May 7, 2018, CfA filed a supplemental complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Vicki Hart, the lobbyist owner of a Washington, D.C. condominium, for knowingly and willfully failing to disclose improper in-kind contributions in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and FEC regulations.
"A self-described nonpartisan watchdog group on Thursday urged the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate possible connections between donations from the payday lending industry to Sen. Richard Shelby's campaign account and congressional votes that benefitted the industry."
"On Thursday, the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability asked two Congressional ethics committees to investigate 14 members of Congress for taking official actions in support of the payday lending industry while at the same time accepting campaign contributions from that industry."
On May 3, 2018, CfA asked the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether two senators and 12 representatives violated congressional rules and criminal law by accepting campaign contributions from the payday lending industry shortly before or after taking official actions in support of the industry’s priorities.
"The Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit ethics watchdog group, has asked the inspector general of the health department to investigate Lloyd, pointing to instances in which he tried to dissuade minors in his custody from getting an abortion."
"The reimbursement came after a watchdog group filed a complaint with the FEC last week alleging that Crapo’s fundraising events constituted illegal in-kind contributions to Crapo’s campaign by the LLC that technically owns the house. Corporations are legally barred from contributing to federal political campaigns."