On February 27, 2018, CfA filed three Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. State Department, and the United States Agency for International Development regarding the Trump Administration's efforts to rollback access to family planning services.
On February 20, 2018, CfA called on Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes to open an investigation into Utah State Representative Michael Noel (R-Kanab) for failing to disclose conflicts of interest, making false or deceptive statements, misusing public money, and violating anti-nepotism rules.
On February 14, 2018, CfA joined a broad coalition of civic groups and academics in endorsing legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is also expected to be introduced in the U.S. Senate by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). The proposal finally would require that presidential inaugural committees tell the public how donations are used and where leftover money is sent.
On February 13, 2018, CfA asked the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice to investigate whether Heath Hall, former Acting Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, violated federal criminal law by willfully filing a public financial disclosure report in which he falsely claimed he would not be receiving outside income.
On February 6, 2018, CfA filed 5 Freedom of Information Act requests for information about Health Hall, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration ("FRA"). Despite his position in the federal government, Mr. Hall apparently continued to work as a communications consultant in Mississippi. On January 26, 2018, Politico reported Mr. Hall is on “an extended leave” of absence from the FRA. Mr. Hall’s name is no longer listed on the FRA’s website.
Equity Forward and Campaign for Accountability, represented by American Oversight, filed Freedom of Information Act lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services seeking records from the Office of Refugee Resettlement regarding the efforts to prevent unaccompanied immigrant minors from exercising their constitutional right to abortion.
On January 25, 2018, CfA asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) and/or staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, acting at his direction, violated House ethics rules by leaking confidential information provided to committee during the course of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
On February 2, 2017, Campaign for Accountability filed a motion in the 21st Circuit Court in St. Louis County, Missouri to unseal the divorce records of Andrew Puzder, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor. After CfA filed the motion, the court clerk released some previously unreleased documents, but the divorce file remained sealed. On February 15, 2017, Puzder withdrew his nomination, prompting the judge overseeing the matter to dismiss CfA’s request as moot, but allowing the group to refile if the situation changed. On January 19, 2018, CfA filed a new petition in the 21st Circuit Court again asking the court to unseal Puzder's divorce records, after Politico reported the White House is evaluating Puzder for another, unspecified position in the Trump administration.
On January 18, 2018, CfA joined 9 other advocates and public interest organizations in calling on Congress to promote an accountable and transparent framework for earmarks.
On December 11, 2017, CfA joined 38 organizations in endorsing the bipartisan Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (ACMRA), common-sense legislation that improves Congress’s ability to oversee the Executive branch and provide needed governmental transparency.