On October 25, 2016, Campaign for Accountability called on the Federal Communications Commission’s General Counsel to investigate correspondence between Google Vice President Vint Cert and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler about a provision of a pending rulemaking proceeding. The communication appears to violate the FCC’s rules requiring the disclosure of ex parte communications.
On October 19, 2016, Campaign for Accountability joined 15 other organizations and ethics experts in calling on the presidential candidates to adopt an ethical code of conduct for their transition teams. The letter to the presidential candidates asks them to adopt a strict ethics code including prohibiting transition team members from working on matters that might affect their financial interests or those of people close to them. The letter also calls on the candidates to bar officials from lobbying the federal government while working on the transition and for the candidates to appoint an ethics czar as a part of their transition teams.
On October 4, 2016, Campaign for Accountability called on the White House to develop a more robust ethics program in light of the numerous meetings between former Google executives who became White House officials and their former colleagues. The timing and frequency of these meetings suggest the White House officials may have violated President Obama’s revolving door ban. CfA also raised concerns with the level of communication and apparent coordination between the White House internet adviser and Google, particularly surrounding the FTC’s decision not to bring antitrust charges against the company.
On September 30, 2016, Campaign for Accountability called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to improve its ethics enforcement program. Documents published by the Google Transparency Project reveal that top NHTSA officials were in frequent contact with Google executives while working on federal guidelines for self-driving cars.
On September 26, 2016, 37 organizations signed an open letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging McConnell to reject any poison pill language in budget legislation that would prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission from strengthening corporate disclosure laws by requiring transparency of secret political spending.
Campaign for Accountability has filed three ethics complaints against Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).
On September 13, 2016, Campaign for Accountability called on the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate leaks by the FBI regarding the identity of Paul Combetta, a witness in the investigation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email address.
On August 30, 2016, Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section requesting an investigation of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for filing apparently inaccurate financial disclosure reports for 2015 and 2016. On September 15, 2016, Campaign for Accountability sent a second letter to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting an investigation of Donald Trump for failing to accurately disclose his finances in connection with his presidential campaign.
On August 24, 2016, Campaign for Accountability joined several organizations in opposing a broad exemption to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the entire Department of Defense (DoD) that would severely undermine FOIA reforms already in place.
On June 8, 2016, CfA filed a lawsuit to force the Department of Justice to release opinions from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). The OLC serves as legal advisor for the federal government, issuing opinions on the meaning of laws that are immensely consequential. Some have been used to justify controversial policies such as extraordinary rendition, torture, and the killing of Americans abroad. The Justice Department does not prosecute individuals whose actions are justified by OLC opinions, even if those actions are later determined illegal.
On March 22, 2016, CfA requested that OLC fulfill its legal obligations by publishing its opinions. Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Bies responded to CfA’s request in May, stating that OLC has the discretion to decide on an individualized, case-by-case basis, whether to publish its opinions. Given OLC’s hard and fast position, CfA filed suit in the District Court for the District of Columbia to compel OLC and DOJ to comply with their legal obligations under the FOIA.
On October 6, 2017, United States District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an opinion in the case explaining her reasons for dismissing CfA's complaint but inviting CfA to file an amended complaint. On October 27, 2017, CfA filed an amended complaint.