On July 19, 2016, Campaign for Accountability released a new report, Google’s Silicon Tower, revealing how academics and experts funded by Google have played a major role at academic and government conferences, debating some of the company’s core issues. Nearly all of the Google-funded participants failed to disclose their financial ties to Google, now a subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc.
On July 14, 2016, Campaign for Accountability released a new report, Documenting Discrimination, uncovering how national right wing religious groups – working through smaller local groups – are spearheading the movement to legalize discrimination against LGBT individuals through Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) legislation.
On July 7, 2016, Campaign for Accountability joined a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress and 2016 congressional candidates in filing a complaint before the Federal Election Commission seeking to end super PAC spending in US elections.
On July 6, 2016, Campaign for Accountability sent a letter to Liberty Counsel, a religious-right group representing Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, seeking the release of documents responsive to its open records request. The day before, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear issued an opinion concluding Ms. Davis had violated Kentucky’s Open Records Act by failing to provide his office with records she claimed were exempt from disclosure to help in his independent review.
On July 6, 2016, Campaign for Accountability joined a coalition of 18 organizations, led by OpenTheGovernment.org, in opposing the FBI’s proposal to exempt its biometrics database – the Next Generation Identification (NGI) system – from nearly all key provisions of the Privacy Act. The coalition believes that the FBI’s system needs stronger privacy and transparency protections than the FBI’s current proposal incorporates.
On May 9, 2016, Campaign for Accountability called on Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt to investigate former Johnson County Election Commissioner Brian Newby for flagrantly violating Kansas criminal law by submitting false expenses, misusing public funds, and conspiring to cover up his conduct.
On April 5, 2016, Campaign for Accountability called on the Department of Defense’s Inspector General to investigate Secretary Ashton Carter for the misuse of his private email account.
On March 16, 2016, Campaign for Accountability asked Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes to investigate State Rep. Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan) for obstructing justice by lying to state investigators and for misusing official resources to promote a nonprofit he started, the American Lands Council (ALC).
On March 16, 2016, more than 40 organizations and individuals committed to government openness and accountability sent a letter to President Obama expressing deep concern over the efforts by the Justice Department to undermine legislation in the last Congress that would have strengthened the Freedom of Information Act. The letter calls on the President to repudiate the positions taken by the Justice Department and instead publicly and unequivocally endorse the bipartisan FOIA Improvement Act, which was unanimously passed by the Senate yesterday, March 15th.
On February 3, 2016, Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission requesting an investigation into illegal coordination between the campaign of Andrew Heaney, who is running for Congress in New York’s 19th district, and a super PAC he appears to have established, New York Jobs Council.