THE COVID LOBBYISTS PUBLIC CITZEN and the CENTER for RESPONSIVE POLITICS
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BEFORE the FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 1 2 3 in the Matter Of
MUR709200195 1 BEFORE THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 2 3 4 In the Matter of ) 5 ) MURs 7011 and 7092 6 HC4President and Kyle Prall ) 7 in his official capacity as treasurer ) 8 Socially Responsible Government and ) 9 Grace Rogers in her official capacity ) 10 as treasurer ) 11 Kyle Prall 12 13 SECOND GENERAL COUNSEL’S REPORT 14 I. ACTIONS RECOMMENDED 15 We recommend that the Commission: (1) take no further action against HC4President 16 and Kyle Prall in his official capacity as treasurer (“HC4P”) except for issuing a letter of 17 admonishment; (2) take no further action against Socially Responsible Government and Grace 18 Rogers in her official capacity as treasurer (“SRG”) except for issuing a letter of admonishment; 19 (3) take no further action against Kyle Prall in his personal capacity except for issuing a letter of 20 admonishment; (4) instruct the Reports Analysis Division (“RAD”) to administratively terminate 21 HC4P and SRG as federal political committees; and (5) close the matter and send the appropriate 22 letters. 23 II. BACKGROUND 24 On April 24, 2018, the Commission found reason to believe that HC4P, SRG, and Kyle 25 Prall in his personal capacity violated 52 U.S.C. § 30124(b) based on information that indicated 26 that the HC4P and SRG websites, which Prall controlled, were designed to mislead visitors into 27 believing that HC4P represented Hillary Clinton’s authorized presidential campaign and that 28 SRG represented Bernie Sanders’s authorized presidential campaign.1 The Commission 1 See Certification, MURs 7011 and 7092 (Apr. 25, 2018). MUR709200196 MURs 7011 and 7092 (HC4President, et al.) Second General Counsel’s Report Page 2 of 14 1 authorized the use of compulsory process to obtain further facts regarding HC4P and SRG, 2 3 4 On January 15, 2019, a federal grand jury indicted Prall on three counts of mail fraud 5 (18 U.S.C. -
Trump Administration Allies Have Burrowed Into 24 Critical Civil Service Positions and 187 Last-Minute Appointments
Trump Administration Allies Have Burrowed Into 24 Critical Civil Service Positions And 187 Last-Minute Appointments SUMMARY: Following the outgoing administration’s “quiet push to salt federal agencies with Trump loyalists,” an Accountable.US review has found that, as of February 22, 2021, at least 24 Trump administration political appointees have “burrowed” into long-term civil service jobs in the new Biden administration. This includes at least four figures in the national security apparatus, nine figures with environmental regulators, three figures in the Department of Justice, two figures in the embattled Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and at least six other appointees elsewhere who have refused to step down in the transition. Burrowing of this sort is not treated lightly, as officials who transfer from political appointments to career positions must undergo scrutiny by federal personnel overseers for a full five years—and some of these cases have been found to violate federal laws and have drawn congressional scrutiny. However, there is a much wider slate of concerning Trump administration appointments that are not subject to such strict oversight: During the Trump administration’s waning days following the 2020 election, it announced 187 last-minute appointments to various boards, commissions, and councils that don’t require Senate confirmation. While some of these appointments have already drawn alarm for going to campaign staffers, megadonors, and top administration allies, Accountable.US has unearthed even more troubling names in Trump’s outgoing deluge. Similar to how early Trump administration personnel picks were directly conflicted against the offices they served, many of these late Trump appointments are woefully underqualified or have histories directly at odds with the positions to which they were named—and they are likely to stay in long into the Biden administration. -
Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 163 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017 No. 173 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was U.S. SENATE, his first year. Democrats have invoked called to order by the Honorable LU- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, this delay for every single one of Presi- THER STRANGE, a Senator from the Washington, DC, October 26, 2017. dent Trump’s judicial nominees, so far, State of Alabama. To the Senate: except one. This week, they are at it Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby again. f appoint the Honorable LUTHER STRANGE, a Today, we will have a cloture vote on Senator from the State of Alabama, to per- the nomination of Trevor McFadden to PRAYER form the duties of the Chair. the U.S. District Court for the District The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- ORRIN G. HATCH, of Columbia. Not a single Democrat on fered the following prayer: President pro tempore. the Judiciary Committee registered an Let us pray. Mr. STRANGE thereupon assumed objection to the nomination; yet we O God, our King, we are grateful that the Chair as Acting President pro tem- still have to waste time in overcoming righteousness and justice are the foun- pore. a procedural hurdle from our Demo- dation of Your throne. Give our law- f cratic colleagues before the Senate can makers such a connection with You take up the nomination and consider RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY that they will hate evil. -
About Rebuilding America
“Supporting Rebuilding America Now is one of the best ways to stop Hillary Clinton and help elect Donald Trump our next President!” Governor Mike Pence ABOUT REBUILDING AMERICA NOW Rebuilding America Now is a Super PAC supporting Donald spend at least $90 million trying to cover up the truth about Trump in the 2016 General Election. We are dedicated to Hillary and to smear Donald Trump. Rebuilding America Now showing Americans the truth about Hillary Clinton and her will counteract this nationwide advertising offensive with real record. effective, unyielding messages about Hillary Clinton’s record. Supporting Donald Trump: No one else is producing ads with such clear and powerful Our name is centered on the idea that there is work to be messages about Hillary Clinton’s record. With your help, we done, by Americans, for Americans, in our country. Our roads, will continue to make and disseminate these hard-hitting ads our economy, and our status in the world need rebuilding. and show voters the truth about Hillary. We will promote the conservative vision for our future The American people need to see these ads. The Democratic embodied by Donald Trump’s candidacy to the men and campaign machine and Priorities USA will continue pushing women whose livelihoods have been impacted by President vague platitudes about the benefts of a Hillary Clinton Obama and Hillary Clinton’s policies. presidency while attacking Donald Trump. Rebuilding America Now will ensure Americans know the whole story. Taking on Hillary Clinton: A major Super PAC effort is necessary to counter Priorities We will run a national campaign just like Priorities USA, but USA Action, the Super PAC backing Hillary Clinton, which will we will do it better. -
Las Vegas Municipal Court Runs a Dictatorial System
Top 10 Nevada GOP Clark County property Congress scrambles horse races to tax cap notices to to finalize coronavirus watch this year be mailed out funding, surveillance deals PAGE 2 PAGE 4 PAGE 5 Volume 22, Issue 2 March 4-10, 2020 Las Vegas lasvegastribune.com “ITRIBUNE may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” — Voltaire Nevada state, local taxes already too regressive By Thomas Mitchell of whether the wealthy pay their state and local taxes than wealthier nationwide average effective state The study found that Nevada In this presidential election year fair share of federal taxes. There is citizens, which is simply unfair. and local tax rate is 11.4 percent for was the fifth worst state in the there has been an ongoing and vig- ample ammo for both sides of that This was detailed by an October the lowest-income 20 percent of in- nation for taxation inequity. The orous debate, nay, a knock-down- argument. 2018 analysis by the Washing- dividuals and families, 9.9 percent effective tax rate for the poorest drag-out fight over the question But when it comes to state and ton-based Institute on Taxation & for the middle 20 percent and 7.4 20 percent of Nevadans was 10.2 local taxes there is no debate. The Economic Policy. The study found percent for the top 1 percent. percent. For the middle 60 percent tax data from nearly every state that on average nationally the low- The institute concludes, “Most the rate was 7.4 percent. -
Game of Politics Conflict, Power, and Representation
GAME OF POLITICS CONFLICT, POWER, AND REPRESENTATION KENNETH BRYANT, JR. ERIC LOPEZ MARK OWENS FIRST EDITION Game of Politics Conflict, Power, and Representation Game of Politics Conflict, Power, and Representation Kenneth Bryant, Jr. Eric Lopez Mark Owens The University of Texas at Tyler PRESS Tyler, Texas The University of Texas at Tyler Michael Tidwell, President Amir Mirmiran, Provost Neil Gray, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences UT Tyler Press Publisher: Lucas Roebuck, Vice President for Marketing Production Supervisor: Olivia Paek, Agency Director Content Coordination: Colleen Swain, Associate Provost for Undergraduate and Online Education Author Liaison: Ashley Bill, Executive Director of Academic Success Editorial Support: Emily Battle, Senior Editorial Specialist Design: Matt Snyder © 2020 The University of Texas at Tyler. All rights reserved. This book may be reproduced in its PDF electronic form for use in an accredited Texas educational institution with permission from the publisher. For permission, visit www.uttyler.edu/press. Use of chapters, sections or other portions of this book for educational purposes must include this copyright statement. All other reproduction of any part of this book, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as expressly permitted by applicable copyright statute or in writing by the publisher, is prohibited. Graphics and images appearing in this book are copyrighted by their respective owners as indicated in captions and used with permission, under fair use laws, or under open source license. ISBN-13 978-1-7333299-5-8 1.1 UT Tyler Press 3900 University Blvd. -
Following the Money Trump and Russia-Linked Transactions from the Campaign to the Presidential Inauguration
GETTY KADOBNOV IMAGES/YURI Following the Money Trump and Russia-Linked Transactions From the Campaign to the Presidential Inauguration By Diana Pilipenko and Talia Dessel December 2018 WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG Following the Money Trump and Russia-Linked Transactions From the Campaign to the Presidential Inauguration By Diana Pilipenko and Talia Dessel December 2018 Contents 1 Introduction and summary 4 Financing of information warfare and influence operations 11 Potential laundering of political donations 18 Buying access to the administration 24 Understanding the regulatory landscape 27 Policy recommendations 30 Conclusion 31 About the authors and acknowledgments 32 Appendix: Outstanding investigative questions 36 Endnotes Introduction and summary At the turn of the 18th century, a newly elected president of the United States—only the second in the nation’s then-brief history—cautioned the American people about “the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections.” In particular, John Adams pointed to threats from abroad, warning that if a changed election outcome “can be obtained by foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the Government may not be the choice of the American people, but of foreign nations. It may be foreign nations who govern us, and not we, the people, who govern ourselves.” Speaking before a joint session of Congress, he thus pleaded with the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives to “[preserve] our Constitution from its natural enemies,” including “the profligacy of corruption, and the pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction to elective governments.”1 The threat of foreign influence over our elections did not wane in the intervening 220 years: Today, the United States has a president whose election was aided by the fraud and intrigue of a foreign nation. -
1 United States District Court for the District Of
Case 1:20-cv-02031 Document 1 Filed 07/24/20 Page 1 of 77 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FRIENDS OF THE EARTH ) 1101 15th Street, N.W. ) Washington, D.C. 20005, ) ) Civ No. LUKAS ROSS, PROGRAM MANAGER, ) Climate and Energy Program, ) Friends of the Earth, ) 1101 15th Street, N.W. ) Washington, D.C. 20005 ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ) THE TREASURY, ) 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., ) Washington, D.C. 20220, ) ) Defendant. ) COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF 1. This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, to compel the United States Department of Treasury (“Treasury Department”) to release non- exempt information concerning its implementation of the COVID-19 relief programs established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Pub. L. 116-136 (2020), and how that implementation may be influenced by special interests. This information is essential to efforts by Plaintiff Friends of the Earth (“FOE”) to monitor and educate the public regarding the Treasury Department’s use of funds and authorities that Congress intended to broadly sustain the American economy against severe impacts from a global pandemic. The information is also essential to evaluating whether the Treasury Department’s implementation of the CARES Act is 1 Case 1:20-cv-02031 Document 1 Filed 07/24/20 Page 2 of 77 consistent with Congressional intent or is instead unduly influenced by special interests, as well as the degree to which further congressional action may be necessary to ensure that federal funds are properly allocated. -
THE MONEY BEHIND EMPOWER TEXANS: How Private Equity and the Fossil Fuel Industry Are Propping up the Texas Far Right I
THE MONEY BEHIND EMPOWER TEXANS: How Private Equity and the Fossil Fuel Industry are Propping up the Texas Far Right I. Introduction Over the past decade, a conservative political project known as Empower Texans has become a major force in Texas politics. Funded primarily by a small group of billionaires, Empower Texans has sought to push Texas politics further to the right - an effort that has included backing primary challenges to incumbent Republican officials deemed insufficiently conservative. Empower Texans has used millions of dollars in campaign cash to advance a politics that is both economically libertarian - against taxes and regulation - and socially conservative - opposed to same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and trans equality, and supportive of public school prayer. Its leaders - in particular, its main funder Tim Dunn and its CEO Michael Quinn Sullivan - have developed close relationships with top officials in the state. The political agenda and influence of Empower Texans are widely known in Texas, and a host of news stories exist that profile the evangelical oil and gas billionaires who fund the project. But what’s less known are the details on who and what helps to prop up these Empower Texans billionaires - the investors across the U.S. who, perhaps unwittingly, fund the fortunes that the leaders of Empower Texans use to advance their ultra-conservative agenda that aims to weaken public oversight, destroy the public sector, strengthen the power of the wealthy, and promote a host of discriminatory and bigoted social policies. This report profiles the key players behind Empower Texans and, for the first time, presents the investors that are helping to keep Empower Texans afloat. -
The $7 Billion Election
12 The $7 Billion Election Emerging Campaign Finance Trends and Their Impact on the 2016 Presidential Race and Beyond Michael E. Toner and Karen E. Trainer Donald J. Trump’s election as the forty-fifth president of the United States was as improbable and historic as any election in the modern era, and Trump and his presidential campaign likewise made history in the campaign finance arena as well—namely, by becoming the first candidate to be elected presi- dent in decades while being substantially outspent by his opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton. In so doing, Trump and his campaign committee shattered many long-standing assumptions about the American campaign finance sys- tem and what candidates and campaigns must do to win the presidency. The Clinton campaign and its allies collectively raised and spent twice as much money during the 2016 presidential race as did the Trump campaign and its allies.1 Yet despite facing a significant campaign resource disadvantage, Trump, relying on a shrewd earned and social media strategy, won a comfort- able Electoral College majority and may have helped pave a new way for candidates to pursue the Oval Office in the future. With the dust still settling on the 2016 election, total spending on the election is estimated at nearly $7 billion, which made the 2016 presidential race the most expensive in American history.2 To put that spending tally in context, a total of $6 billion was expended on the 2012 election, which was an unprecedented amount at that time.3 The record amounts of money 181 ................. 19003$ CH12 02-21-17 14:46:43 PS PAGE 181 182 Chapter 12 expended on the 2016 election were fueled primarily by a significant increase in spending by Super PACs and other outside groups, which collectively spent 32 percent more funds than they did during the 2012 election.4 However, political party expenditures declined in 2016 and constituted a smaller share of total electoral spending, which is a trend that has emerged during the last ten to fifteen years. -
The Money Primary in 2019 and 2020 David B. Magleby, Brigham Young University Abstract Presidential Candidates in 2020 Have Adop
The Money Primary in 2019 and 2020 David B. Magleby, Brigham Young University Abstract Presidential candidates in 2020 have adopted fundraising strategies consistent with their ideology and core support. The range is from self-funded billionaire candidates to an increasing emphasis on small individual donors. The “money primary” as a marker for candidate viability is well known but in 2019 and 2020, Democratic National Committee rules made small donor fundraising a condition for participation in televised candidate debates. President Trump, whose reelection fundraising began soon after he took office in 2017, has made raising money from large donors, including Super PAC donors, a higher priority while expanding his contributions from small donors and joint fundraising with the Republican National Committee. It is uncertain if Super PACs and social welfare groups will spend substantial sums in the 2020 nomination contest, unlike 2012 and 2016 when they were major participants. Taken together the 2020 contest has a highly competitive money primary for the top tier of candidates. Fundraising success has closely tracked candidates standing in the polls. Preliminary draft, not for citation without author permission. Prepared for delivery at the Iowa Caucus Conference, Department of Political Science, University of Iowa, February 1-3, 2020. 1 The Money Primary in 2019 and 2020 David B. Magleby, Brigham Young University1 Before the first votes are cast in the Iowa caucuses or New Hampshire primary, a great deal of attention is given to who is doing well and not so well in raising money—the money primary. For example, in its regular feature the “State of the Race,” the New York Times compares candidates in 2020 on three dimensions: polling average of five national polling organizations,2 individual contributions, and weekly media which is a measure of being talked about on cable television.3 The feature also has a check mark by the candidates who have qualified for the next presidential debate (Lee, Daniel, Liberman, Migliozzi and Burns, 2020). -
American Actress/Singer, Helen Hayes Award Nominee, and Recording Artist Mary Millben Has Been One of Oklahoma’S Best Kept Secrets – Until Now
American Actress/Singer, Helen Hayes Award nominee, and recording artist Mary Millben has been one of Oklahoma’s best kept secrets – until now. For Mary, singing in church started it all. Referred to as a "Songbird,’ at a young age, Mary quickly overcame stage fright when repeatedly called on to sing in church by her mother – now a retired Pentecostal, music pastor and former classical soprano. Thanks to her mother, who raised Mary and her siblings as a divorced single parent, it was just a matter of time before this preacher's kid would go from the plains of the Midwest to the stages of the world. Through high school and college, Mary proudly represented the state of Oklahoma in public arenas as a young leader - thrust in front of U.S. Presidents, world figures and corporate America as a voice for those underrepresented. Mary was the presidential runner-up at the American Legion Auxiliary 1999 Girls Nation, gubernatorial runner-up at Oklahoma Girls State, and the Oklahoma delegate at the 1998 Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) World Congress in Washington, D.C. In college, Mary was elected the second African- American female Student Body President and the first African-American female Vice- President at the University of Oklahoma (OU) – governing 30,000 students. While serving in student leadership, Mary was a featured singer for University dinners and private events hosted by former Oklahoma U.S. Senator, Governor and former President of OU, David L. Boren. As a professional student, Mary served the state of Oklahoma at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, Crowe & Dunlevy Law Firm, and later Press Secretary & Director of Communications for the Oklahoma Republican Party under former Chairman Gary Jones.