Project On Government Oversight
@POGOwatchdog
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Investigating corruption & abuse of power, demanding accountability. Home of #CDI, #COI, #OTG, @ConPro. Contact us securely: https://t.co/VxIiQQcTup
Washington, DC
Joined September 2008
NEW REPORT FROM POGO: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy may have violated a federal conflict-of-interest law by owning stock in one of the companies distributing free COVID-19 test kits to the public. Read the full investigation from @NEGordon & @waltshaub:
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The 3rd section of the 14th amendment disqualifies those who have “engaged in insurrection” or “given aid or comfort” to insurrectionists from running for office. We are calling for Congress to invoke this provision against Donald Trump.
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BREAKING: As of Tuesday, the Office of Government Ethics still hadn’t certified Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 2020 annual financial disclosure, which DeJoy filed in May 2021 and which USPS finished reviewing in July 2021. Read the thread for more ⬇️.
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In @rollcall today, Republican former members of Congress @BarbaraComstock and Charles Boustany Jr. argue in favor of holding Donald Trump accountable in the impeachment trial. Read the op-ed here:
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BREAKING NEWS: top watchdogs for the Central Intelligence Agency and Office of the Director of National Intelligence resign in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s re-election. Read the full story from @schwellenbach:
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"The fact that he didn't disclose it, and the investigations of other senators for possible insider trading related to Covid didn't trigger him to disclose, it is very troubling" -@waltshaub
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President Trump must be removed from office as soon as legally possible. We are calling on Congress to immediately:.▪️reconvene.▪️impeach and convict Trump.▪️disqualify him from ever holding public office again. Read more:
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Great news: @POTUS is signing an Executive Order today limiting the transfer of military equipment to police. Last year, POGO published this report on how giving this equipment to law enforcement puts the public in danger and impedes on our rights.
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Let’s get this straight: 51 votes to confirm SCOTUS justices (who receive lifetime appointments) to make wide ranging decisions impacting people across our country, but *elected* Senators can’t legislate on the same issues without 60 votes? Make it make sense.
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No, @SpeakerPelosi. Members of Congress should not be able to trade stocks because it’s not “participating in the free market” for some of our nation’s most powerful to benefit financially from inside information. It’s a conflict of interest, plain & simple, and it needs to stop.
Pelosi, says lawmakers/Capitol staff shouldn't be prohibited from trading stock: "This is a free market, we are a free market economy, they should be able to participate in that.".
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“If we had a better campaign finance system that didn’t allow corporations to purchase members of Congress, then we’d be able to trust what these members say are their opinions.” - @waltshaub
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We are so excited to welcome @WaltShaub to the POGO team! He brings incredible knowledge and experience, including: . -leading the Office of Government Ethics for 4+ yrs.-work as a career government ethics official.-advising nonprofit government watchdogs.
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🚨🔎🚨BREAKING POGO INVESTIGATION: yet another story of missing text messages at #DHS. This time, text messages to and from three top Trump-era officials at the dept. from early January 2021 are missing. Read the investigation now:
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We're disappointed that the Senate failed to convict Trump. But looking towards the future, we need to come together and work on serious reforms to protect our government from similar abuses of power.
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Top conservative constitutional attorney Charles Cooper is joining experts across the partisan spectrum who agree that the impeachment trial of former President Trump IS constitutional. Read more on why:
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1/ Our @adamzagorin & @schwellenbach report in @YahooNews that @TheJusticeDept's felony case against Monsanto was reduced to a misdemeanor after the company’s lawyer appealed to fmr Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein’s office: Here’s why this is concerning. .
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We've endorsed this new bill from @SenWarren & @SteveDaines that would ban members of Congress from owning and trading stocks:. "POGO looks forward to working with the Senators and the rest of Congress to get these reforms enacted swiftly.” -@daniellebrian
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The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack should remove David Buckley as staff director given a substantiated complaint that Buckley retaliated against a whistleblower. Read more:
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Even if the wildest conspiracy theories about the whistleblower were true, it would not matter because it would not change the facts at the root of the complaint.
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An inspector general's job hinges on the public's trust. Joseph Cuffari has clearly shown, time and time again, that he isn't worthy of that trust. President Biden must remove and replace him:
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“If the power isn’t even entrusted to you, but you have taken it by depriving people of equal access to vote, then that’s the opposite of government ethics.” - @waltshaub
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Great news. As our executive director wrote previously, had DOJ decided Mo Brooks' incendiary remarks fell within the scope of his employment, the DOJ would have been defending Congress members' right to foment insurrection
Just in: DOJ won't certify that Rep. Mo Brooks was acting within the scope of his employment when he made the statements that got him sued by Rep. Swalwell for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 riots. So, long story short, he's on his own:
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Just because the Senate failed to convict Trump doesn’t mean we stop working to hold him accountable for his actions on January 6th. One possible path forward involves section 3 of the 14th amendment. Learn more here, from Jim Wagstaffe:
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Attempts discredit Special Counsel #Mueller’s Russia investigation put at stake something that both parties should be able to agree on: We are a nation based on laws, not merely subjective decisions of government Officials.
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#Breaking: Our investigation reveals self-dealing by Trump’s NASA nominee, Rep. James Bridenstine—prior to entering office, he used a nonprofit he ran to benefit himself. Congress should oppose his nomination. Read it in @thedailybeast:
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Justice Thomas has violated the law repeatedly by failing to disclose gifts of lavish trips and a real estate sale. @CampaignLegal was right to urge accountability for Thomas today. We have a lot more to say on this — we're finalizing our own complaint to DOJ on these matters.
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Let’s be clear: the Senate CAN convict a president after he has left office, and now 150+ legal scholars from all over the political spectrum have signed onto a letter attesting to that. The impeachment process must move forward in the Senate.
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We signed onto this letter asking the federal government to stop doing business with the Trump Organization. Read our full letter:
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RT THIS if you think @BennieGThompson should take action to #ReplaceBuckley. The January 6th commission should NOT have a staff director who has retaliated against whistleblowers.
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The Chair of the House’s principal oversight committee said he thinks Congress isn’t up to the task of real oversight. @TGowdySC’s statements are irreconcilable with his role—he should give up the gavel if he doesn’t want to do the job.
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The DOJ has until tomorrow to decide whether to certify Rep. Mo Brooks' actions on 1/6 were those of a gov't employee acting within the scope of his role. Read @daniellebrian, @DonaldAyer6, and @NormEisen on why Merrick Garland shouldn't defend Brooks.
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Some @CIA & other intel employees feel that going to the media anonymously is safer than using official channels
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We’re investigating this. We want to see one of these documents—this follows a troubling pattern of chilling speech in a way that could deter whistleblower disclosures. Even more importantly, it may violate the 1st Amendment.
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We are glad that the House voted today to establish a 1/6 Select Committee. This is an important first step, and now the committee must do everything it can to help the American people understand what happened during the attack on the Capitol.
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Last year, DHS's top watchdog, a Trump appointee, quashed 2 investigations involving the Secret Service: one concerning use of force against protestors at Lafayette Sq. last June & another about the threat of COVID-19 to Secret Service agents. 🧵 🧵 🧵⬇️
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The Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act has been signed into law by President Biden! This bill will bring a marked increase in transparency around financial conflicts of interest in the federal judiciary (and yes, it includes #SCOTUS):
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POGO's @daniellebrian & @waltshaub asked DOJ Inspector General to investigate the handling of a Trump-era legal memo--specifically, whether lawyers committed perjury or other crimes as they tried to keep memo contents concealed amid public records request.
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We support @RepHankJohnson’s bipartisan Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, because when local police take on the appearance, armament, and behavior of soldiers at war, the public is both less safe and less free.
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Hey, @SenSchumer: the Senate is running out of time to get a bill to ban congressional stock trading on the floor before August recess. It’s time to do your job & lead the majority to do what the majority of the public wants. #StopTheTrades. The clock is ticking! ⏰
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Walt is going to work with us on a new Ethics and Accountability Initiative, through which our team will advocate for reforms like robust ethics laws and stronger congressional oversight. We’re all looking forward to pushing for meaningful democracy reform.
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Dangerous state-level attacks on voting rights are popping up across the country. The #ForThePeople Act would protect our democracy by improving and protecting our election systems and lessening the corrupting influence big money has in politics.
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We have a new handle, but we’re still the same POGO! We’ve changed our handle to @POGOwatchdog— make sure to tag us in any and all updates about accountability and transparency in government.
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“Whistleblowers should be able to make disclosures free from retaliation, just as IGs should be able to perform their jobs with integrity without facing political interference.”. Read more from @lizhempowicz and @melissa_wasser in @fulcrum_us:
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Today the House is voting on an amendment from @RepZoeLofgren & @RepThomasMassie to close backdoor search loophole, so FBI can't search your comms through warrantless #FISA provision. This is essential for privacy. Read more about these kinds of searches:
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“Any White House or Treasury involvement with the Postal Service would be a breach of its charter as an independent, nonpolitical public entity, said @timothystretton, a policy analyst for the nonpartisan @POGOBlog,” writes @HeidiNBC.
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“The man has never sold a piece of art before, has never even juried into a community centre art show, but suddenly he’s selling art at fantastical prices. There is simply no way anybody paid $75,000 for anything other than his name.” -@waltshaub
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"The department has enforced the disclosure law against other federal officials. There is no reason to treat Justice Thomas differently."
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“All of this is stuff that is so insane, any person who has no interest in any of this would clearly say this should be against the rules, but then the people who get in the position to change the rules have these conflicts and they have no interest in solving them" -@waltshaub.
Sen. Joe Manchin has made millions of dollars selling waste coal in the last three decades. At the same, he has repeatedly used his position as an elected official to protect and promote waste coal, as well as the tiny plant that is his primary customer.
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BREAKING: POGO requests an investigation into potential Hatch Act violations by @USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for appearing to use his official authority to sway an upcoming election. Read our letter:
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Regardless of the reason for the delay, it’s unusual for the process to take this long. And we’ll note that OGE said last year that the office may decline to certify any disclosure for which it hasn’t received sufficient information by 1/10/22. See here:
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1/ The SEC should investigate investor & former White House advisor Carl Icahn for insider trading & whether govt officials gave him non-public, market-moving info before he dumped $31 million in steel-related stocks just before the tariff announcement.
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Serious abuses of power must trigger serious consequences. Senators on both sides of the aisle must keep this in mind and listen to the facts as they hold former President Trump accountable. Read more from our Executive Director @daniellebrian:
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After obtaining the disclosure, POGO reached out to OGE today to ask why the office has not certified DeJoy’s disclosure but the agency declined to comment.
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“It shouldn’t take FOIA appeals and press coverage for agencies to provide information to the public. The burden is on the government, but too often the default setting is to deny access and hope that people go away.”. More from @schwellenbach’s piece:
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The House just voted to repeal the 2002 Iraq War AUMF. This is a big deal and one we at POGO have been pushing for a long time. Now it's up to the Senate to pass this resolution and #StopEndlessWar.
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It's time for Chief Justice Roberts to be honest with the public and demonstrate a real commitment to holding Clarence Thomas accountable. This isn't doing that ⬇️.
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1/ POGO joins @SenWarren; @SenBlumenthal; @ChrisCoons; @RepJayapal in asking Congress to help #StopCOVIDCorruption by making their CORE Act part of the next COVID relief package. . Here's why. .
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🚨🚨🚨 NEW from @schwellenbach and @adamzagorin: despite his staff's recommendations, DHS IG Joseph Cuffari nixed an alert to Congress about Secret Service's deleted #Jan6th texts. Don't miss this latest investigation:
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Manipulating the Count: A Sept. 2020 memo unearthed by @BrennanCenter shows the lengths to which the Trump administration went to exploit the 2020 Census for political gain
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Let’s be clear: a ban on congressional stock trading needs to include members’ spouses and children. Otherwise, the bill would be toothless. #StopTheTrades
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"What’s even more outrageous is that this is information that has been available since 1991," our @daniellebrian told @CNBC's @SaraEisen.
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From last week: @waltshaub went on @CNN with @jaketapper to discuss why current accountability measures simply aren't enough when it comes to Congressmembers trading stocks 👇
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Members of Congress buying and trading stocks is simply a massive, glaring conflict of interest. We've said it before, and we'll say it again (and again, and again, and. well, you get it): #StopTheTrades.
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🚨 BIG NEWS 🚨 Department of Homeland Security watchdog staff have called on President Biden to remove their boss, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari. Read more:
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“We call it legalized corruption. And it permeates every aspect of federal government.” -@daniellebrian quoted in @nytopinion
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Big news: the Biden admin. is prioritizing the fight against corruption as a key part of national security policy. This is an important, necessary step toward fighting both domestic AND international corruption--both of which can threaten our democracy.
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Former Pres. Trump cannot just get away with inciting an insurrection at the Capitol simply because he’s now out of office. Officials can absolutely be convicted after they’ve left office, and that’s why the Senate’s upcoming trial IS constitutional.
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POGO is proud to support @SenWhitehouse's Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act:. “A functioning democracy requires an accountable and transparent government that earns the trust of the people, which includes the judiciary," - @veritas_dhg.
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The Senate has been working on a long-overdue bill to ban members from owning stock for months. But time is running out before Congress leaves for summer vacation. Congress, what are you waiting for? Introduce legislation now! #NoStocksForCongress.
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2/ “A teaspoon of methyl parathion would kill you.” . Not far from Hawaiian beachside resorts on a windy day in July 2014, Monsanto sprayed much more than that—despite the fact that the pesticide had been banned from use since the end of 2013.
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8/8 "The practice of top [DOJ] officials overruling career prosecutors disproportionately benefits the most well-connected corporations & individuals,” our @daniellebrian says. "DOJ needs to establish clear guidelines limiting this abuse of power.”
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NEW: An unmanned aircraft synonymous with the war on terror circled Minneapolis for nearly two hours on May 29, as masses of people protested the police killing of George Floyd below. Our @jason_paladino's latest:
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What keeps us up at night? The fact that @SenSchumer needs to take action before August recess to #StopTheTrades.
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"The letter. cites a Project on Government Oversight report from last year that found that more than 300 individuals of the far-right Oath Keepers militia 'described themselves as current or former employees of the Department of Homeland Security.'"
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CIA nominee Gina Haspel's confirmation hearing is tomorrow. Absent full declassification of her role in the CIA torture program, Senators must not advance her nomination. A must-read: our @Krhawkins5 has 40 questions the Senate needs to ask Haspel:
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5/ This isn’t the only time Rosenstein’s office directed prosecutors to water down major penalties against big companies. Rosenstein directed prosecutors not to seek criminal charges against @RBS for allegations of major fraud before the financial crisis:
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Absolutely unacceptable. #StopTheTrades.
Senate Democrats are punting a bill to ban members of Congress from trading stocks to the lame-duck session: 'It's not going to happen before the election' via @businessinsider.
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“The idea that an independent IG could simultaneously be part of the political team running an agency they are supposed to oversee is preposterous,” our @daniellebrian told @Reinlwapo & @thamburger:
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POGO doesn’t take firing an inspector general lightly, but time after time, Cuffari’s actions — and inaction — have called his independence and his ability to do his job into question. Tell President Biden that it's time to remove IG Cuffari:
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MUST READ: @daniellebrian in @washingtonpost with an urgent message for President Biden. "The Department of Homeland Security needs a credible watchdog — and as long as Cuffari stays in his job, it will not have one."
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We are deeply concerned about the implications of the leaked #SCOTUS draft. If the ruling becomes final, its impact will extend far beyond abortion. It will put other rights to equal protection, bodily integrity, and privacy in jeopardy.
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". we’re in trouble as a nation if “better than Trump is good enough” becomes the standard for ethical behavior. We need active measures to overcome the pernicious influence of family connections, cronyism and systemic racism." .Read more from @waltshaub:
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This is serious. Not only is it a major cost to individual privacy, but it comes with essentially no federal rules or limits.
From last week:. "Requiring that all individuals submit a face recognition profile in order to access basic IRS services is an unacceptable cost to privacy and civil liberties"
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Yesterday we, along with @CREWcrew and @ProfSchooner, called on the government to stop doing business with the Trump Organization. Read more from @courtneybuble:
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NEW: Sources told POGO that the DHS watchdog considered alerting the public in October 2021 about its struggle to obtain Secret Service text messages from Jan. 6 but decided against it, leaving the public in the dark until last week.
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UPDATE: @repjayapal's #NDAA amendment has passed!. Americans across the political spectrum agree: this amendment is a concrete step forward for improving ethics at the Pentagon. #CleanUpWashington
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Former President Trump has already betrayed his oath of office once. He should not be given a chance to betray it again. Read more from @lizhempowicz and @ConPro's David Janovsky:
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#ForThePeople would make so many changes necessary for accountability and transparency, including a code of conduct for SCOTUS justices and better ethics standards for Congress. These changes aren't partisan-- they'll create a government that better serves the people.
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ICYMI: we filed a complaint with the Justice Department, urging DOJ to investigate SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas' failure to disclose the receipt of gifts potentially worth millions of dollars.
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We joined 88 other organizations in signing onto this letter, because qualified immunity must end.
NEW: 89 Organizations to Senate: “Qualified Immunity Doctrine Must End Without Exception” . "Due to the immense harm that qualified immunity has caused, this judge-made doctrine must be ended across the board. " READ MORE: #EndQualifiedImmunity.
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4/ Sources told POGO that Alice S. Fisher—a lawyer for Monsanto & fmr high-level DoJ official—helped orchestrate the company’s pitch to fmr Deputy AG Rosenstein’s office to stop the felony charges. Rosenstein's office overruled career prosecutors who had long worked the case.
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3/ After EPA investigators & federal prosecutors became aware of Monsanto's practice, a U.S. attorney’s office planned to charge Monsanto w/ a felony violation of the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act:
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The #ForThePeople Act contains reforms that people across the country are broadly in favor of, but a party-line vote today means it’s not even moving forward for debate in the Senate. It’s deeply disappointing to see this bill get shut down again.
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"An executive branch employee or, for that matter, even a member of Congress who so flagrantly violated the financial disclosure law as Clarence Thomas had, would certainly face some sort of consequences for their actions." -@waltshaub
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6/ A previously unreported letter from April 2008 by Ken Starr, Jeffrey Epstein's fmr lawyer, reveals Fisher may have had a role in keeping Epstein’s controversial plea deal a secret from his victims when she led DOJ’s criminal division—which she denies:
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Everyone has the responsibility to respond to Congressional subpoenas. This is a good verdict and an important step for strong congressional oversight powers.
BREAKING: A jury has found former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon guilty on two contempt-of-Congress charges for refusing to testify and provide documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Earlier:
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