Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics

14 Stories

Trump Tête-à-Tête With Big Oil Draws Investigators' Notice

His request for $1B for campaign raises 'potential ethical, campaign finance, and legal issues'

(Newser) - Ethics investigators are very interested in Donald Trump's alleged offer to erase environmental policies in exchange for a $1 billion campaign donation from Big Oil —which some are calling "a blatant quid pro quo." Ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) says it'...

SCOTUS: Yes, 'Cowboy Pastor' Can Be Banned From Office

Justices reject appeal of Couy Griffin over losing county commissioner seat over Jan. 6 insurrection

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a former New Mexico county commissioner who was kicked out of office over his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. Former Otero County commissioner Couy Griffin, a cowboy pastor who rode to national fame by embracing...

Trump Jr.'s Controversial Trip Cost Taxpayers $77K

That was the Secret Service cost of his 8-day Mongolia trip

(Newser) - Donald Trump Jr. continues to be dogged by that sheep-hunting trip to Mongolia —one that documents now show cost taxpayers roughly $77,000. ProPublica in December reported on the eight-day August trip, during which the oldest son of the US president killed a rare argali sheep and obtained a...

Hypothetical Hot Dogs May Be Bad News for Trump
Hypothetical Hot Dogs
May Be Bad News for Trump
the rundown
Oct 19, 2017 11:55 AM CDT

Hypothetical Hot Dogs May Be Bad News for Trump

Comes up in lawsuit over business interests, could affect release of tax returns

(Newser) - Controversy over President Trump's refusal to release his tax returns may have fallen off the political radar, but it resurfaced in a very real way in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday. As NPR reports, that's where a hearing unfolded as part of a lawsuit brought by the watchdog...

Majority of Lawmakers Funnel Money to Families
Majority of Lawmakers
Funnel Money to Families
watchdog report
Mar 22, 2012 1:14 PM CDT

Majority of Lawmakers Funnel Money to Families

Watchdog group issues report detailing litany of financial benefits

(Newser) - Having an uncle in Congress is apparently a pretty sweet gig. More than half of the lawmakers in Congress have bestowed some kind of financial boon on their families, according to the Citizens for Responsibilities and Ethics in Washington, which has released a 346-page report that the New York Times...

Santorum Ethics Questions Resurface

But Iowa near-winner raises $1M overnight

(Newser) - Rick Santorum's rise to the top tier of the GOP race has triggered a search for skeletons in his closet. Ethics questions from Santorum's time as a US senator have resurfaced, including allegations that he received a mortgage at a preferred rate from a bank run by a...

Wis. Republicans' Emails Show Plans to Punish Dems

But most weren't enacted

(Newser) - Wisconsin Republicans spent a lot of time dreaming up ways to make Senate Democrats miserable while they were holed up out of state. In a series of emails obtained by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Republicans bat around a slew of ideas, including taking away their computers,...

O'Donnell: Using Campaign Funds on Rent Is Fine

Candidate blames 'liberal front group' for ethics complaint

(Newser) - Christine O'Donnell believes using campaign funds to pay rent on her home is "ethical." She made the comment in response to complaints filed by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is charging that she treated campaign funds like a personal ATM. The complaint from CREW,...

Lawmakers Get Sweet Deal on World Series Tix

Critics say face-value tickets should count as a gift

(Newser) - Federal lawmakers have been getting tickets to sold-out World Series through a perk that has some ethicists crying foul. Some 75 tickets for this series have been sold to 15 lawmakers and their aides at face value by Major League Baseball and the teams. No ethics rules are being broken...

Cheney on Plame Leak: I Can't Recall

VP comes up blank on specifics in newly released interview

(Newser) - After years of effort by the Bush and Obama administrations to keep documents related to the CIA leak case secret, redacted portions of the special prosecutor’s 2004 interview with Dick Cheney released today show plenty of nothing. The then-VP apparently suffered acute memory loss: Cheney told Patrick Fitzgerald he...

Judge: Cheney Interview in Plame Case Can't Be Sealed

But government can redact certain portions

(Newser) - A federal judge has ordered the FBI to release most of the interview it conducted with Dick Cheney over the Valerie Plame case, in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Both the Bush and Obama administrations have tried to keep the record of the 2004 sit-down sealed, arguing...

Obama to Open White House Visitor Logs

Aims to boost transparency, resolve watchdog lawsuits

(Newser) - The Obama administration has agreed to release the normally private list of visitors to the White House, as a move to increase transparency, and resolve four lawsuits against both it and the previous administration from a watchdog group. “We will achieve our goal of making this administration the most...

Obama Met at Least 27 Health Industry Execs

Lawsuit prompts White House to finally release the list

(Newser) - Since February, President Obama has hosted at least 27 meetings with health industry bigwigs—representing hospitals, doctors, pharmaceuticals and insurance companies—the Huffington Post reports, in its campaign to head off resistance to health care reform. Names of the visitors were released last night, just before the president's press conference...

Cheney Sued to Expose Secrets

Citizens group asks judge to order his records preserved for public access

(Newser) - A federal judge is being asked to prevent Dick Cheney from destroying or hiding what some believe are the administration's best kept secrets, reports the Washington Post. The advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics is calling for a court order to force the powerful vice president to preserve his...

14 Stories