Ethics & Accountability


We are challenging ethics abuses and transparency issues and demanding accountability from Congress and the Executive Branch, because that’s what the American people deserve.

Tag Archive for: Ethics & Accountability

Democracy 21 Attacks Supreme Court’s McDonnell Decision Which Legalizes Sale of Certain Actions by Public Officials for Personal Gain

  Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer  Democracy 21 is very disappointed in today’s Supreme Court decision in the McDonnell case, which greatly undermines the interests of the American people in honest and fair public officials. The Supreme Court decision belies reality. If you show the facts in the case to any citizen, the […]

Democracy 21 Attacks Resolution Adopted Today by House Government Reform Committee to Censure IRS Commissioner

  Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer The resolution adopted today by the House Government Reform Committee to censure IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has no merit and should be ignored by the American people. The censure resolution is an irresponsible attack against IRS Commissioner Koskinen who has served the country with great distinction and […]

Groups Urged Members of House Govt Reform Committee to Reject Resolution to Censure IRS Commissioner Koskinen

  In a letter sent yesterday afternoon to members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, groups urged the members to vote against a resolution pending before the committee today to censure IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The groups included include Democracy 21, Americans for Democratic Action, Campaign Legal Center, Center for Media and Democracy, […]

Watchdog Groups Urge DOJ to Name Special Outside Counsel to Investigate Legality of Bush Super PAC Scheme

Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, today called on the Justice Department to investigate whether former Governor Jeb Bush and his associated Super PAC, the Right to Rise Super PAC, are engaged in knowing and willful violations of the campaign finance laws. The groups also requested Attorney General Loretta Lynch to exercise her […]

D.C. Circuit Court Urged to Reject Challenge to Disclosure Provisions Upheld by Supreme Court in Citizens United

Today, Democracy 21 and Public Citizen joined the Campaign Legal Center in filing an amici brief in Independence Institute v. Federal Election Commission (FEC),urging theU.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to dismiss a challenge to the federal “electioneering communications” disclosure provisions upheld by the Supreme Court in its 2010 decision in Citizens United v. […]

Democracy 21 Praises Supreme Court Decision Upholding Ban on Judges Soliciting Contributions

Democracy 21 praises the Supreme Court’s decision in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar today that will help to protect the integrity of elected judiciaries throughout the country. The Supreme Court’s 5 to 4 decision vote upheld the Florida Bar’s ban on judges soliciting campaign contributions for their judicial elections. Chief Justice Roberts in his opinion recognized Florida’s […]

Wertheimer: “Role of Super PACs in Menendez Corruption Charges”

The indictment of Senator Robert Menendez illustrates in stark terms the corrupting role that Super PACs now play in our political system. The Menendez indictment alleges that a donor gave $600,000 in corporate funds to Senate Majority PAC, a Super PAC, and earmarked the money for the Senator’s reelection campaign. The Super PAC used as […]