Democracy 21 Watchdog Activities and Challenges to President Trump and his Administration

Democracy 21 is focusing a major part our efforts this year on challenging President Trump’s reckless and destructive approach to governing our country. The organization has been in the forefront of the efforts to watchdog and challenge the ethics, conflicts of interest and other abuses by President Trump and his administration.

NPR has described Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer as, “A central figure in the opposition network,” which “has dug in to scrutinize issues involving the Trump administration’s ethics and transparency.”  NPR also described Wertheimer as, “one of the progressive movement’s leading strategists on ethics and campaign finance laws since the 1980s.”

In an op-ed entitled A Declaration of Independence from Donald Trump, Wertheimer wrote:

He governs as if he has unrestrained and unaccountable power, and can do anything to anyone at any time. Our country will not succumb to Trump’s undemocratic, un-American, authoritarian ways. We will remain Lincoln’s “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” long after Trump is gone.

President Trump in his short time in office has:

– Attacked the integrity of judges and the credibility of the judicial system and challenged the system of checks and balances provided in the Constitution;

– Undermined the legitimacy of our electoral system, falsely claiming as president that three to five million people voted illegally for his opponent;

– Recklessly attacked the media as an “enemy of the American people,” rejecting a founding principle embodied in the Constitution by our founders that freedom of the press is essential to our liberty; and

– Repeatedly lied, made false and misleading claims, and attacked accurate statements about him as “fake news,” in a dangerous attempt to delegitimize the media and undermine the coin of the realm in a democracy – facts and truth.

This memorandum summarizes Democracy 21’s watchdog activities and challenges to President Trump and his administration. The remainder of the Democracy 21 program agenda for 2017 is set forth in a companion memorandum.

Complaints, Requests for Investigations and Public Challenges

President Trump 

Early in the year, Wertheimer published two op-eds addressing the problems with the Trump presidency: “What’s in a Name? A Whole Lot of Money if the Name is President Donald Trump,” and “Flynn Scandal is First of Many Trump Presidency Will Have.”

Democracy 21 also played a leading role in organizing a coalition of organizations and individuals with governance expertise to challenge President Trump’s refusal to divest his assets into a blind trust, his violations of the Emoluments Clause and his refusal to disclose his tax returns. We worked closely in these efforts with Norman Eisen, chief White House ethics lawyer for President Obama, and Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush.

The organization also has taken a number of other actions to challenge the abuses of President Trump and his administration.

December 9, 2016 and January 2, 2017 – Democracy 21 prepared two letters to President-elect Trump and organized signatures by 28 and 29 groups and individuals, respectively, with ethics expertise. The letters called on Trump to eliminate his potential Emoluments Clause violations and conflicts of interest by divesting his assets into a blind trust that meets the requirements of the Ethics In Government Act. The president, however, has insisted on remaining as the owner of The Trump Organization and the beneficiary of its profits and financial benefits. 

March 8, 2017 – Democracy 21 called on Preet Bharara, then U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, to investigate and take whatever steps are necessary to prevent The Trump Organization from serving as a conduit for financial benefits from foreign governments to be passed through to President Trump in violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause.  Democracy 21 was joined on the letter by CREW and the Campaign Legal Center.

Axios journalist Johnathan Swan reported about the strategy we undertook in filing the complaint: “Why this matters: Trump is going to face an endless stream of litigation throughout his presidency, but he’s personally immune from conflict-of-interest attacks because of the unique status of the President. His company, however, is fair game.”

March 13, 2017 – After Bharara was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions when he refused to join other U.S Attorneys in a requested mass resignation, Democracy 21 resent our complaint to the new acting New York Southern District U.S. Attorney Joon Kim and asked him to take appropriate action.

March 21, 2017 – Democracy 21 sent a letter to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman calling on him to investigate and take appropriate action against The Trump Organization for serving as conduit for President Trump to receive illegal emoluments from foreign countries. The letter forwarded the letter previously sent by the organization to the now fired U.S Attorney Preet Bharara and stated that the Schneiderman had jurisdiction in the case because The Trump Organization is located in New York City.

April 24, 2017 – Democracy 21 organized and released a statement signed by a group of 17 organizations and individuals with expertise in governance issues that gave President Donald Trump an F for his performance on government integrity, transparency and accountability in the first 100 days of his presidency. The statement said:

In the first hundred days of his Administration, President Donald Trump has established the worst record in modern times for a new President on fundamental governing issues of integrity, transparency and accountability.” The statement further said that President Trump has ignored provisions of the Constitution and basic ethical norms established to prevent government corruption and influence buying; rejected the core democratic principle of the public’s right to know; and challenged basic accountability protections embedded in the Constitution.

May 2, 2017 – Democracy 21 joined with the Campaign Legal Center to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the inaugural committee for President Donald Trump violated federal law by failing to collect and report essential information about donors, in many cases failing to even ask for required information like addresses. Democracy 21 Counsel Donald Simon stated that it “appears that the Trump Inaugural Committee did not take even a minimal level of care to meet its legal obligation to submit accurate financial disclosure reports to the FEC identifying the sources of the millions of dollars it raised.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Democracy 21 took a series of steps that played an important role in forcing Attorney General Sessions to recuse himself from any involvement in the investigations being undertaken regarding Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and any role played by Trump campaign staff and associates in these activities.

Sessions’ recusal played a key role in the ultimate appointment by Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein of former FBI Director Robert Mueller to serve as the independent Special Counsel in charge of the Russia investigation.

February 17, 2017 – Democracy 21 organized a group of 26 organizations and individuals who signed a coalition letter we prepared and sent that informed Sessions that Justice Department regulations required him to recuse himself from these matters.

February 27, 2017 – Democracy 21 filed a complaint against Attorney General Sessions with the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).  The complaint documented Sessions’ role in the 2016 Trump campaign, noted Sessions’ meetings with Russia officials during the campaign and presented the case that Sessions was required by Department of Justice regulations to recuse himself from the Justice Department and FBI investigation into Russian interference in the presidential campaign, including whether Trump campaign officials and Trump associates had colluded with Russian actors.

March 2, 2017 – Democracy 21 filed a second complaint with the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) calling on OPR to immediately make public findings that Attorney General Jeff Sessions must immediately recuse himself from any Department of Justice investigations and actions relating to the Russia interference into the 2016 presidential election.

The same day Sessions proceeded to recuse himself from any involvement in matters relating to the 2016 presidential campaigns and named Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente to oversee the Justice Department and FBI investigation. In recusing himself Sessions said, according to The Washington Post, that he was following the recommendation of department ethics officials after an evaluation of the rules and cases in which he might have a conflict.

May 12. 2017 – Democracy 21 filed a complaint against Attorney General Jeff Sessions with the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) for violating both his public commitment to recuse himself “from any matters arising from the campaigns for President of the United States,” and for violating the Department of Justice (DOJ) recusal regulation. The complaint stated that Sessions did so by both participating in the firing of former FBI Director James Comey and participating in the search for his replacement. The new FBI director will be leading the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, in which Sessions is a potential subject and from which he had recused himself.

May 15, 2017 –Democracy 21 sent to the Justice Department’s Inspector General((continue link to include the L in general) three complaints that Democracy 21 previously filed against Attorney General Jeff Sessions with the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) on February 27, 2017, March 2, 2017 and May 12, 2017. Democracy 21 called on the Inspector General to investigate and take appropriate action regarding the matter raised in the three complaints, which alleged that the direct involvement of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the firing of FBI Director James Comey, and in the hiring of a new FBI director are violations of the Department’s recusal regulation. 

Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Acting Deputy Attorney General Boente 

March 3, 2017 –Democracy 21 sent a letter to Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente, calling on him “to exercise the authority provided under Justice Department regulations to appoint an independent Special Counsel to assume authority over and lead the Russia investigation and related matters.”

May 10, 2017 – Following President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, Democracy 21 organized and sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, signed by 24 groups and individuals with expertise in government integrity and accountabilitythat called on Rosenstein “to promptly appoint an independent Special Counsel, as authorized by Justice Department regulations, to now oversee and conduct the Russia investigation that Director Comey was leading for the FBI.” The letter noted that the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from any role in the Russia investigations has left Rosenstein as the senior Justice Department official in charge of this investigation. 

May 18, 2017 –In a letter sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Democracy 21 commended him on his decision to appoint Robert Mueller as an independent Special Counsel to lead the Department’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The letter called on Rosenstein to exercise the oversight authority he has over the Sessions investigation with “great caution” and to ensure that Mueller has the resources necessary to pursue the investigation.

Rep. Devin Nunes

March 28, 2017 – Democracy 21 wrote to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) requesting an investigation into whether Rep. Devin Nunes, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee,  disclosed classified information to the public in violation of House ethics rules which explicitly prohibits such disclosures. CREW joined us in sending the letter requesting the inquiry. The issue arose out of an effort by the White House and Nunes to divert attention away from the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Rep. Nunes publicly said that “American intelligence agencies monitoring foreign officials may have ‘incidentally’ picked up communications of [President] Trump transition team members.” Nunes further said the information he received was classified, but he argued that disclosing the existence of the report and the nature of it did not reveal any classified information.

Democracy 21 requested OCE to determine whether there is reasonable basis to believe that the statements made by Rep. Nunes to the public, based on the classified information in the report he reviewed, publicly revealed classified information in violation of House Rule 23, Clause 13.

April 4, 2017 – Democracy 21 sent a second letter to OCE providing supplemental information and repeating our request for an inquiry of the matter. CREW joined the letter.

April 6, 2017 – Rep. Nunes stepped down temporarily as chairman of the Intelligence Committee for purposes of the Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in our elections until the ethics charges against him were resolved. He blamed the need to take this step on the complaints filed with OCE by “several left-wing activist groups.” On the same day, Chairwoman Susan Brooks and Ranking Member Ted Deutch announced that the House Ethics Committee would conduct an investigation of whether Rep. Nunes disclosed classified information in violation of House ethics rules. The Los Angeles Times later referenced our complaint to OCE as a cause of the Nunes ethics investigation.

April 10, 2017 – Democracy 21 wrote to Chairwoman Susan Brooks and Ranking Member Ted Deutch on the House Ethics Committee calling on them to conduct a thorough and publicly credible investigation of the serious ethics questions that have been raised about the conduct of Rep. Devin Nunes. CREW joined us in signing the letter.

Jared Kushner 

April 24, 2017 – Democracy 21 sent a letter to Jared Kushner calling on him to recuse himself from any involvement in a number of policy areas in order to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of such conflicts. The letter noted Kushner’s “unprecedented White House portfolio, your role as adviser to President Trump, your relationship with the President as his son-in-law and your family’s very substantial foreign and domestic business interests” in calling for the Kushner recusals.

The letter stated that ethics rules required Kushner to recuse himself from all matters involving China and that he also needed to recuse himself from any involvement in all policy areas that could directly affect his business interests or those of his spouse, including real estate, taxes, trade, banking and financial services, and certain foreign policy areas. 

May 2, 2017 – Democracy 21 sent a second letter to Kushner that called on him to make full public disclosure of the foreign business lenders, investors and business associates involved in his extensive business holdings. The letter stated, “We believe this information is essential in order to assure the American people that there are no conflicts of interest between the important foreign policy responsibilities assigned to you by President Trump and your extensive business holdings.”

Kushner’s foreign policy responsibilities as Senior Adviser to President Trump involve highly sensitive matters and longstanding relationships between the United States and a number of countries. We publicly stated that “the American people are entitled to have assurances that his efforts with regard to any of these foreign countries are not compromised by foreign financial ties to his business holdings.”

May 8, 2017 –Democracy 21 sent a letter tothe head of the Office of Government Ethics and urged him to take appropriate action to ensure that Mr. Kushner’s conflicts of interest and appearance of such conflicts regarding his policy responsibilities for matters dealing with China are eliminated.

The letter noted that the business interests of Kushner’s spouse, Ivanka Trump, in China, including her valuable trademarks and pending trademark applications, are attributable to Kushner as well for purposes of the conflicts of interest rules and that therefore these rules require Kushner to recuse himself from all matters dealing with China, which he currently has responsibility for in the White House.

Donald McGahn and Ivanka Trump

March 24, 2017 – Democracy 21 wrote to White House Counsel Donald McGahn expressing deep concern “about the highly unusual and inappropriate arrangement that is being proposed for Ivanka Trump, the President’s daughter, to play a formalized role in the White House without being required to comply with the ethics and disclosure requirements that apply to White House employees.” We urged McGahn to revisit the matter. CREW and the Campaign Legal Center joined us on the letter.

March 29, 2017 – Ivanka Trump announced she “had heard the concerns some have” and was switching to serve in the White House as an unpaid employee subject to the same rules that apply to other federal employees. According to CNN, “A source with knowledge of the decision told CNN’s Gloria Borger the decision was made after the “unease” expressed by people about the nature of her voluntary role, and ethics advocates Norm Eisen and Fred Wertheimer had sent White House counsel Donald McGhan a letter last Friday.” Wertheimer issued a statement commending Ms. Trump for changing her position.

May 17, 2017 – Following President Trump’s indication that he may have White House tapes of his conversations with FBI Director Comey, Democracy 21 sent a letter to White House Counsel Donald McGahn to remind him that he is “obligated under the law to ensure that any White House tape recordings of President Trump’s conversations are preserved as evidence for potential criminal or congressional investigations.” A similar letter was sent to Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. The letters pointed out that President Nixon had said he regretted that he had not destroyed the Watergate tapes, after originally deciding to so. These tapes were central to the impeachment proceedings that led to the resignation of President Nixon.

Challenge to Priebus and Mulvaney Attacks on OGE Director

January 17, 2017 Democracy 21 prepared a letter – and organized signatures by 19 organizations and individuals with governance expertise – that challenged incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus’  attack on the head of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). The letter challenged Preibus’ efforts to threaten and intimidate the director of OGE in an attempt to stop the director from raising concerns about Trump’s conflicts of interest problems. The OGE director did not retreat from his positions and Priebus stopped threatening him.

May 23, 2017 –Democracy 21 sent a letter to Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), calling on him to back off from interfering with the efforts of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to oversee and enforce the Executive Branch ethics rules. 

Mulvaney had asked the OGE Director Walter Shaub to suspend his efforts to obtain information on lobbyists receiving waivers from ethics restrictions so they could work for the Trump administration. The Democracy 21 letter said there is no basis for OMB to interfere with OGE’s efforts to carry out its oversight and enforcement responsibilities and that Mulvaney should not be raising unspecified “legal questions” to hide from the American people information they have a right to know. Mulvaney did back off and made public the waivers. 

Challenge to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s Conflicts 

March 10, 2017 – Democracy 21 sent a letter to the ethics officer at the EPA calling on him to ensure that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt recuses himself from any decision making with regard to the multiple lawsuits that Pruitt brought against the EPA while he was the Attorney General of Oklahoma and that are still pending. The letter pointed out the serious conflicts of interest Pruitt would have if he was involved in any these lawsuits as EPA director. 

Challenge to Carl Icahn 

May 1, 2017 –An op-ed published on CNN.com by Wertheimer and Norm Eisen, chief ethics lawyer for President Obama challenged the role being played by multibillionaire Carl Icahn in serving as a “senior adviser” to President Trump.

Icahn was named during the transition to serve as “a special advisor to the President on issues relating to regulatory reform.” In that capacity he has lobbied President Trump and the White House to approve a proposal he has drafted to change EPA regulations. The change would save hundreds of millions of dollars for CVR Energy, an oil refinery company he owns. The op-ed argues that Icahn apparently qualifies as a Special Government Employee and as such he would be covered by Executive Branch conflicts rules and prohibited from engaging in his self-dealing efforts to benefit his company.

Legislation

Democracy 21 worked with Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office to help draft legislation to require presidents and vice presidents to divest their assets into blind trusts managed by an independent trustee. We also gathered support for the legislation from 21 organizations and individuals who signed a letter we prepared endorsing the bill, S.65, and urging senators to cosponsor the legislation.

Democracy 21 also worked with Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Steve Neal to gather   support from 18 organizations and individuals to support their legislation to address Trump’s Emoluments Clause problems as they relate to trade activities. Wyden and Neal are the ranking members of the committees with jurisdiction over trade. In a letter we organized, the 18 groups and individuals urged members of Congress to co-sponsor the Senate and House bills.

Defeating Sneak Attack of Office of Congressional Ethics

Democracy 21 organized a rapid response by organizations to a sneak attack initiated by House Republican leaders on January 2, 2017 that was designed to gut the House Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The plan was to pass the proposal the next day at the opening session of the new Congress. The Office is the only institution in Congress that has provided effective oversight and enforcement of the congressional ethics rules.

The proposal to gut OCE came from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and was first publicly revealed on the afternoon of January 2, 2017.  In less than 24 hours, Democracy 21 prepared letters to Speaker Ryan and House members strongly opposing the Goodlatte proposal and organized 36 organizations and individuals with governance expertise to join in signing the letters. Sent on the morning of January 3, 2017, the letters, and grassroots activities immediately undertaken by organizations signing the letter, played an important role in the Goodlatte proposal being killed without coming to a House vote. This battle is not over, however, as House Republicans are expected to again go after OCE later this year.