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Dan Epstein, executive director of the watchdog group Cause of Action, said rules require the archivist to sign off on the destruction of federal records.
“This solicitation, combined with the failure of the IRS to consult the Archivist about Louis Lerner’s hard drive, should put hesitation into any assumption that consultation with the Archivist is happening and prompt a thorough assessment of record retention at the IRS,” Mr. Epstein said Monday.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
July 21, 2014 Annalisa Burnett, 202-499-4232
Department of Labor Prioritized Illegal Fundraising Over Following The Law
WASHINGTON – Government watchdogs Cause of Action and Americans for Limited Government (ALG) exposed the Administration for valuing illegal fundraising for the President over its statutory duty to keep the public informed of its activities.
Cause of Action obtained documents revealing that a public records appeal filed by ALG with the Department of Labor (DOL) concerning former Secretary Solis’ calendars was held up for years before DOL released the information.
Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens:
“President Obama upon entering office promised us an open and transparent administration, stating that records should not be withheld ‘because of speculative or abstract fears.’ Instead of fulfilling this promise, the White House is micro-managing how agencies release records, apparently acting on exactly these types of fears. As a result, release of records is delayed and the delays in many instances destroy the public utility of the information in the records. These delays are, of course, contrary to FOIA and should cease immediately.”
Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein:
“Former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis chose to illegally fundraise for President Obama using taxpayer-funded resources while neglecting to ensure that the agency she oversaw was transparent. DOL sat on records for years until the White House cleared the information for release. Sadly, such delays have become par for the course under this Administration, which screens agency documents containing White House “equities,” — a broad and undefined term used to delay the release of politically sensitive information to the public, and even to Congress. Hiding behind White House equities is a threat to free speech and this Administration must be held accountable for it.”
Documents show that ALG’s FOIA appeal was delayed by over two years:
Sept. 1, 2010: In response to a Jan. 14, 2010 FOIA request from ALG, DOL withheld a calendar entry showing that Solis met with Cecilia Munoz from White House on April 7, 2009.
Oct. 26, 2010: ALG files FOIA appeal, challenging redactions.
Approx. March 2012: Solis makes a fundraising call to a DOL employee during business hours in order to aid the President’s reelection campaign.
Apr. 8, 2013 to May 6, 2013: DOL finally consults with White House Counsel’s Office about releasing the calendar entry; White House agrees to release.
May 20, 2013: DOL issues final response to ALG which includes the production of the calendar with the calendar entry.
About Cause of Action:
Cause of Action is a non-profit, nonpartisan government accountability organization that fights to protect economic opportunity when federal regulations, spending and cronyism threaten it. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.
About Americans for Limited Government:
Americans for Limited Government is a non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms, private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG, visit www.GetLiberty.org.
To schedule an interview with Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, contact media@causeofaction.org or (202) 499-4232. To schedule an interview with Americans for Limited Government’s President Nathan Mehrens, contact media@limitgov.org or (703) 383-0880 x 106.
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Statement from Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein on the latest Hatch Act concerns raised by Congress:
“The Office of Special Counsel’s (OSC) guidance on the Hatch Act prohibits certain federal employees from engaging in partisan political behavior that contributes to the success or failure of a political party, candidate or political group. If the IRS used government resources to actively target partisan political groups, then why has OSC failed to enforce the Hatch Act against that agency? The Obama Administration cannot have it both ways. Either organizations singled out by this Administration are not partisan political groups and this President authorizes the suppression of First Amendment activity with impunity or the OSC is not enforcing the law against executive branch employees for their on-duty partisan targeting of organizations the White House claims are partisan political groups.”
Cause of Action hosted a media call to discuss the legal and political issues raised by the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) records retention policy and practices in relation to the lost emails of Lois Lerner, former Director of the IRS’s Exemption Organizations unit.
This memorandum addresses some of the legal and political issues raised by the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) records retention policy and practices in relation to the lost emails of Lois Lerner, former Director of the IRS’s Exemption Organizations unit.
Cause of Action, joined by Southeastern Legal Foundation and Texas Public Policy Foundation, has filed an amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to overturn the conviction of a commercial fisherman who was prosecuted under Sarbanes-Oxley’s anti-shredding provision for throwing fish overboard. According to CoA’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, “the government’s conduct in this case is quintessential Executive Branch overreach. Congress never imagined, much less intended, that the law it passed to deter corporate financial scandals would be used the way it was here. If the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s actions stand, then the regulatory floodgates will open more Americans to government abuse.” CoA and the amici are represented by Gus Coldebella of Goodwin Procter LLP.
In the brief, CoA and the amici argued that if Captain Yates’ conviction is upheld, then a person who “conceals evidence of a surfboard being used on a beach designated for swimming, throws away a bag of chips from a workplace restroom prior to an OSHA inspection, fails to declare an item on a customs form at the airport, gets rid of a bat used in a teenager’s game of ‘mailbox baseball,’ or discards an empty container of medicine purchased from a foreign pharmacy” has violated SOX and faces up to twenty years in prison.
CoA and the amici also noted that Captain Yates’ case raises troubling questions about the government’s inconsistent application of the law, given the multiple cases of document destruction by federal officials. For example, in 2011, during the course of an Inspector General investigation into NOAA’s Office of Enforcement, then director Dale J. Jones, Jr. actually shredded documents to conceal evidence. Jones was not prosecuted—instead, he was given a different job. Similarly, Charles Edwards, former Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, allegedly destroyed documents to impede a federal investigation. Edwards, too, was reassigned to another federal job.
According to Epstein: “This is an obvious double standard: a taxpayer subsidized employee who destroys documents to obstruct an investigation (conduct clearly covered by the statute) is reassigned, while a taxpayer who throws fish overboard is sent to prison. No system that treats government employees differently than average citizens engenders respect for the law.”