Archives for 2016

Cause of Action Institute Files Opening Brief in Appeal for Clinton Emails

Washington, DC – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) and Judicial Watch, Inc. today filed a joint brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia arguing that email records from the private server of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton likely exist and have yet to be recovered by the State Department in accordance with the Federal Records Act. This evidence was ignored in a previous decision by the lower court.

On December 5, 2014, twenty-two months after Sec. Clinton left office, paper copies of 30,490 work-related emails were delivered to the State Department. However, Secretary Clinton held back an additional 31,830 emails, which her attorneys declared to be personal records. None of those additional emails were reviewed by anyone at the State Department or the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

CoA Institute President and CEO, and former federal judge, Alfred J. Lechner, Jr.: “Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not preserve her emails in accordance with the law and the State Department should be held accountable. Evidence shows that the email Mrs. Clinton belatedly returned to the State Department is an incomplete set. Through its appeal, the Cause of Action Institute seeks to compel Secretary Kerry and NARA to recover all of Mrs. Clinton’s email records in accordance with the Federal Records Act.”

The brief shows the defendants have refused to initiate action through the Attorney General to recover a complete and accurate set of all federal records that Secretary Clinton unlawfully removed from State Department custody. The brief follows the release of a recent State Department Office of Inspector General (IG) report that also found Hillary Clinton failed to comply with the Federal Records Act. Consistent with the brief filed today, the IG report found that Mrs. Clinton failed to provide all of her emails to the State Department.

Cause of Action Institute filed its initial complaint on July 8, 2015 in federal court in Washington, D.C. The defendants in that suit argued the case was moot because the State Department received 55,000 pages of emails from Mrs. Clinton.  The district court agreed with defendants and dismissed the suit. Today’s filing presents compelling evidence that contradicts the lower court’s decision.  Cause of Action Institute’s case has been consolidated with a similar case by Judicial Watch.

Cause of Action Institute Investigates Terms of $14 Million Contract Between CFPB and Political Ad Firm

Washington, DC – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for information surrounding a recent contract worth an estimated $14 million with GMMB, Inc., a powerful media consulting shop. GMMB, Inc. has produced partisan political ads for numerous high-profile campaigns, including for President Obama and Hillary Clinton.

“CFPB is a federal agency engaged, as part of its consumer protection responsibilities, in substantial consumer information collection activities,” wrote Alfred J. Lechner, Jr. Cause of Action Institute President and CEO and a former federal judge. “Given GMMB’s partisan political clients, CoA Institute is concerned about the nature of and safeguards applied to any CFPB information supplied to or received from GMMB.”

Recent empirical data show political favoritism in federal contract awards. Given GMMB, Inc.’s statement that the CFPB contract covers costs for “independent research on messaging and demographic targeting,” Cause of Action Institute seeks to confirm that appropriate firewalls are in place to ensure that American taxpayers are not subsidizing political coordination.

“Firms contracted by campaigns should not and cannot be using information garnered by federal agencies to support political causes,” the letter states.

CoA Institute requests information about the contract, all communications between CFPB and GMMB, Inc., as well as any consumer data CFPB may have shared, including consumer lists, individual addresses, and targeted advertising.

Related

WSJ_Financial_Reg

Group Asks CFPB for Details of Ad Campaign
Nearly all of the federal agency’s advertising dollars are going to GMMB Inc.

Read more HERE

 

Sec. Kerry bows to pressure, orders further investigation into video edit after Cause of Action Institute floats criminal referral

In Case You Missed It…

 

As reported by Washington Examiner:

Secretary of State John Kerry has ordered the State Department to re-examine how a video of a 2013 press briefing came to be edited to remove a sensitive discussion about the Iran nuclear agreement. Last week, spokesmen for the department said it hit a “dead end” in its investigation, which failed to determine who ordered the video to be edited. But on Wednesday, spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry insisted that officials try again.

“Given the secretary’s strong interest, given Congress’ strong interest and given the media’s strong interest, we’ve decided to continue to look at that,” he said. Kerry had called the entire episode “stupid” and “clumsy.” “Basically because the secretary said he wants to dive deeper into this, [State will] look more into what happened, and try to get to the bottom of what happened,” he said.

…Toner did indicate that it may not be too hard to figure out the mystery eventually. He said just a handful of people could have been involved in the scheme. “I don’t want to call them … suspects, but they might have been aware of what was happening or what happened, and it’s probably about four or five people,” he said.

 Last week:

Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and State Department Inspector General (IG) Steve Linick following confirmation that a yet-to-be named staffer deleted approximately eight minutes from the video record of the Department’s December 2, 2013 press briefing.

“Although the video has now been restored, this deletion raises numerous questions about the State Department commitment to transparency and honest dealing with the American public,” the letter states. “It also has possible criminal implications. It is a federal crime to unlawfully remove, destroy, or mutilate a federal record. The State Department has also revealed that this unnamed staffer did not act alone but that she received a phone call and was told to alter the record.”

To date, there is no evidence that federal authorities have begun any criminal investigation of State Department staff conduct under 18 U.S.C. § 2071 regarding this matter. Moreover, the State Department has stated it would no longer investigate this matter, even with considerable gaps in the information still outstanding.

The letter states: “As the head of the State Department and its Office of Inspector General, respectively, you each have an obligation to refer matters to the Attorney General whenever there is a reason to believe that a violation of federal criminal law has occurred.”

Cause of Action Institute is seeking more information to understand whether this incident could include criminal charges for aiding and abetting or conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371.

The letter requests that Sec. Kerry and the IG immediately refer and report the relevant staff to the Attorney General for possible criminal violations of this statute arising from their alteration of the video record of the Department’s December 2, 2013 press briefing.

The full letter can be found HERE.

 

 

 

Cause of Action Institute Seeks Criminal Investigation Referral for State Department Censorship of Press Briefing Video

Washington, DC – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) today sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and State Department Inspector General (IG) Steve Linick following confirmation that a yet-to-be named staffer deleted approximately eight minutes from the video record of the Department’s December 2, 2013 press briefing.

“Although the video has now been restored, this deletion raises numerous questions about the State Department commitment to transparency and honest dealing with the American public,” the letter states. “It also has possible criminal implications. It is a federal crime to unlawfully remove, destroy, or mutilate a federal record. The State Department has also revealed that this unnamed staffer did not act alone but that she received a phone call and was told to alter the record.”

To date, there is no evidence that federal authorities have begun any criminal investigation of State Department staff conduct under 18 U.S.C. § 2071 regarding this matter. Moreover, the State Department has stated it would no longer investigate this matter, even with considerable gaps in the information still outstanding.

The letter states: “As the head of the State Department and its Office of Inspector General, respectively, you each have an obligation to refer matters to the Attorney General whenever there is a reason to believe that a violation of federal criminal law has occurred.”

Cause of Action Institute is seeking more information to understand whether this incident could include criminal charges for aiding and abetting or conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371.

The letter requests that Sec. Kerry and the IG immediately refer and report the relevant staff to the Attorney General for possible criminal violations of this statute arising from their alteration of the video record of the Department’s December 2, 2013 press briefing.

The full letter can be found HERE.

Cause of Action Institute Seeks Referral for Criminal Investigation for State Department Censorship of Press Briefing Video

Washington, DC – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) today sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and State Department Inspector General (IG) Steve Linick following confirmation that a yet-to-be named staffer deleted approximately eight minutes from the video record of the Department’s December 2, 2013 press briefing.

“Although the video has now been restored, this deletion raises numerous questions about the State Department commitment to transparency and honest dealing with the American public,” the letter states. “It also has possible criminal implications. It is a federal crime to unlawfully remove, destroy, or mutilate a federal record. The State Department has also revealed that this unnamed staffer did not act alone but that she received a phone call and was told to alter the record.”

To date, there is no evidence that federal authorities have begun any criminal investigation of State Department staff conduct under 18 U.S.C. § 2071 regarding this matter. Moreover, the State Department has stated it would no longer investigate this matter, even with considerable gaps in the information still outstanding.

The letter states: “As the head of the State Department and its Office of Inspector General, respectively, you each have an obligation to refer matters to the Attorney General whenever there is a reason to believe that a violation of federal criminal law has occurred.”

Cause of Action Institute is seeking more information to understand whether this incident could include criminal charges for aiding and abetting or conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371.

The letter requests that Sec. Kerry and the IG immediately refer and report the relevant staff to the Attorney General for possible criminal violations of this statute arising from their alteration of the video record of the Department’s December 2, 2013 press briefing.

Court Rules in Favor of Rhea Lana’s Consignment Events in Department of Labor Dispute over Volunteers

Washington, DC – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today ruled in favor of Rhea Lana Riner and her children’s clothing consignment business in her lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor. Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) represents Rhea Lana, Inc. The ruling overturns the district court’s dismissal of her complaint and allows the case to proceed.

Rhea Lana: “I am grateful that the Court of Appeals is allowing my case to go forward. The Labor Department’s crusade to classify volunteers as employees has put my business and livelihood in jeopardy. I look forward to presenting my case before the district court in the hopes of being able to run my business without the constant threat of civil penalties from the federal government.”

Rhea Lana founded her clothing consignment company in her living room more than a decade ago. Since the company’s humble beginnings, Rhea Lana, Inc. has expanded as a franchise with 80 locations across 24 states. However, in 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor conducted an audit and sent Rhea Lana a letter claiming that her company was in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act regarding minimum wages and overtime pay.  The government claimed that volunteers who help at the consignment events where their goods are on sale must be classified as “employees.”

Rhea Lana took the Department of Labor to court, but the complaint was dismissed for lack of a reviewable agency action.  On appeal, however, the Court of Appeals held that the government’s letter to Rhea Lana is subject to immediate judicial review. The ruling states:

“We conclude that the Department’s letter to Rhea Lana is final agency action because it is more than mere agency advice. By notifying Rhea Lana that the company was in violation of its wage-and-hour obligations, the letter rendered knowing any infraction in the face of such notice, and made Rhea Lana susceptible to willfulness penalties that would not otherwise apply. The letter thus transmitted legally operative information with a ‘legal consequence’ sufficient to render the letter final. We therefore reverse the district court’s dismissal.”

CoA Institute President & CEO, and former federal judge, Alfred J. Lechner, Jr.: “We are gratified by the decision of the Court of Appeals.  People who receive agency letters like the one the Department of Labor sent Rhea Lana should be able to go to court to protect their rights.  The outcome of this case will set an important precedent about the right to judicial review, the scope of the government’s control over U.S. commerce, and whether individuals are free to volunteer their time for their own benefit. We believe that the Department of Labor overstepped its authority in this case and look forward to Rhea Lana’s day in court.”

The case now returns to the district court, where Rhea Lana will show why volunteers should be free to use their time to ensure the success of consignment events.

The Court of Appeals decision relied on the United States Supreme Court’s decision this week in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., which involved a similar question of judicial review.  CoA Institute filed an amicus brief in that case in support of the parties seeking review, who prevailed in the Court.

Cause of Action Institute Sues CIA over FOIA Political Influence Records

Washington, DC – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) today filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) seeking access to records concerning the undue influence of political appointees in processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.  The requested records were created by the CIA Office of Inspector General (OIG) but are accessible under FOIA through the CIA. The CIA is one of the few agencies that has refused to release the relevant records without sufficient explanation.

CoA Institute President & CEO, and former federal judge, Alfred J. Lechner, Jr.: “All federal agencies have the obligation to efficiently and effectively respond to FOIA requests. After three years, the CIA has demonstrated it has no intention of providing the requested documents in a timely manner. The current administration has neglected its duties under FOIA and allowed federal agencies to undermine transparency requirements. Despite numerous media reports that have criticized the Obama administration for its poor efforts to ensure transparency and openness, agencies continued to abuse the law and permit political appointees to insert themselves into the FOIA process.”

Congress requested the OIGs of several agencies to conduct audits of their FOIA programs looking into inappropriate influence of political appointees in the processing of records requests.  In two seperate FOIA requests, CoA Institute requested the CIA OIG’s final reports, but the agency has yet to produce the documents.  In one case, the CIA has stonewalled CoA Institute for three years and has twice indicated that it “will not acknowledge or respond to any additional queries regarding the status” of the CoA Institute FOIA request.

FOIA requires an agency to respond to a request within twenty business days or, in “unusual circumstances,” within thirty business days. Although President Obama came into office with promises of transparency, his administration’s actions have not matched such rhetoric.  Under a non-public 2009 White House memorandum, federal agencies were instructed to consult with Office of White House Counsel before producing any documents that involve so-called “White House equities.” The result of this memo is the unlawful expansion of White House control of agency FOIA processes and usurped agency responsibility for finalizing determinations.  Additionally, agencies have politicized FOIA processes by creating “sensitive review” procedures that permit political appointees and agency press officials to intervene in and obstruct the processing of FOIA requests.

In May, Cause of Action Institute filed a lawsuit against 11 federal agencies and the White House to end the Obama administration’s practice of delaying government responses to FOIA requests that the administration considers politically sensitive or embarrassing. Read more HERE.

To access the complaint filed today against the CIA click HERE.