This week, the Supreme Court indicated that it may be on the verge of, for the first time in eight decades, applying the nondelegation doctrine and requiring Congress, not government bureaucrats, to make law. This critical development could result in significant advancement of economic freedom, political accountability, and the liberty of individual citizens.
06/19/2019
Commerce Provides Poor Excuse in First Substantive Answer on Secrecy of 232 Auto Tariff Report
Washington, D.C. (June 19, 2019) – After nearly four months, Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) has finally received an explanation from the Department of Commerce (Commerce) that claims the Commerce Secretary’s final report to the President regarding the Section 232 investigation into the national security impacts of the Administration’s proposed automobile tariffs may constitute a presidential record. In this determination, which is in response to CoA Institute’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and subsequent litigation, Commerce states it is reviewing whether the report does in fact constitute a presidential record, which would remove it from the scope of the FOIA. It also claims that if the report ultimately is classified as an “agency record,” Commerce will still refuse to provide access to the report under the guise of presidential communications or deliberate process privileges.
06/12/2019
District Court Denies FBI’s Open America Motion in Daily Caller News Foundation FOIA Lawsuit
Washington, D.C. (June 12 2019) – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute), celebrated a victory for its client, the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF), after the U.S District Court for the District of Columbia denied the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) motion for an Open America stay. The victory for DCNF will ensure the FBI produces court ordered records, 500 records per month, pertaining to DCNF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents relating to Special Government Employee Daniel Richman. The Court largely echoed the arguments made by CoA Institute that the FBI failed to show any unexpected spike in FOIA requests or litigation and had not properly reduced its FOIA backlog.
06/6/2019
USTR Records Show Ambassador Lighthizer Used Personal Email for Government Business
Records obtained by Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) through the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) reveal that Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”), and Stephen Vaughn, General Counsel to the USTR and former Acting Trade Representative, used their personal email addresses to conduct official government business in 2017 and 2018. Considering the Administration’s aggressive trade policy that is increasing costs on American consumers and businesses, transparency is of paramount importance.
06/3/2019
The Brief – June 3, 2019
Cause of Action Institute published its May newsletter today. You can read the newsletter here and subscribe to our monthly newsletter here.
Message from John
Our team is fortunate enough to spend every day working to tear down barriers and protect individual and economic liberty, and we are exceptionally grateful for the days where we get to see those barriers removed. In early May, Cause of Action celebrated a decision from a U.S. District Court denying all damages against our clients, Robert and Angelo Cupo, and their small business. This decision was not only a victory for this family, but for all small business owners and entrepreneurs who fear the administrative state.
06/3/2019
GAO Report Finds EXIM Potentially Provides Billions in Financing to Companies with Delinquent Federal Debt
While the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) celebrated the recent confirmation of its president and two members of its board of directors, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a troubling report concerning EXIM potentially providing billions of dollars in loans and financing to companies improperly. GAO found EXIM failed to use a federal database available to all government agencies free of charge to identify companies that have delinquent federal debt. Consequently, EXIM may have provided financing to ineligible companies and increased it’s susceptibility to fraud.
05/31/2019
Investigation Update: GSA Continues to Block Disclosure of White House Directive on Congressional Oversight Requests, Reveals Sensitive Review Procedure for Media Requesters
Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) received an interim response yesterday from the General Services Administration (GSA) on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that suggests the agency is deliberately stonewalling the release of a White House directive instructing agencies on how to respond to congressional oversight requests. Records released by the agency also suggest that the GSA has implemented a “sensitive review” FOIA process by which news media requesters are subject to an extra layer of pre-production review.