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10/27/2014

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Ethics panel ‘never received’ complaint against Reid

Read the full story: Las Vegas Review-Journal

Cause of Action went public this week saying the committee had never responded to its complaint filed Dec. 16. Executive Director Daniel Epstein suggested it had either been dismissed without notification, or ignored.

 

In a letter made public on Friday, the group said it got a call back from the committee staff director indicating the complaint was “never received.”

 

Cause of Action then refiled the complaint, calling for prompt consideration. At the same time, it produced copies of a postal receipt showing the original packet was delivered and signed at a Senate address Dec. 20.

 

It was not clear whether the mail was delivered to the committee’s office or to a holding facility where Senate mail is scanned for security.

 

“The notion that committee staff may have lost or otherwise misplaced Cause of Action’s complaint against the majority leader is plausible,” Epstein said Friday. “However the available evidence contradicts the committee’s claim.”

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10/24/2014

FOIA Documents: DOJ Assett Forfeitures

FOIA Request (July 2, 2012)
Production (August 6, 2012)

 

Investigation Learn More
10/24/2014

FOIA Documents: Veterans Affairs P-Card Spending

FOIA Request (April 20, 2012)

VA Response Letter (July 30, 2012)

Documents:

 

 

Investigation Learn More
10/24/2014

Politico: Conservative group: Ethics panel ignored Reid complaint

Read the full story: Politico

Cause of Action said on Tuesday that the committee never responded to its December 2013 complaint that alleged Reid “inappropriately interfered” in asking for reconsideration of immigrant investor visa petitions after they were rejected. The group claims it never learned whether its allegations were deemed without merit or whether the panel’s “silence reflects a failure to properly discharge duties.”

 

“The Committee’s failure to publicly provide reasoned notice for its apparent findings of insufficiency shows an unacceptable opacity,” Cause of Action Executive Director Daniel Epstein wrote in a letter to Senate Ethics Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and ranking member Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.).

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10/24/2014

The Des Moines Register: The Register’s Editorial: Obama administration is wrong to stiff-arm inspectors

Read the full story: The Des Moines Register

In August, the nonprofit organization Cause of Action sued the administration, claiming the president’s attorneys have interfered with Freedom of Information Act disclosures simply to prevent the release of information that could be embarrassing to the president.

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10/22/2014

Fox News: WATCHDOG GROUP STILL WAITING ON REID ETHICS COMPLAINT

Read the full story: Fox News

Watchdog group Cause of Action is calling on a Senate Ethics panel to respond to a complaint it filed against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2013. At the center of the complaint is Reid’s alleged use of his political clout to lobby U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to reconsider and approve EB-5 immigrant investor visa petitions where a company receiving the foreign funding was a major contributor to the Democratic Party, and, at the time, was represented by the Senator’s son.

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10/21/2014

Cause of Action Calls on Senate Ethics Committee to Answer for Failure to Respond to Ethics Complaint Against Sen. Harry Reid

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                             CONTACT:      

October 21, 2014                                                    Mary Beth Hutchins, 202-400-2721

Cause of Action Calls on Senate Ethics Committee to Answer for Failure to Respond to Ethics Complaint Against Sen. Harry Reid

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA), a nonprofit government oversight group, today wrote to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics in follow up to a December 2013 ethics complaint CoA filed against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that has received no response from the Committee. CoA’s complaint highlighted Senator Reid’s use of his political clout to lobby U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to reconsider and approve EB-5 immigrant investor visa petitions where the principal entity receiving the foreign funding is a major contributor to the Democratic Party, and, at the time, was represented by the Senator’s son.

CoA’s letter highlights the need for the Committee to provide an explanation for why its 2013 complaint did not lead to a preliminary inquiry, despite CoA providing sufficient evidence.

CoA Executive Director Dan Epstein:

We rely on Congress to conduct oversight of bad government behavior, including investigating its own members to ensure that America’s elected officials are behaving ethically. For over 300 days to pass since our complaint was received with no reasoned notice of the Committee’s determination is unacceptable.  The Committee appears to have dismissed Cause of Action’s complaint without engaging in a preliminary inquiry and without explanation, where independent evidence unearthed by the media supports the allegations of misconduct.  The American public, who elected their Senators, deserve an ethics committee that takes its role seriously, and our hope is that the public receives an explanation for this delay in oversight.

On October 23, 2014, CoA sent a follow up letter after Senate Ethics claimed it did not receive the ethics complaint in 2013.

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.

To schedule an interview with Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mary.beth.hutchins@causeofaction.org

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