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05/15/2017

CoA Institute Demands Secretary of State Recover All of Sec. Clinton’s Unlawfully Removed Email Records

Revelation of FBI grand jury subpoenas raises more questions than it answers

Washington D.C. – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) filed its opposition to the government’s motion to dismiss a case brought against the Secretary of State and the U.S. Archivist. The lawsuit seeks to compel the defendants to fulfill their legal obligations under the Federal Records Act to initiate action through the Attorney General to recover all of Hillary Clinton’s email records that were unlawfully removed from the State Department.

In December, 2016, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in our favor, overturning an earlier opinion by the District Court that dismissed the case as “moot.” Despite the court’s rebuke, the Secretary of State and U.S. Archivist continue to refuse to perform their statutory obligations to recover Secretary Clinton’s email records by initiating action through the Attorney General.

One new piece of information publicly revealed for the first time in the government’s motion to dismiss was that during its investigation, the FBI issued grand jury subpoenas related to Secretary Clinton’s BlackBerry email accounts. The subpoenas confirm that the FBI investigation of Secretary Clinton was criminal in nature, but details about the scope of the subpoenas remains unknown.

CoA Institute President and CEO John Vecchione: “None of the information provided by the government establishes that the federal records at issue do not exist or cannot be recovered. The government presented fundamentally the same arguments the Court of Appeals already rejected last year. It is the agencies’ statutory duty to institute proceedings through the Attorney General to recover these records. Why the agencies are fighting so hard to avoid this obligation is unexplained.”

In its cross motion filed with its opposition, CoA Institute requests the Court to grant discovery for more information about the grand jury subpoenas that could be essential to the case. The government failed to introduce any evidence to show that the results of those subpoenas establish that Secretary. Clinton’s BlackBerry emails are not recoverable through forensic means.

Read the full pleading here

 

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05/11/2017

Court Orders Dismissal of D-Link Corp. from FTC Data Security Case

SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. District Judge James Donato has instructed the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to dismiss Taiwan-based D-Link Corporation (“D-Link Corp.”) from a case brought by the FTC in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of California involving unfounded allegations as to security practices for routers and IP cameras. On April 3, 2017, D-Link Corp. filed a motion to dismiss the case because the Court lacked jurisdiction over the company. FTC’s dismissal of D-Link Corp. renders that motion moot. The case will now proceed with California-based D-Link Systems, Inc. as the sole Defendant.

Cause of Action Institute Assistant Vice President Patrick Massari: “The FTC sued a Taiwanese-based corporation without any factual predicate or consumer victims, real or imagined, exceeding the bounds of its regulatory authority. We are grateful for the Court’s directive and pleased with this resolution of issues raised by D-Link Corp.’s motion to dismiss.  We look forward to continuing to vigorously defend this case on behalf of D-Link Systems, Inc.”

Background:

In early January, the FTC filed a complaint against D-Link Systems Inc. and D-Link Corp. The complaint makes vague and unsubstantiated allegations, without asserting a single data breach of any product sold in the U.S. by either company. Instead, the FTC’s complaint relies on unspecified press reports and mere speculation that consumers were placed “at risk,” but fails to allege, as it must, that consumers suffered or are likely to suffer actual or substantial injury. D-Link Systems continues to stand behind its products and maintains a robust range of procedures to address potential security vulnerabilities.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

 

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04/27/2017

CoA Institute Highlights Problems with Presidents’ Unilateral Designation of Monuments

Washington D.C. – After President Trump yesterday signed an executive order to review previous presidents’ national monument designations under the Antiquities Act, Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) today sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke outlining why some designations may have been unlawful.

Signed into law over a century ago, the Antiquities Act authorizes the president to declare federal lands as part of monuments, which restricts how the lands can be used. Records obtained by CoA Institute indicate that some of President Obama’s designations may have resulted from collusion with outside environmental groups, while ignoring feedback from the local stakeholders who would be most harmed.

CoA Institute President and CEO John Vecchione: “Major decisions impacting Americans’ livelihoods, vast public lands, natural resources, and property rights are currently left to the sole discretion of the president. This is contrary to most of our system of government. Presidents failed to substantiate many designations in any meaningful way, beyond the use of a few magic words on the face of the proclamations. Unchecked discretion and lack of recourse to remedy overbroad proclamations has resulted in misuse of the Antiquities Act and undue restrictions on future use of vast swaths of federal lands.”

CoA Institute has submitted more than 10 Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests to various agencies and executive branch offices involved with national monument declarations.

Evident from government records received and reviewed by CoA Institute, monument declarations have been made with little or no consideration of local stakeholders and those most adversely impacted by the designations.  More recent designations, such as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument and the expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument have even been made in direct contravention of longstanding statutory frameworks established by Congress and trusted by local stakeholders.

To date, CoA Institute has received several interim releases, including over 1,000 records, but we anticipate that this represents only small fraction of the records that are responsive to our requests. These records, along with publicly available documents and conversations we have had with local stakeholders in multiple states, preliminarily confirm several of our concerns.

For example, it appears that third-party environmental groups knew about a forthcoming monument designation in the Atlantic Ocean prior to August 2015. However, local fishermen—who would be directly and adversely impacted by the designation— were notified only 12 days before the September meeting. As indicated in records we have reviewed, local fishermen were given only 250 words in a press release informing them of the meeting and seeking input on a then-undefined proposal. In contrast, third party organizations had enough in-depth information in advance of the meeting to build online petitions supporting a monument in the Atlantic Ocean that were pushed out to their members nationwide.

As part of our ongoing oversight, CoA Institute continues to investigate:

  • The role certain Members of Congress played in lobbying President Obama to take unilateral action under the Antiquities Act;
  • Potential collusion between outside groups and the Obama Administration to declare national monuments;
  • Lack of transparency regarding monument designations;
  • Pretextual public hearings relating to predetermined monument designations;
  • The continued acquisition of private lands in and around existing national monuments to expand such monuments; and
  • The legality of agency rulemakings to enforce Antiquities Act designations.

The full letter can be found here

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications at CoA Institute: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

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04/18/2017

CoA Institute Sues for Records on Potential FBI Payment to Democratic Opposition Researcher Who Compiled Infamous Trump Dossier

Washington D.C. – Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking records relating to the relationship between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and Christopher Steele, a former British spy who made headlines after he was identified as the lead author of the largely-discredited Trump dossier.

According to a news report, Mr. Steele entered an agreement with the FBI a few weeks before the November 2016 election to investigate then-candidate Donald Trump while, at the same time, he was employed by an opposition research firm to collect information for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

CoA Institute President and CEO John Vecchione: “If a former spy who was being paid to do opposition research on a U.S. presidential nominee was also on the FBI’s payroll, there are serious concerns about the agency’s independence. We need to better understand this financial relationship to ensure the FBI was not misusing taxpayer money to interfere in a presidential election on behalf of one of the candidates.”

On March 7, 2017, CoA Institute sent a FOIA request to the FBI seeking access to records into whether the FBI paid money, or had plans to pay, Mr. Steele for any purpose. To date, the FBI has failed to produce any responsive records within the applicable FOIA timeframe.

The full Complaint can be found here.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications at CoA Institute: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

 

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04/18/2017

Court of Appeals Upholds Decision on Reg That Will Put 60 Percent of New England Ground Fishermen Out of Business

Judges refuse to consider legal arguments, but implore Congress to clarify the law about who should pay for at-sea monitors 

Washington, D.C. – On Friday, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s ruling last summer that a lawsuit filed by Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) on behalf of Plaintiffs David Goethel and Northeast Fishery Sector 13 against the U.S. Department of Commerce should be dismissed.

In its opinion, the Court found that the fishermen’s suit was untimely and therefore did not consider the Plaintiff’s legal arguments that requiring fishermen to pay for monitors is against the law.  However, in a rare move, the judges highlighted the devastating economic impacts of the regulation in question, and urged Congress to clarify the law and who should pay for the at-sea monitors.

“I am disappointed by the decision,” Goethel said. “But I’m hopeful that Congress will heed the Court’s direction and clarify the law. It is the government’s obligation to pay for these at-sea monitors. I’ve made a living fishing in New England for more than 30 years and I have never exceeded a single fishing quota. But I can’t afford to fish if I am forced to pay for at-sea monitors.  I’m grateful to Cause of Action Institute for bringing this case forward, and I remain hopeful that Congress will clarify the law to ensure the New England groundfishing industry is not regulated out of existence.”

Northeast Fishery Sector 13 Manager John Haran said, “I’m disappointed that timeliness of the case was the Court’s deciding factor and not the merits of our arguments. The fishermen in my sector can’t sustain this industry funding requirement and many will be put out of business if this mandate remains in place.”

Cause of Action Vice President Julie Smith said, “We are disappointed that the First Circuit did not reach the merits of our case.  While we respect the opinion of the First Circuit, the federal government is clearly overextending its regulatory power and is destroying an industry.  We are considering all of our legal options for judicial review on the merits.  We also encourage Congress and the Administration to act swiftly to ensure that these unlawful regulatory costs do not put an end to the tradition of generations of proud fishermen in New England.”

Background:

In December 2015, the Department of Commerce ordered that fishermen who fish for cod, flounder and certain other fish in the Northeast United States not only must carry National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) enforcement contractors known as “at-sea monitors” on their vessels during fishing trips, but must pay out-of-pocket for the cost of those monitors.  This “industry funding” requirement would devastate the Northeast fishing industry, at the price of many jobs and livelihoods.  The opinion by the First Circuit upholds the lower court’s decision and allows this job-killing mandate to remain in place.

To learn more, visit the Cause of Action Institute website.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications at CoA Institute: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

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04/12/2017

Withdraw Unlawful Plan Forcing Fishermen to Pay for At-Sea Monitors

Washington, D.C. – Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”)  has submitted a regulatory comment to the New England Fishery Management Council (“NEFMC”) questioning the Council’s legal authority to move forward a controversial amendment that would force more fishermen to pay for costly at-sea monitors, which are the government’s responsibility.  CoA Institute advised the NEFMC to abandon the Omnibus Amendment, which would imperil an already hard-hit fishing industry by requiring certain fishermen to pay for monitors to police their at-sea activity.  The plan would also open more regional Atlantic fisheries to industry-funded monitors. 

“The Omnibus Amendment is unlawful and will make it virtually impossible for countless small-business fishermen to pursue their livelihood,” said Julie Smith, CoA Institute Vice President. “Many of these fishermen come from families that have fished American coastal waters for generations.  The federal government should not regulate them out of business. Congress has not authorized it and the economic consequences are too dire. If an agency lacks statutory authority or appropriated funds, it has no power to act. The New England Council should withdraw the Omnibus Amendment.”

The cost for a monitor under the amendment is expected to range from $710 to $818 per day at sea.  That would exceed the revenue a fisherman typically lands from his daily catch. 

CoA Institute represents fishermen challenging another industry-funded monitoring program in the Northeast groundfish fishery.  In that case, a government study predicted that industry-funded monitoring would result in up to 60 percent of mostly small-scale vessels going out of business—a result that the government blithely characterized as a “restructuring” of the groundfish fleet.  Learn more about the case HERE

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications at CoA Institute: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

 

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03/31/2017

Hundreds of Regs Vulnerable to Repeal under Congressional Review Act

Washington D.C. – Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) today released a list of 835 economically significant rules and regulations that are susceptible to repeal under the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”). While there is a 60-day statutory limit for rules to be reviewed by Congress under the CRA, hundreds of rules have not been properly reported to Congress giving the Trump administration an unprecedented opportunity to repeal costly rules dating all the way back to 1996 when the CRA was first signed into law.

“While Congress is currently reviewing and disapproving numerous regulations from the last year of the Obama Administration, we believe the CRA provides a broader opportunity and Congress should begin examining the rules we’ve identified as well,” said John Vecchione, Cause of Action Institute President and CEO.

Read Cause of Action Institute’s column in The Hill for more information on the CRA and how the Trump administration can pursue an aggressive anti-regulatory agenda by coordinating with Congress.

The Hill

The Congressional Review Act and a Deregulatory Agenda for Trump’s Second Year

By John J. Vecchione

A cold front may have killed-off nearly half of D.C.’s famous cherry blossoms, but Washington gridlock has emerged in full bloom. With the defeat of the Republican “repeal and replace” bill in the House, and the Democrats’ united opposition to the president’s agenda, it’s looking increasingly difficult for Congress to get things done.  Fortunately, there exists a stimulatory, free market weapon in the hands of the Congress and the President to stay on the offensive on deregulating and freeing the economy.

By simple majority vote, the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) can overturn any regulation that affects a third-party. This is a powerful and underutilized tool. The CRA is not subject to the filibuster and provides the majority with a vast deregulatory agenda with a high chance of success.  Read More

CoA Institute is partnering with Pacific Legal Foundation and several other organizations on the Red Tape Rollback project, an effort to identify rules that have not been properly reported to Congress under the CRA.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications at CoA Institute: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

 

 

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