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03/26/2015

Breitbart: WATCHDOG GROUP CALLS ON DOJ TO LAUNCH CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OF HARRY REID AND TERRY MCAULIFFE FOR ‘UNLAWFUL POLITICAL ACTIVITY’

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“Cause of Action, a nonprofit, government oversight group, is calling on the Department of Justice to “immediately investigate” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA), and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas “for their participation in unlawful political activity, possible coercion and fraud related to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.”

 

Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein will provide details in a media conference Thursday about a letter the group sent “calling on the Acting Chief Public Integrity Officer at the Department of Justice to investigate Department of Homeland Security Deputy Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, Sen. Harry Reid, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and potentially others,” according to a statement released by the group. “The letter . . . comes on the heels of a report from the DHS Inspector General which revealed potential fraud in a well known visa-for-cash program administered by DHS. The IG’s investigation found that Mr. Mayorkas “exerted improper influence in the normal processing and adjudication of EB-5 immigration program benefits,” the statement read.”

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03/25/2015

Washington Times: Scandals force Hillary Clinton to delay 2016 bid announcement

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The government watchdog group Cause of Action is pushing for a federal investigation into the action by Mr. Mayorkas and all others involved.

“At a minimum, there needs to be a federal investigation,” said Daniel Epstein, executive director of the group. “Alejandro Mayorkas, Harry Reid, Terry McAuliffe and the others essentially conspired to defraud the United States.”

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10/27/2014

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

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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

Politico: Conservative group: Ethics panel ignored Reid complaint

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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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10/22/2014

Fox News: WATCHDOG GROUP STILL WAITING ON REID ETHICS COMPLAINT

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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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04/24/2014

Charles Edwards Under Investigation by CIGIE for Misconduct

Cause of Action, a government accountability group which has investigated former Department of Homeland Security acting Inspector General Charles Edwards, issued the following response to the report released today by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC), Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight:

In addition to being the subject of Thursday’s report released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Charles Edwards is still under investigation today for allegations of misconduct by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE).

Cause of Action’s own two-year investigation into Charles Edwards prompted us to raise concerns to President Obama about the destruction of records and complaints filed about his misconduct that would warrant Edwards’ removal from office and potential criminal liability. We know that the Office of Special Counsel forwarded at least one complaint about Edwards to CIGIE. Additionally, we sued the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) for failing to produce documents related to these misconduct complaints under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  This lawsuit could have been avoided, as DHS OIG voluntarily provided such information to HSGAC. This transparency failure is now costing time and resources in court for what could have been a simple compliance with FOIA.

Under federal law, knowingly destroying records with the intent to obstruct an investigation or the proper administration of any department or agency of the United States is punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both. Accordingly, CIGIE should complete its investigation as expeditiously as possible and refer evidence of criminal conduct to the Department of Justice, especially since Edwards remains employed at DHS in a managerial position.

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