Government Integrity Project

NLPC “blows the whistle” on government officials and interest groups engaged in questionable activities. NLPC has filed formal Complaints with a variety of authorities and regulators, including the Federal Election Commission, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Congressional Ethics Committees.

NLPC supports government integrity in two additional ways: by promoting the First Amendment as the basis for campaign finance reform, and by promoting use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Facebook Remains a Threat to Free Speech

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

During his two days on Capitol Hill, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg repeatedly denied that the company censors information and opinion with which it disagrees, despite extensive evidence to the contrary.

Facebook censorship is real. The National Legal and Policy Center has regularly had our Facebook postings suppressed when they pertain to Black Lives Matter, which we have regularly criticized.

It just so happens that Zuckerberg has a different view of Black Lives Matter. Zuckerberg purports to value free expression, famously allowing the “signature wall” at Facebook headquarters. But when in 2016 “Black Lives Matter” graffiti was met with “All Lives Matter,” Zuckerberg just could not have it. He issued a memo calling such sentiments “unacceptable” and “malicious” and assured everyone that the company was “investigating the current incidents.”

Click here to read the rest in the Daily Caller.

 … Read More ➡

President Trump Should Fire Mueller; Special Counsel Has Exceeded His Mandate

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

Fred Lucas of the Daily Signal today examines “5 Questions Emerging From the FBI Raid on Trump Lawyer.” From the story:

“There apparently is nothing to the Russia investigation, so now [special counsel] Robert Mueller has to go after this tawdry matter with Stormy Daniels that is way beyond his mandate,” Peter Flaherty, president of the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative government watchdog group, told The Daily Signal.

This Mueller excursion into Stormy waters is even more egregious given how little apparent interest he has in matters that are well within his mandate. When it was revealed in October that the Clinton campaign paid for the Steele dossier, Mueller should have pivoted off Trump and focused on Hillary Clinton. It has not happened. No investigation. No raid of her home. No raid of her office. Nothing.

Either the Clinton campaign colluded with the Russians through Glenn Simpson of … Read More ➡

#MeToo Congresswoman Esty Gets Hoisted on Her Own Petard

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

There’s a rich irony to last Monday’s announcement by Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., that she would not seek reelection in the face of revelations that she had averted her eyes from clear evidence of sexual harassment occurring in her own office. For during these past several months, Rep. Esty has been an outspoken supporter of #MeToo, an ad hoc movement that went viral last October in the wake of growing accusations – or revelations, if one will – of harassment against women. While “serves her right” might not be the right response to Esty’s pending departure, it would be difficult to deny she embodies a certain hypocrisy underlying much of political feminism.

The phrase “me too” is a classic expression of group conformity. It’s also the hottest hashtag in America, a war cry of women speaking out against a putative conspiracy of silence on the subject of male-on-female sexual harassment. … Read More ➡

AG Sessions Asked to Investigate and Seek Removal of Ana Matosantos From Puerto Rico Oversight Board

Posted on by Peter Flaherty
Ana Matosantos

Today we asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate Ana Matosantos, a member of the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board, and to seek her removal. We cited apparent violations of federal conflict of interest statutes by Matosantos. According to information that we unearthed, Matosantos’ family business and other private companies with which she has a financial relationship stand to directly benefit from actions of the board.

The unelected board was established in 2016 to oversee the response Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, and was granted powers by Congress akin to a bankruptcy court. As we have helped to expose in the past, political corruption is endemic in Puerto Rico. Apparently, the Commonwealth can’t even go broke without someone trying to take advantage of the situation. Here is the full text of our letter to the Attorney General:

Dear General Sessions:

National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) respectfully … Read More ➡

Judge Gives Standing to Shaky ‘Emoluments’ Suit against Trump

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

As if President Donald Trump isn’t facing enough challenges to his administration’s legitimacy, now he’s got another one. On March 28, U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte granted standing to a lawsuit by the attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Maryland alleging that the president, by continuing to profit from his Washington, D.C. hotel, is violating the constitutional ban on federal officials receiving gifts from domestic and foreign entities. According to Judge Messitte, his actions are causing “economic harm.” Yet evidence suggests that neither economics nor constitutional principle has much to do with this case.

Public officials in this country from the start have faced the pressure of being “bought and paid for.” Our Framers, recognizing the ever-present temptations of corruption, created safeguards to bar office holders from receiving presents, or “emoluments,” from outside parties. Article I, Section 6, Clause 2 of the Constitution, for example, bars sitting members … Read More ➡

More Slaps on the Wrist for Corrupt Chicago Reps. Rush, Gutierrez

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

When it comes to ethically compromised congressmen, Chicago seems to produce a bumper crop. Last Thursday, March 22, the House Ethics Committee released separate reports admonishing Reps. Bobby Rush and Luis Gutierrez, both Democrats from Chicago districts, for violating House rules concerning outside financial activities of members. The committee ordered Rush (in photo, on left) and Gutierrez (in photo, on right) to pay respective sums of $13,310 and $9,700 to the U.S. Treasury. The investigations were triggered by a probe by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics. Given the facts, the sanctions appear to be slaps on the wrist. The case of Gutierrez, who is retiring after the current term, is especially disturbing in the context of other conflicts of interest.

Bobby Rush, now in his 13th term, represents the 1st District of Illinois, which covers a large portion of Chicago’s South Side. To many, he is best-known … Read More ➡

Can Trump Drain the Swamp at the Bureau of Indian Affairs?

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

If ever a federal agency was ripe for termination, the Bureau of Indian Affairs should qualify for consideration. The bureau has a justly-earned reputation as a patronage machine for tribal leaders and their cronies. The Trump administration has been emphasizing its intent to reform the agency. Tribal sovereignty, the product of several 19th-century treaties, is a fact of life. But there are ways of “draining the swamp” that would not require abrogating any treaties.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), created in 1824 and housed under the Department of the Interior since 1849, has much to manage with its current $2.5 billion annual budget. There are 567 federally-recognized Indian and Alaska Native tribes representing about two million persons. Many live on reservations comprising 55.7 million acres. Each tribe elects its own sovereign government to oversee such activities as courts, schools, job training, health care, infrastructure and gambling casinos.

This … Read More ➡

May America Live Long and PROSPER: Reining in Student Debt

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

The federal government is currently on the hook for over $1.35 trillion in higher education loans, over half of which has accumulated since 2009. A number of Capitol Hill lawmakers have come up with legislation to reduce public exposure in the event of a calamity: the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success and Prosperity through Education Reform Act, or PROSPER. The House Education and the Workforce Committee approved the bill in mid-December in a 23-17 party-line vote; the Senate now is taking up its own measure. The context underscores the unsoundness of the Obama-inspired higher education overhaul of 2010 that has played no small role in bringing about this situation.

Taking on debt to attend college or graduate school is a way of life. According to a quarterly Federal Reserve Board data base, fully 42.6 million U.S. adults by the close of 2017 owed an outstanding $1,366.9 trillion in federal student loan … Read More ➡

The EB-5 Employment Visa: Mend It or End It

Posted on by Carl Horowitz

President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address last Tuesday night offered some sensible recommendations for immigration reform. Unfortunately, he omitted a few things – such as the need to fix the EB-5 visa program. The EB-5, authorized by the Immigration Act of 1990, allows persons from abroad who invest in a U.S. startup business to become lawful permanent residents. All too often, it is an invitation to fraud and self-dealing.

The EB-5 visa, intended to spur business development, offers a green card for immigrant small venture capitalists. The visa holder must invest at least $1 million in a “new commercial enterprise” or at least $500,000 if the enterprise is located in a designated Targeted Employment Area. Upon approval of a petition, the investor and dependent family members may obtain a green card. The investor must show that the investment has created or preserved at least 10 permanent domestic … Read More ➡

Time to Take John Muir’s Name Off His Trail?

Posted on by Peter Flaherty

The San Jose, California city council has voted to remove the city’s Christopher Columbus statue, becoming only the latest jurisdiction to join the assault on Columbus, George Washington and Confederate generals. I’m worried the mob will run out of targets, so I offer some more.

What about naturalist John Muir?

Born in Scotland in 1838, Muir founded the Sierra Club and was an early advocate for the preservation of American wilderness. Known as the “Father of the National Parks,” Muir’s legacy and writings continue to inspire modern-day environmentalists and anyone who loves the outdoors.

In 1867, Muir actually walked from his home in Indiana to Florida. He had no real purpose beyond studying the countryside, wildlife and plants. He chronicled this adventure in a fascinating, journal-styled book titled A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf.

While wandering through the river country of Georgia, Muir notes on September 25th… Read More ➡

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