Oversight and Policy Letters

Update: On August 16, CREW received a response, noting that the new online database has created additional workload for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, but that supplemental funding has been requested and received for additional staffing support, which should help facilitate more timely access to judges’ financial disclosures.

Federal judges and justices must disclose their missing financial statements for 2021, according to a letter CREW sent to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts about the 44% of judges whose financial statements were missing from the public database months after the deadline. The Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act now requires annual disclosures in an effort to restore public trust in the courts, and it is crucial that this provision be enforced.

Read the letter here.

CREW submitted testimony to the House Committee on Financial Services in support of fully implementing the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). The CTA would transform the United States into a world leader against illicit finance by increasing corporate transparency laws and empowering law enforcement with the ability to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.  It is necessary that Congress and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network recommit to ensuring the CTA’s full implementation and are not swayed by those seeking to weaken the law in service of their own financial interests.

Read the testimony here.

CREW sent a letter to Chairman Dick Durbin and Ranking Member Lindsey Graham of the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act (“SCERT Act”). The SCERT Act would bring much needed transparency and accountability to the Supreme Court’s ethical framework, by creating a critical recusal and disclosure system. Justices are not above the law and should be held to the highest ethical standards.

Read the letter here.

CREW sent a letter to the Federal Election Commission in support of Public Citizen’s petition for a rulemaking around the use of deceptive AI in campaign communications. A deepfake audio or video clip by a campaign that claims to show an opponent saying or doing something they did not say or do appears to violate federal law. Campaigns and political committees have already begun to use deepfakes in misleading ways, and CREW strongly urged the FEC to clarify that the law applies to the misleading use of deepfakes without sufficient disclaimers.

Read the letter here.

CREW sent a letter to Congress in support of the Federal Prison Oversight Act. This bipartisan, bicameral bill would address the corruption and sexual and physical abuse in federal prisons by bringing oversight and accountability to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and its facilities. The BOP has failed to protect inmates and hold employees accountable for the unlawful conditions in prisons, as demonstrated by delays in investigating sexual assault and rape complaints and a backlog of thousands of cases. This bill would implement measures like federal watchdog inspections and reporting requirements and methods to ensure the wellbeing of incarcerated individuals.

Read the letter here.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Congress must enact policies that prevent the use of tax-exempt organizations for bribery and dark money in politics. Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, anonymously sourced money has flooded our political system and left Americans blind to who may be influencing their elections. As requested, CREW has shared recommendations with the House Ways and Means Committee on the issue of dark money in tax-exempt organizations, including closing loopholes and more aggressive enforcement of current laws and regulations.

Read the letter here.

BOP’s internal operations have created a culture of widespread employee misconduct, the true scale of which is hidden from public view because of inadequate transparency measures, and increased Congressional oversight and accountability is crucial. CREW submitted a statement for the record to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, urging increased oversight of BOP and that the Federal Prison Oversight Act be voted out of committee.

Read the testimony here.