CONTACT: Jordan Libowitz
202-408-5565 | [email protected] 

Washington, D.C.—Professor Zephyr Teachout, former Congresswoman Claudine Schneider (R-RI) and former presidential advisor Amy Pope are the newest members of the board of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). They join a bipartisan effort to ensure an ethical Washington in the face of a new administration with potentially unprecedented conflict of interest and transparency issues.

“The framers of the Constitution did everything they could to protect against corruption, especially foreign corruption,” Teachout said. “I’m proud to join CREW’s board and serve on the emoluments legal team to ensure that the president and Congress honor this foundational principle of our country and to do everything we can to root out corruption in Washington.”

Teachout, a tenured Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University, has a long history of fighting for transparency and ethics in government. She serves as a member of CREW’s all-star legal team on its groundbreaking emoluments suit and was the first National Director of the Sunlight Foundation.

Schneider, a five term Congresswoman from Rhode Island’s 2nd congressional district, is the only woman to ever be elected to the House of Representatives from Rhode Island.

“John Adams wrote that the founders wished to establish ‘a government of laws, not of men.’ The law applies to everyone, regardless of position or political party, and that principle is particularly vital when it comes to ethics,” Schneider said. “I’m joining CREW’s board because I believe that today we face unprecedented threats to this founding principle, and we must fight to preserve our government of laws, lest our democracy be dismantled!”

Pope currently serves as a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience. She previously served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy homeland security advisor on the National Security Council staff of the White House, as well as in multiple positions in the Department of Justice.

“Protecting our U.S. institutions from inappropriate political or other influence is critical to preserving our democracy. I have seen firsthand the importance of adhering to ethical principles, rules and laws in the White House, the Congress, and federal agencies,” Pope said. “The American people need to know that they can trust that their government is working for them, and I’m glad to join CREW’s important work to ensure that’s happening.”