Kedric Payne
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Articles by Kedric Payne
Congress Has an Ethics Problem; Now It’s Trying to Get Rid of Ethics Enforcement
Members of Congress are elected to serve their constituents’ interests. Yet leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives is attempting to effectively shut down the only independent office that can investigate misconduct by members of Congress: the Office of Congressional Conduct (formerly the Office of Congressional Ethics).
Congressional Stock Trading and the STOCK Act
Elected officials craft laws that directly impact the lives of Americans. Voters have a right to know lawmakers’ decisions are in the public’s best interest, not for personal financial gain. Congress (with Campaign Legal Center's support) passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK Act) in 2012, following more than 10 years of allegations that members of Congress were insider trading.
A Healthy Democracy Requires Transparency
Transparency is at the heart of a healthy democracy: Americans have a right to know who is spending money to influence their vote, and that their government is working for them, not to help special interests. Without strong, well-enforced transparency laws, the people are left wondering if elected officials’ actions are for the public good or just for their personal interest.
Is Musk Using the FAA to Benefit Himself and His SpaceX Subsidiary, Starlink?
Elon Musk spent roughly $300 million to elect President Donald Trump and has the opportunity to profit from taxpayer dollars at the expense of the American people. As part of his work with the so-called U.S. DOGE Service, it appears that Musk corrupted decision-making at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and unfairly influenced government decisions to benefit his satellite business, Starlink — a clear and illegal conflict of interest.
On Day One of His Presidency, Trump Ignored Yet Another Ethics Norm
Despite signing more than two dozen executive orders on his first day in office, President Donald Trump has yet to release ethics rules for his administration. At the very beginning of presidential administrations, presidents are expected to issue an executive order outlining ethics constraints for all political appointees in that administration.
President Trump Again Threatens to Politicize the Federal Workforce
Nonpartisan civil servants, who make up a majority of our federal government and serve regardless of presidential administrations, are the first line of defense in upholding our system of checks and balances. In the first hours of his second administration, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) that could pave the way for him to fire thousands of these career civil servants and replace them with loyalists.
President Trump Again Politicizes the Federal Workforce
Nonpartisan civil servants, who make up a majority of our federal government and serve regardless of presidential administrations, are the first line of defense in upholding our system of checks and balances. In the first hours of his second administration, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) that could pave the way for him to fire thousands of these career civil servants and replace them with loyalists.
Judicial Conference Decision Lowers Ethics Standards for Federal Judges and U.S. Supreme Court
In a letter to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the Judicial Conference quietly shared a decision that will significantly hamper ethics enforcement across the federal judiciary. The Judicial Conference, which is charged with enforcing the financial disclosure law for the federal judiciary, was asked to determine whether there was evidence to support allegations that Justice Clarence Thomas engaged in a 30-year pattern of intentionally filing false financial disclosure reports.
Opinion: Resignation shouldn’t prevent the release of Gaetz report — it didn’t stop us last time
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Resignation shouldn’t prevent the release of Gaetz report — it didn’t stop us last time Original
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has withdrawn his name from consideration for attorney general and said he would not be returning to the House. But Gaetz, who announced his resignation from Congress mere hours after Donald Trump nominated him to the post, will not be fading into obscurity. We know that Trump selects his closest political allies on loyalty over anything else, and Gaetz is one of the most loyal members of his movement.
When Our Public Officials Act Unethically, Young Voters Pay Attention
Voters have a right to know that the officials who write, implement and interpret the laws that govern this land are prioritizing the greater public good over their own personal interests. But just a few days away from a presidential election, the perception that many voters have toward candidates for public office — and whether they are trusted leaders of the public good — seems more dubious than hopeful.
Trump Campaign Misses Important Ethics Code Deadline
Former President Donald Trump has failed to provide the public with an ethics code for his executive transition team as required by the Presidential Transition Act. By October 1, both major party presidential candidates are required to establish ethics plans for their transition teams, which manage critical pre and postelection matters before a candidate assumes office.
Repeat STOCK Act Violations by Senators Make the Case for New Legislation
Members of Congress from both major parties have repeatedly failed to meet reporting requirements laid out in the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, undermining voters’ right to know whether their representatives are acting in the public’s interest or for their own financial gain.
Fixing the Supreme Court’s Ethics Problems Starts With the Judicial Conference
The Judicial Conference of the United States will meet this week to consider a matter of issues concerning the judicial branch, including its ongoing investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas for willfully omitting tens of thousands of dollars of gifts from wealthy GOP donor Harlan Crow from his financial disclosures. This investigation has taken nearly a year and half, with the only results being frustratingly little information and repeated delays.
The House’s Failures That Led to the OCE Mirror the Senate’s Failures
(This article is Part 2 of a three-part series examining the failed effort to enforce ethics in the U.S. Senate. See Part 1 here. Part 3 will debut on Friday, June 21.) The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) serves a vital role in democracy by providing independent, nonpartisan oversight that safeguards the U.S. House of Representatives against corruption and holds members accountable for ethics violations.
The Failed Effort to Enforce Ethics in the Senate
The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee is responsible for guarding the integrity of the Senate and upholding the public’s right to know that their elected officials are being held accountable for unethical and unlawful behavior. The list of misdeeds the committee is tasked with investigating includes acts such as insider trading, accepting illegal gifts, and accepting campaign contributions in exchange for official acts.
Where is the Judicial Conference’s Update on Justice Thomas’ Ethics Investigation?
The Judicial Conference is one of the only bodies that can enforce ethics laws against Supreme Court justices. That is why CLC wrote a letter to the Judicial Conference asking them to release the summary of their most recent meeting held nearly three months ago. This Report of the Proceedings for the meeting should contain information about its investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas for willfully violating the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA).
Alito Flags the Fatal Flaw of Supreme Court Ethics Code
Last fall, while adopting a new “code of conduct,” the U.S. Supreme Court stated that there was a “misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules." The adoption of these new ethics rules had come on the heels of a string of questionable ethical conduct by numerous justices.
New Florida law is an attack on ethics accountability. DeSantis should veto it | Opinion Original
Most Floridians are unaware that the protections that ensure their elected officials prioritize the public’s best interest are currently at risk — that their leaders in Tallahassee may soon become essentially immune from accountability thanks to one state senator’s attack against ethics enforcement. Sen.
Three Things To Look For in Delayed Disclosures From Alito and Thomas
The public should be on alert for the next Supreme Court ethics controversy when Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas file their delayed financial disclosures by the final deadline of August 14, 2023. These reports are unique because Justices Alito and Thomas must decide whether to fully disclose gifts they may never have intended to make public or risk civil and criminal sanctions by certifying incomplete or inaccurate reports.
Congress Misfires With Attacks on Nonpartisan Ethics Office
Like the Coyote and the Road Runner in a Looney Toones episode, lawmakers frequently try to kill the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, but their plans always backfire. In a June 13 US House Administration Oversight Subcommittee hearing, members tried to discredit OCE with allegations that it’s unnecessary and political, but instead the hearing proved OCE is undeniably effective and nonpartisan.
Congress Misfires With Attacks on Nonpartisan Ethics Office
Like the Coyote and the Road Runner in a Looney Toones episode, lawmakers frequently try to kill the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, but their plans always backfire. In a June 13 US House Administration Oversight Subcommittee hearing, members tried to discredit OCE with allegations that it’s unnecessary and political, but instead the hearing proved OCE is undeniably effective and nonpartisan.
Supreme Court Has a Lot to Learn About Ethics From Other Branches
Any debate about US Supreme Court ethics reform that is solely based on individual justices’ alleged misconduct, partisan rhetoric, or separation of powers arguments misses the forest for the trees. The real problem is that the Supreme Court lags behind ethics standards in the executive and legislative branches by over 60 years. On May 2, I testified before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary during a hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform.
Landmark Case of 2023: Supreme Court v. Ethics
The Supreme Court of the United States has released its final investigation report of last year’s leak of the Dobbs. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. This monumental breach of the Court’s confidentiality was handled with a conspicuously flawed investigation that yielded—surprise!—an inconclusive result. With this first major public act of the year, the Court teased the next installment of the biggest showdown of the term: Supreme Court v. Ethics.
Where is HR for the Supreme Court?
The U.S. Supreme Court, one of our nation's most powerful institutions, has zero infrastructure in place to investigate ethics violations - and that's a problem. For example, if there are credible allegations that a Supreme Court Justice leaked the results of a ruling, there is no procedure for investigations or any rule prohibiting the leak. This, unfortunately, is not merely a hypothetical.
Should We Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stocks?
The undeniable truth is that sunlight alone will not disinfect the congressional stock trading problem. The first 10 years of the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act proved that stock trading disclosure laws without stock trading restrictions make the problem worse, which means reform is inevitable. Comparing the repercussions from compliance and noncompliance with the STOCK Act demonstrates the fatal flaw of relying on a disclosure-only law to combat insider trading.
Representing Giffords, CLC Action Sues NRA, Senate Campaigns, for Illegal Spending
Campaign Legal Center Action (CLCA), on behalf of the gun safety organization Giffords, filed suit against two National Rifle Association (NRA) affiliates, Josh Hawley for Senate and Matt Rosendale for Montana for violating federal campaign finance laws. The suit details how the NRA illegally and surreptitiously contributed up to $35 million to the presidential campaign of Donald J.
Holding Lawmakers Accountable for Blocking Ethics Investigations
Ethics investigations of members of Congress continue to show a trend of more lawmakers trying to block investigations into their alleged misconduct. From 2009 to 2020, approximately one third of lawmakers investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) did not cooperate with the investigation, according to cases that are public. In 2021, that rate has increased to more than half of the subjects of investigation refusing to cooperate with the OCE.
Are Members of Congress Hiding Their Income from Voters?
Multiple members of Congress, representing both major parties, are dropping the ball (intentionally or otherwise) when it comes to disclosing all of their sources of income. Unfortunately, there are no indications of ethics enforcement to deter this behavior. With accurate and complete information about a candidate’s sources of income, voters have the resources to fully understand which financial interests might guide their elected officials’ decisions once they are in office.
Tennessee Representative Joins Growing List of STOCK Act Violators
By failing to properly disclose over 700 stock trades in the past year, Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee joins a growing, bipartisan list of elected officials showcasing how the current ethics enforcement system in Congress is simply not working.
Why We Need an Independent Ethics Enforcement Body To Hold Senators Accountable
The U.S. Senate’s decision not to hold former President Trump accountable for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, despite bipartisan agreement that he incited rioters, highlights a larger problem in the upper chamber. The Senate seems to have an aversion to accountability not only for the immediate past president but also for its own members.
Biden can actually drain the swamp by enforcing ethics rules
Within his first few hours on the job, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring his appointees to comply with the most rigorous ethics requirements in history. This ethics pledge is an encouraging sign that the new administration will prioritize a clean government.
Senator Coons’ Ethics Committee Hits New High of Dismissed Cases
Yesterday, the Senate Ethics Committee (“Ethics Committee”) released its annual report for 2022, revealing that it dismissed nearly all its ethics investigations and only issued one private letter of admonition as a penalty. In response, CLC sent a letter to Chairman Chris Coons (D-DE) and Vice Chair James Lankford (R-OK), calling on them to end this ongoing trend of inaction and to lead the Ethics Committee to increased ethics enforcement and transparency in the new Congress.
Trump’s Legacy of Pardoning Public Corruption
Former president Donald Trump issued pardons during his final hours of office that confirm his legacy of pardoning public corruption. Although part of his legacy will be pardons for his political allies and cash for clemency, an underlying and unprecedented theme of his pardons is the removal of accountability for officials who committed crimes while public servants.
Wilbur Ross Violated Ethics Rules, Multi-Year Investigation of CLC Complaint Finds
More than two years after CLC filed a 115-page complaint with the Department of Commerce Inspector General asking for an investigation into Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’ many apparent conflicts of interest, the inspector general has issued its report, finding that Secretary Ross did, in fact, violate ethics rules designed to protect the public’s trust in government.
CLC Files Complaint Against Former Rep. David Rivera for Undisclosed Foreign Influence Efforts
Rep. David Rivera, R- Miami, during budget negotiations in Tallahassee on 26 April 2010. Photo by Scott Keeler/ZUMA Press Inc. The public has a right to know how foreign governments and their agents are attempting to influence our country’s public opinion, policies, and laws. CLC filed a complaint with the Department of Justice’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Unit asking for an investigation into former United States Representative David Rivera. Rep.
Lobbyists Robbed Coronavirus Relief Loans From Small Businesses - The New York Times
As the unemployment rate threatens to surge toward 20 percent, billionaires and corporations clearly aren’t the ones hurting the most from the economic shock caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. But they are the ones who can afford to write super PAC checks and hire lobbyists. And that has allowed them to shape aspects of Congress’ $2 trillion relief package in their favor. Take the loans and grants in the law intended for small businesses.
Part 2 - The STOCK Act: The Failed Effort to Stop Insider Trading in Congress
PART 2: Where Did the STOCK Act Go Wrong? In the 10 years since the passing of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, it has become clear that transparency alone is not enough to protect the public’s interests, increase public trust and prevent insider trading. The STOCK Act had three principal objectives related to congressional stock trading. Increase public trust in Congress.
Congressional Stock Trading During Pandemic Diminishes Public Trust
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) reviewed financial disclosure reports between Feb. 2, 2020 and April 8, 2020 of congressional stock transactions. We found that as COVID-19 cases began to increase throughout the country in the weeks before the first three rounds of legislative relief packages, Senators and Representatives from both sides of the aisle traded securities – many related to the pandemic itself.
The Real Backstory to the Arrest of Two Ukrainian-American Trump Donors
The stunning arrest of Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas on criminal campaign finance charges arose directly from Campaign Legal Center’s (CLC’s) complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on this matter last year—and underscores the key roles these mysterious Rudy Giuliani associates with ties to Ukraine and big money have played in setting into motion a year-long influence effort.
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