To: Department of Justice & Federal Election Commission
Investigate Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica's misconduct
Cambridge Analytica repeatedly broke the law by letting foreign nationals participate in spending in our elections -- including in its extensive work for Donald Trump.
Voters deserve a democracy where everyone plays by the rules -- and Cambridge Analytica must be fully investigated and held accountable to the full extent of the law.
Voters deserve a democracy where everyone plays by the rules -- and Cambridge Analytica must be fully investigated and held accountable to the full extent of the law.
Why is this important?
Cambridge Analytica, the GOP data firm in the news for stealing massive amounts of user data from Facebook, might be in even deeper legal trouble for violating campaign finance law -- and so could Steve Bannon, who ran Cambridge at the time.
Common Cause just filed official federal complaints with the Department of Justice and Federal Election Commission, based on publicly available data that shows Cambridge and its employees repeatedly violated federal election law -- by letting foreign nationals participate in political expenditure-related decision-making of U.S. political committees in the 2014 and 2016 elections, including the Trump campaign, the John Bolton Super PAC and others.
From our complaint: Cambridge "violated the federal law prohibition on foreign nationals 'directly or indirectly participat[ing] in the decision-making process of any . . . political committee . . . such as decisions concerning the making of . . . expenditures'" in connection with U.S. elections.
That means Steve Bannon and his benefactor Rebekah Mercer -- who were running Cambridge at the time -- could be exposed to criminal prosecution for conspiracy or aiding and abetting these violations of our laws.
We are a nation of laws, and our campaign finance laws must be enforced by the FEC and the Justice Department in order to safeguard the integrity of our elections from foreign interference.
These companies and individuals ignored the law, enriched themselves performing millions of dollars of prohibited work for candidates and committees, and then boasted about the effectiveness of their activities in swaying U.S. elections.
The laws Cambridge violated are meant to ensure a fair democracy where everyone plays by the rules -- and we must speak up for the rule of law.
That's why it's of the utmost importance that the Federal Election Commission and Department of Justice fully investigate Cambridge Analytica's misconduct, and hold any and all wrongdoers accountable to deter future violations. Please add your name today.
Common Cause just filed official federal complaints with the Department of Justice and Federal Election Commission, based on publicly available data that shows Cambridge and its employees repeatedly violated federal election law -- by letting foreign nationals participate in political expenditure-related decision-making of U.S. political committees in the 2014 and 2016 elections, including the Trump campaign, the John Bolton Super PAC and others.
From our complaint: Cambridge "violated the federal law prohibition on foreign nationals 'directly or indirectly participat[ing] in the decision-making process of any . . . political committee . . . such as decisions concerning the making of . . . expenditures'" in connection with U.S. elections.
That means Steve Bannon and his benefactor Rebekah Mercer -- who were running Cambridge at the time -- could be exposed to criminal prosecution for conspiracy or aiding and abetting these violations of our laws.
We are a nation of laws, and our campaign finance laws must be enforced by the FEC and the Justice Department in order to safeguard the integrity of our elections from foreign interference.
These companies and individuals ignored the law, enriched themselves performing millions of dollars of prohibited work for candidates and committees, and then boasted about the effectiveness of their activities in swaying U.S. elections.
The laws Cambridge violated are meant to ensure a fair democracy where everyone plays by the rules -- and we must speak up for the rule of law.
That's why it's of the utmost importance that the Federal Election Commission and Department of Justice fully investigate Cambridge Analytica's misconduct, and hold any and all wrongdoers accountable to deter future violations. Please add your name today.