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For Immediate Release
June, 27 2023, 08:10am EDT
Contact:
Janel Forsythe, jforsythe@campaignlegalcenter.org
Campaign Legal Center Files Complaint Alleging Canadian Corporation Made Illegal Contributions to DeSantis Committees
The complaint alleges that ECN Capital Corporation, an entity based in Canada, violated federal campaign finance laws by giving over $100,000 in foreign national contributions to political committees in Florida between 2018 to 2022, and by likely allowing foreign national officers to participate in decisions regarding another $122,000 in political contributions made through its U.S.-based subsidiaries.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the Toronto-based ECN Capital Corporation (“ECN Capital”) for violating federal campaign financial laws prohibiting foreign national contributions.
Florida campaign finance records show that from 2018 to 2022, ECN Capital gave over $100,000 in foreign national contributions to state political committees. Recipients of this funding include the past two gubernatorial campaigns for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in addition to Friends of Ron DeSantis, the state-level PAC that illegally transferred $82.5 million in soft money — money that isn’t subject to federal campaign finance laws — to Never Back Down, a federal super PAC supporting DeSantis’s current presidential bid.
“The recent, unprecedented rise of ‘soft money’ in federal elections undermines the crucial campaign finance laws that exist to uphold transparency, combat corruption, and safeguard the electoral process,” said Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at Campaign Legal Center. “As this complaint shows, foreign money may already be influencing the 2024 presidential election, which obviously undermines voters’ ability to trust that the electoral process and their government are truly serving their interests.”
For decades, the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) has prohibited foreign nationals – foreign corporations included – from making contributions in connection with any local, state, or federal elections. Foreign nationals are also prohibited from participating in a decision-making processes related to making political contributions.
U.S.-registered subsidiaries of ECN Capital also made contributions to federal and state elections totaling over $122,000 in this same four-year period. Given that ECN Capital’s subsidiaries appear to exist only on paper, ECN Capital’s officers — several of whom appear to be Canadian nationals — most likely participated in decision-making around this group of contributions, such that the contributions from the U.S.-based subsidiaries also violated federal campaign finance laws.
The FEC has taken action in the recent past on illegal foreign contributions, even in an era that has seen the Commission regularly fail to uphold the law. As the sole government agency tasked with enforcing federal campaign finance law, enforcing the prohibitions against foreign influence are an important part of the FEC’s mission.
The FEC should investigate this political spending by ECN Capitol and take appropriate action to uphold and enforce the law.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) advances democracy through law, fighting for every American's right to participate in the democratic process. CLC uses tactics such as litigation, policy advocacy, communications and partnerships to win victories that result in a more transparent, accountable and inclusive democracy.
(202) 736-2200LATEST NEWS
'We Don't Give Up': Climate Groups Resolute as Shell Wins Appeal Against Landmark Ruling
"This setback will only help us grow stronger," said the Dutch climate group that originally brought the case. "Large polluters are powerful. But united, we as people have the power to change them."
Nov 12, 2024
Climate campaigners didn't sugarcoat their reactions to a Dutch court decision on Tuesday that overturned a landmark 2021 ruling ordering the oil behemoth Shell to cut its planet-warming emissions nearly in half by the end of this decade.
"We are shocked by today's judgment," said Donald Pols, director of Milieudefensie, the Netherlands-based environmental group that originally filed suit against Shell in 2018.
"It is a setback for us, for the climate movement, and for millions of people around the world who worry about their future," Pols said of Tuesday's ruling by the Hague Court of Appeal. "But if there's one thing to know about us, it's that we don't give up. This setback will only help us grow stronger. Large polluters are powerful. But united, we as people have the power to change them."
The original 2021 ruling, as CNBCnoted, marked "the first time in history that a company was found to have been legally obliged to align its policies with the Paris Agreement" and "sparked a wave of lawsuits against other fossil fuel companies."
Despite acknowledging that Shell has "an obligation toward citizens to reduce CO2 emissions," the appeals court on Tuesday scrapped a legal mandate compelling the company to slash its emissions by 45% by 2030 compared with 2019 levels, saying it was "unable to establish that the social standard of care entails an obligation for Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45%, or some other percentage."
"It is primarily up to the government to ensure the protection of human rights," the court added.
Laurie van der Burg of Oil Change International said in response that "while we mourn today's setback, the ruling establishes a responsibility for Big Oil and Gas to act that future litigation can build on."
"The court ruled protection against climate change is a human right, and corporations have a responsibility to reduce their emissions," she added. "As far as we know, this is the first case where a court has acknowledged that new investments in oil and gas are incompatible with international climate goals."
"Today's ruling underscores the importance of world leaders now negotiating at the U.N. Climate Summit in Baku taking responsibility."
Shell, which is responsible for just over 2% of global CO2 emissions, said in a statement that it was "pleased" with the court's ruling and claimed to be "making good progress in our strategy to deliver more value with less emissions."
But research by the human rights organization Global Witness has found that Shell has consistently overstated the scale of its investments in green energy—including by characterizing fossil fuels as "renewable."
"Even as Shell claims to be reducing its oil production, it is planning to grow its gas business by more than 20% over the next few years, leading to significant additional emissions," Global Witness wrote in a complaint to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year.
Andy Palmen, the director of Greenpeace Netherlands, said Tuesday that while campaigners working toward a just phaseout of fossil fuel emissions are "disappointed that Shell is being allowed to continue polluting," they "will not give up the fight."
"This only motivates us more to take action against major polluters," said Palmen. "It really gives hope that the court finds that Shell must respect human rights and has a duty to reduce its CO2 emissions."
"Today's ruling underscores the importance of world leaders now negotiating at the U.N. Climate Summit in Baku taking responsibility," Palmen added, referring to the COP29 gathering that kicked off on Monday in Azerbaijan's capital city. "The summit in Dubai last year marked the end of coal, oil, and gas, now governments must come up with concrete plans to move away from fossil fuels."
The Dutch appeals court's ruling came in the wake of new research showing that oil and gas production surged to an all-time high in 2023—the hottest year on record.
"The oil and gas industry is not transitioning," the environmental group Urgewald and dozens of other NGOs found. "In fact, 95% of the upstream companies on [the Global Oil and Gas Exit List] are still exploring or developing new oil and gas resources. This includes the oil and gas producers TotalEnergies, Shell, BP, Eni, Equinor, OXY, OMV, and Ecopetrol, which all claim to be targeting net zero emissions by 2050."
Nils Bartsch, head of oil and gas research at Urgewald, said Tuesday that the 2023 oil and gas production record is "deeply concerning."
"If we do not end fossil fuel expansion and move towards a managed decline of oil and gas production," said Bartsch, "the 1.5°C goal will be out of reach."
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Trump Expected to Pick 'Rabid Neocon' Marco Rubio for Secretary of State
"Trump's emerging 'national security' team is shaping up to be a kettle of hawkish neocons," wrote journalist Jeremy Scahill.
Nov 12, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly decided to name Republican Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, a move that would elevate to the status of top U.S. diplomat one of the most reliable war hawks and interventionists in Congress.
Rubio (R-Fla.), whom Trump once attacked as a "little puppet" of the late pro-Israel billionaire Sheldon Adelson, has vocally backed Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, agitated for a military confrontation with Iran, and encouraged a coup in Venezuela. The Florida senator is also a China hardliner, much like Trump's national security adviser pick, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.).
The New York Times, which first reported the Rubio selection late Monday, noted that Trump "could still change his mind at the last minute."
The expected Rubio pick runs counter to Trump's attempt during the presidential campaign to posture as a "candidate of peace," which is how Vice President-elect JD Vance described Trump in the run-up to last week's election.
"Trump's emerging 'national security' team is shaping up to be a kettle of hawkish neocons," wroteDrop Site's Jeremy Scahill, pointing out that Waltz was a "counterterrorism adviser" to Iraq War architect Dick Cheney.
Scahill went on to characterize Rubio and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)—Trump's pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations—as "B-list neocon warmongers."
Scahill's colleague, Ryan Grim, called Trump's likely selection of Rubio as U.S. secretary of state a "huge win" for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose attacks on Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran have plunged the Middle East into a regional war.
"Marco Rubio is a rabid neocon" who "never met a war he didn't want somebody else to fight," Grim wrote on social media late Monday.
With Republicans set to retake control of the Senate, Trump will likely face little difficulty confirming Rubio and other expected members of his Cabinet. Despite this, Trump is pushing Senate majority leader hopefuls to commit to allowing recess appointments, which would enable Trump to install administration officials without confirmation from the upper chamber.
Trump has yet to name his pick to lead the Pentagon, but his secretary of state and national security adviser choices hardly indicate a break from a foreign policy establishment that has produced catastrophic wars costing millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
Kaniela Ing, national director of the Green New Deal Network, noted Monday that "Rubio supported for-profit wars in Iraq, Afghanistan longer than anyone should."
"He's one of Netanyahu's top apologists, blindly fueling the ongoing genocide in Gaza," Ing added. "Trump's non-interventionist, anti-establishment mask is off. Millions of you got had."
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Trump Cabinet Picks So Far Decried as 'Nightmare Fuel'
"The good news is, we can win these types of fights," said one campaigner. "We helped drive out three Cabinet secretaries from office last time, and we can do that kind of thing again."
Nov 11, 2024
Progressive advocates voiced alarm Monday over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's initial leadership picks—including a border czar who oversaw the separation of migrant families during the Republican's first term—amid fresh allegations that the 2024 victor's transition team is breaking the law by failing to sign a required ethics agreement.
As of Monday, Trump has tapped—or in one case, is expected to imminently name—the following senior administration officials:
Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador
On Monday, Trump said he is nominating Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman from New York and longtime ally, to represent the United States at the world body. Stefanik is a dogged defender of Israel, even as the country is on trial for alleged genocide at the International Court of Justice for its ongoing obliteration of Gaza.
Stefanik also supports defunding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which provides lifesaving aid to Palestinians, over dubious Israeli allegations that its members are members of Hamas and took part in the October 7 attack.
According to AIPAC Tracker, Stefanik has taken more than $900,000 in campaign contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and aligns with the lobby group's advocacy for unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel.
"Other countries send diplomats to serve as U.N. ambassadors. The U.S. always sends AIPAC-approved Israel shills. And, this time, one who is also an abrasive, bigoted, far-right clown," said Craig Mokhiber, a former U.N. human rights attorney who resigned last year over what he saw as the world body "failing" to respond to a "textbook case of genocide" in Gaza.
Mokhiber added that Stefanik is "a fitting pick to represent the rapid decline of the U.S. on the world stage."
Lebanese American University professor Jad Melki said sardonically of Stefanik's selection, "Thank you Trump for removing any illusions about your administration's supportive policy towards the Israeli genocide in Palestine and Lebanon."
While not a Cabinet-level pick, Trump is expected to appoint Brian Hook—described by Drop Site News' Murtaza Hussain as "a major Iran hawk who helped lead the 'maximum pressure' campaign of sanctions, sabotage, and assassinations that characterized Trump's approach to Tehran"—to lead his State Department transition team.
Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency administrator
Described by one Trump critic as a "fantastic pick to destroy" the EPA, Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, has an abysmal 14% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters and is expected to oversee the dismantling of Biden administration climate policies. He is an avid booster of the fossil fuel industry, which has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign coffers, and supports expanding fracking and offshore oil drilling.
"At the EPA, Zeldin could undermine any progress made on protecting our environment and slowing climate change, doing more harm than any administrator before him," warned David Arkush, who directs the climate program at the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
"His record is clear: During his time in Congress, Zeldin cast vote after vote against measures that protect our environment and would slow the climate crisis," Arkush added.
Previewing their plans, Trump said in a statement that Zeldin "will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions," and the ex-congressman declared that "we will restore U.S. energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the U.S. the global leader of AI." Both claimed they would do that while also protecting air and water, which critics contested.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asserted that Zeldin's "only job will be to reward corporate polluters by gutting the EPA and making our air and water dirtier. In Congress and the courts, we've got a fight ahead."
Tom Homan for "border czar"
Late Sunday, Trump announced that Homan, who served as the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during his first term, will be his point person on border policy, a position that will not require confirmation by what will soon be a Republican-controlled Senate.
Homan—who previously enforced Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy that included the separation of thousands of children from their parents and other relatives—will oversee what the president-elect has promised to be the most sweeping mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
During a Monday interview on Fox News, Homan issued a warning to Democratic governors and sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with the future administration's mass deportation program.
"If you're not going to help us, get the hell out of the way," he said. "If we can't get assistance from New York City, we may have to double the number of agents we send to New York City, because we're going to do the job."
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security said that around 1,400 migrant children still have not been reunited with their families. This, after Homan told the Conservative Political Action Conference in October 2023 that family separation "worked."
"I'm sick and tired hearing about the family separation," he said. "Bottom line is, we enforced the law."
Trump has not ruled out a return to the highly controversial policy in his second term.
Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said Homan's appointment "should make it clear to everyone that the Trump administration will make good on their promises of mass deportation."
"We know *exactly* who Tom Homan is. He is the architect of the 'zero-tolerance' policy that separated thousands of migrant children from their parents with no plan for reunification," Ramirez continued. "He demonstrates cold disregard for the U.S. citizenship of the at least 4 million children with an undocumented parent, suggesting to keep families together, they should be deported together."
"The Trump administration's goal is to inflict maximum damage on diverse American families, our children, and our communities," the congresswoman added. "But let it be known, I will fight like hell to keep our families together, and our communities are ready to be an obstacle at every turn as he tries to implement his cruel, vile, gruesome plan."
Susie Wiles for White House chief of staff
Wiles is a longtime GOP strategist who has managed Trump's campaign operations since 2021, even as she worked for the tobacco company Swisher International lobbying to influence Congress on Food and Drug Administration regulations. She is also co-chair of the lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs, which represents Big Pharma and junk food companies in apparent conflict with Trump's stated goal to "make America healthy again."
Stephen Miller for deputy chief of staff for policy
Numerous U.S. media outlets reported Monday that Trump is expected to tap Miller, a first-term senior adviser and speechwriter, as his deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller—an architect of Trump's family separation policy who advocates racist and xenophobic immigration policies—was described in 2019 by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as a "verified white supremacist."
Although Miller's appointment was not yet official, Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday congratulated what he called Trump's "fantastic pick."
Miller notoriously authored much of Trump's January 6, 2001 speech that is widely blamed for inciting that day's Capitol insurrection.
Last year, Miller vowed that Trump's first-term program to strip some naturalized Americans of their U.S. citizenship would be "turbocharged" should he win reelection.
Responding to reports of Miller's White House return, Jesse Mermell, the president and founder of the progressive deWit Impact Group, wrote on social media that "nothing about this is a surprise, but seeing it in print is still nightmare fuel."
Both Homan and Miller are among the at least 140 officials from Trump's first administration involved in Project 2025, a blueprint for a far-right overhaul of the federal government that includes terminating the legal status of around 500,000 immigrants currently protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, people commonly called "Dreamers."
CNN reported Monday that billionaire backer Elon Musk has been seen visiting Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida "nearly every single day" since Election Day and is "weighing in on staffing decisions, making clear his preference for certain roles."
Trump said during his campaign that he would place Musk in charge of government efficiency, raising progressive fears of aggressive cuts to crucial social programs and regulators.
As Trump fills out his Cabinet, critics noted in recent days that his transition team still hasn't signed legally required ethics agreements with the Biden administration, possibly over a mandatory pledge to avoid the conflicts of interest that plagued his first term.
"Donald Trump and his transition team are already breaking the law. I would know because I wrote the law," U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Monday on social media. "Incoming presidents are required to prevent conflicts of interest and sign an ethics agreement. This is what illegal corruption looks like."
Responding to the prospect of a return to the "countless abuses of power" in Trump's first administration, Lisa Gilbert, the executive vice president of Public Citizen, said Monday that "we need to prepare to push back."
"The good news is, we can win these types of fights," Gilbert added. "We helped drive out three Cabinet secretaries from office last time, and we can do that kind of thing again."
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