From the Desk of Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton:
Judicial Watch Asks FEC to Investigate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore Group for Violating Campaign Finance Laws

This week Judicial Watch filed a formal complaint with the FEC against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection concerning a television advertising campaign that apparently violates federal campaign finance laws.

The "We Campaign" television ads featuring Pelosi and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are part of a project funded by the Alliance for Climate Protection, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by former Vice President Al Gore. (We also filed a formal complaint with the Internal Revenue Service as well.)

So how does this television campaign run afoul of campaign finance laws?

Our complaint details how this commercial represents both an in-kind contribution to the Pelosi campaign and a campaign contribution by the Alliance because Speaker Pelosi is a candidate for Congress and the commercial has run within 90 days of her June 3 primary.

Now, according to the FEC, "When an individual or political committee pays for a communication that is coordinated with a candidate or party committee, the communication is considered an in-kind contribution to that candidate or party committee and is subject to the limits, prohibitions and reporting requirements of the federal campaign finance law." (Judicial Watch's complaint details the various ways in which the ad meets the legal definition of a "coordinated communication.")

A press release about the "We Campaign" indicates that the Pelosi advertisement was scheduled to "run nationally on network and cable channels" - which presumably would have included Pelosi's San Francisco, California district. Overall, it has been reported that the commercial "has run about 300 times on national cable networks such as Fox News and CNN," since its debut on April 18, 2008.

Thus far, apparently, neither Speaker Pelosi's campaign nor Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection is prepared to follow the law and properly report the contribution.

The bottom line: This commercial clearly represents an illegal multi-million dollar contribution from Al Gore's organization to Nancy Pelosi's campaign and is absolutely prohibited by law.

Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore may want to the save the world, but they still have to follow federal law. The FEC and the IRS ought to act quickly. I will be sure to keep you posted on what, if anything, these agencies do.

(We've been quite active in trying to get campaign finance laws enforced this election year. We filed an FEC complaint against Hillary on April 14 for her apparently illegal Elton John fundraiser. And then, ten days later, we filed a separate complaint against John McCain for a fundraiser held in London that may have also had illegal foreign support.)

JW Victory! Phoenix Police Department's Ends Sanctuary Policy for Illegal Aliens

I have more good news to report regarding Judicial Watch's campaign to enforce our nation's immigration laws.

According to the Arizona Republic:

"The [Phoenix] police department is two weeks away from implementing a new policy which will allow officers to more easily contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about persons they suspect are in the country illegally…Currently, officers do not have as much discretion to do that unless a suspect is booked on criminal charges."

This is a stunning reversal in Phoenix (America's fifth largest city) prompted by Judicial Watch pressure. Remember, it was just a year ago that the Phoenix mayor's office was besieged by complaints by the city's small business owners that the flood of illegal aliens was harming their businesses. Contributing to the problem was a Phoenix Police Department sanctuary policy, Operations Order 1.4.3, that prohibited police officers from inquiring about the immigration status of individuals and from cooperating with federal immigration officials.

Then, we got involved.

Facing a Judicial Watch investigation and a potential lawsuit, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon reversed himself and announced on December 3, 2007 that he no longer supported Operation 1.4.3, and commissioned an illegal immigration expert panel to study the policy and to recommend changes. The panel issued a series of flawed recommendations that largely continued the sanctuary policy. Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris rightly put aside the panel's ideas and put in place policy changes that should go a bit further in alleviating the illegal immigration problem in Phoenix.

Here's the statement I issued to the press regarding this important victory:

"There is no question Judicial Watch's investigation and the threat of a lawsuit prompted both Mayor Gordon's sudden change of heart on illegal immigration enforcement and Chief Harris's complete revision of Operations Order 1.4.3. Gordon's and Harris's sanctuary policies have severely damaged business owners and taxpayers who are the lifeblood of Phoenix. We are pleased the mayor and the police chief finally have tried to address the illegal immigration crisis.

"Chief Harris's new regulations better address the procedural realities and dangers faced by officers on patrol who confront illegal aliens on a daily basis. The new police immigration policies are a step forward, but still fall short of what federal law requires - which is the unfettered ability of any local Phoenix police officer to make inquiries with Immigration Custom Enforcement about an individual's immigration status.

"Judicial Watch will continue to monitor the implementation of Chief Harris's new policies. As the new police immigration policies seem to remain at odds with federal law, a Judicial Watch lawsuit may still be on the table."


JW Delivers 32,700 Petitions to National Archives Demanding Release of Hillary's White House Records

When it comes to battling the National Archives for the release of Hillary Clinton's White House records, no one has been as aggressive (or as successful) as Judicial Watch. And this week, our pressure campaign against the Archives continued.

On May 29, Judicial Watch delivered approximately 32,700 petitions to the National Archives signed by Judicial Watch members and supporters demanding the immediate release of Hillary Clinton's White House records.

As I note in my cover letter accompanying the petitions, "the National Archives is not serving the public interest in its sluggish processing and release of Sen. Clinton's records." The National Archives, by law, has 20 days to turn over the records or provide evidence as to why archivists should be granted additional time. Two years later, thousands of documents are still being withheld without adequate explanation.

The following is a brief excerpt from my letter. (The full letter can be read in full by clicking here.)

"Over the last several months, we have gathered approximately 32,700 petitions from our members and supporters requesting that you take action to push the timely release of documents, as required by law, concerning Hillary Clinton. This large number of petitions shows there is strong public interest in the quick release of the Clinton documents."

As you'll likely recall, Judicial Watch was first in line when Hillary's White House records first became available in March 2006. Since that time, not only have our investigators pored over thousands of pages of documents obtained directly from the Clinton Presidential Library, but we've also filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests for documents not yet released.

So far, we've already obtained Hillary's White House schedules, despite the best efforts of the National Archives to stonewall their release. And we also sued the National Archives over Hillary's telephone records. (Unfortunately, a court recently awarded the National Archives a one-year stay on the release of the records, though we're still fighting in a separate lawsuit for the timely release of her Health Care Taskforce records.)

In the meantime, our investigation continues. We feel it is critical that the American people know the full and complete truth about Senator Clinton's tenure in the White House - whether or not her candidacy is successful.

My thanks go out to all of the dedicated Judicial Watch members and supporters who took the time to complete the petition and, of course, to all of you who continue to support Judicial Watch's campaign to hold the Clintons accountable. To learn more how you can support our efforts, click here.

Until next week…



Tom Fitton
President

Judicial Watch is a non-partisan, educational foundation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. Judicial Watch is dedicated to fighting government and judicial corruption and promoting a return to ethics and morality in our nation's public life. To make a tax-deductible contribution in support of our efforts, click here.