Today, Common Cause urged Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify publicly before Congress so that the American people can hear in his own voice of the gravity of his findings and of the ongoing threat to the integrity of our elections from hostile foreign powers. The open letter to the Special Counsel emphasizes that very few Americans have had the time to read the dense and complex 448-page report and none have seen the underlying documentation behind the “Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election.”

Today, reports indicate that the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has recommended the agency move to block the T-Mobile-Sprint merger. The reports follow Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s recent announcement of his recommended approval of the merger. If approved by both the DOJ and the FCC, the number of national wireless carriers would be reduced from four to three, leading to less competition and higher prices for consumers. Low-income and marginalized communities who disproportionately rely on T-Mobile and Sprint for affordable services may also find themselves priced out of wireless service. Common Cause filed a petition to deny formally opposing the merger.   

Today, Common Cause called for immediate oversight hearings on reports that the Trump Administration is shifting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) staff from its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to the border with Mexico. In letters to the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Common Cause urged Congress to ensure that DHS and all government agencies continue to devote necessary staff and resources to protect our election infrastructure in the wake of well-documented and continuing attacks on our election infrastructure by Russia and other hostile foreign nations.

Congress must hold former White House Counsel Don McGahn in contempt. McGahn’s refusal to testify is in deliberate defiance of a House Judiciary Committee subpoena, and he, and the White House, must be held to account. The Committee must move expeditiously to issue a contempt citation and the full House must follow suit in short order.

Today, Common Cause Indiana and several registered voters in Saint Joseph County – Mary Frederick, John Justin Collier, William Marks Jr., and Minnie Lee Clark – filed suit against Secretary of State Connie Lawson and members of the St. Joseph County Election Board for rejecting outright their absentee ballots with purported signature mismatches in violation of their due process and equal protection rights under the federal constitution.

Floridians expect and deserve to know that state and federal officials are taking proper precautions to safeguard the integrity of election systems. As a perennial election battleground state, we know that we are and will remain a target. New revelations that not one, but two Florida county election systems were breached by Russian hackers during the 2016 election cycle raise serious concerns that must be addressed by state officials and the U.S. Congress.