Americans deserve to know the truth about the Russian attacks on the 2016 presidential race. The statements of Chairman Grassley and Senator Graham that they expect to help President Trump confirm a replacement for Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the elections are irresponsible at this time. President Trump should not receive any cover for corruptly replacing the attorney general to appoint a loyalist who will undermine Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation.

Paul Manafort joins a growing list of convictions stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s attack on the 2016 presidential election. Congress must be prepared to act swiftly and decisively if President Trump attempts to subvert the justice system by pardoning Paul Manafort or otherwise undermining the Special Counsel’s investigation. Today’s jury conviction and the continuing threats from President Trump and his attorneys against the Special Counsel hammer home the need for Congress to protect the investigation.

The Department of Justice is sending a strong message that it will enforce the nation’s campaign finance laws. The blatant violations of the law that Common Cause outlined in our complaints to the Department of Justice concerning hush money payments to Stormy Daniels are among those that Cohen pleaded guilty to today. Cohen’s guilty plea directly implicates President Trump in related campaign finance violations detailed in Common Cause complaints.

Today a federal judge struck down a 2015 bill passed by the Michigan legislature and signed by Governor Snyder to ban straight-ticket voting. Common Cause joined the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Democratic Party of Michigan, and Michigan voters challenging the law in court.

The Michigan Supreme Court voted 4-3 to reject a lawsuit by well-funded special interests to keep the Voters Not Politicians ballot initiative off the November ballot. The initiative would end political gerrymandering in Michigan by stripping the power to draw districts from state legislators and creating an independent citizen redistricting commission to draw U.S. House and state legislative districts after each decennial census.

Today, the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued an opinion on the legal challenge to the FCC’s decision to reinstate the UHF Discount. Common Cause was one of the petitioners to file the legal challenge. The DC Circuit dismissed the case finding that the petitioners did not demonstrate sufficient standing.