• Take Action!



• Watchdog Blog



• Clean Up Washington



• White House for Sale



• Open Government



• Consumer and Civil Justice



• Election Reform



• Key Reports



• Congressional Voting Records



• The Archives



• Link to Us

Complaint of Possible Campaign Finance Violations by Chamber of Commerce in Washington State

Public Citizen, a retired Washington State Supreme Court chief justice and a law professor have filed a petition with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission seeking enforcement action against a U.S. Chamber of Commerce subsidiary for the covert funneling of $1.5 million into the 2004 Washington state attorney general race.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent the money on attack ads and shielded its involvement by using a front group, according to the petition. The petition calls on the Commission – the state agency with authority to investigate and police campaign finance abuse – to find that a Chamber subsidiary called the Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) violated state law by failing to register with the state, concealing contributions and expenditures, and secretly conspiring to air ads in 2004 against attorney general candidate Deborah Senn.

Press Release

Full Text of Complaint

Exhibits 1-6

Exhibit 7

Exhibits 8-22

Timeline

Statement of Joan Claybrook

more resources

Because Public Citizen does not accept funds from corporations, professional associations or government agencies, we can remain independent and follow the truth wherever it may lead. But that means we depend on the generosity of concerned citizens like you for the resources to fight on behalf of the public interest. If you would like to help us in our fight, click here.