Jan 31, 2008 -- Legal Center Urges DOJ to Address Massive Lobbying Disclosure Act Enforcement Backlog

Dear General Mukasey:

I am writing on behalf of the Campaign Legal Center to express our deep concern with reports of enforcement lapses by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia with regard to the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). According to recent interviews with officials from that office, in the twelve years the LDA has been in effect, the Justice Department has never pursued a single court action against any violators of the law. Of equal concern is the report that more than 900 potential violation referrals remain outstanding.

Also according to recent press reports, the Secretary of the Senate has referred more than 3,500 cases of "potential non-compliance" with the LDA to the U.S. Attorney's office. See "3,552 Possible LDA Violations Referred To DOJ But Few Cases Apparently Pursued," BNA January 14, 2008, and "U.S. Attorney Has 900 Unresolved Referrals of Possible Lobbying Violations, Official Says," BNA January 22, 2008 (copies enclosed). Little action has reportedly been taken by the Department of Justice beyond sending letters to the potential violators requesting violators to comply with the law and to file promptly the appropriate disclosure documents.

I fully appreciate that the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington have many pressing issues to deal with, but at the same time a number of high-profile Congressional corruption cases pursued by the Department have involved violations of this same Lobbying Disclosure Act. Those cases were the driving force behind Congressional passage last year of the Honest Government and Open Leadership Act (HLOGA), which ironically brought to light the massive and disturbing backlog of cases through a provision requiring periodic public release of referrals to the Justice Department of potential LDA violations.

The Justice Department plays a vital role in policing abuses by a lobbying industry that has experienced massive growth in the last decade and now reports annual activity exceeding $2.5 billion. The number of outstanding cases and lackluster efforts to enforce the Lobbying Disclosure Act are inexcusable and will only serve to further undermine public trust in their elected officials and in the Justice Department itself. I spent more than two decades as a Justice Department prosecutor and know full well the importance of building and maintaining public trust in order to perform the vital mission of the Department.

With the passage of the Honest Government and Open Leadership Act, a number of violations of the LDA will now enter the criminal code with punishments that include fines and imprisonment. I sincerely hope that future efforts at enforcement will be taken more seriously than recent press reports seem to indicate, and that the disturbing backlog of existing referrals will be promptly addressed.

Vigorous enforcement of LDA and HGOLA will give American citizens confidence that their government officials are being held accountable, and restore a certain amount of trust that our ethics laws are being followed by our elected representatives. Such enforcement will also help restore the tarnished image of the Department of Justice, a matter that you have made clear is important to you.

Accordingly, I respetfully urge you to take appropriate steps to ensure that enforcement of these two important areas of the law be given greater priority by the Department of Justice.

Thank you for your attention and consideration of this matter.

Respectfully,

J. Gerald Hebert