John,
When the DOJ announced last year that the federal government would resume the death penalty and use pentobarbital sodium as the lethal agent in executions, we had some questions. Namely, how did the DOJ plan to get the notoriously difficult to procure drug? Did they have a plan for addressing the risks associated with the drug, which can lead to painful, even torturous deaths?
We filed a FOIA request—and eventually sued to get answers. Last week, we learned something truly shocking: the Trump administration was in such a rush to obtain the drug for executions that it sought to enter into a no-bid contract with a seller of the drug. Read our full investigation here.
And that’s not the only recent investigation that’s turned up some important results: our FOIA lawsuit to get details about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s notorious “Madison Dinners” uncovered that taxpayers paid at least $40,000 for Pompeo to entertain major Republican donors and conservative media figures. The total is likely much higher than that, and CREW will keep pushing for more receipts until we get to the truth. Read more about our findings here.
Transparency is key to accountability, and at CREW, we’ve filed hundreds of FOIAs and numerous FOIA lawsuits to get the answers that the American people deserve. From no-bid contracts in order to execute people more quickly, to taxpayer dollars going toward questionable events, to undue influence of Mar-a-Lago members at the VA, to tens of thousands in taxpayer dollars for Donald Trump Jr’s Mongolian hunting trip—we’ve uncovered some outrageous abuses of government.
Even when President Trump leaves the White House, it’s essential that we continue pushing for answers and accountability—and at CREW, we’ll be fighting to expose corruption for as long as it takes.
Thank you,
Noah Bookbinder
Executive Director, CREW
