FOIA Litigation Reveals Department of Defense Spent $138,093 at Mar-a-Lago and Trump Businesses
Washington, DC — A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit from the transparency organization Property of The People has produced receipts and other documents revealing Department of Defense (DoD) expenditures at Mar-a-Lago and twelve Trump properties during the President’s first six months in office. The expenses, each made with DoD charge cards, raise serious questions […]
Litigation Reveals GSA Expenditures at Trump International Hotel in DC
Washington, DC — As court arguments in the District of Columbia and Maryland litigate whether patronage by state governments and foreign countries at The Trump International Hotel in DC violates the US Constitution, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit from the transparency organization Property of The People has now produced receipts revealing expenditures at the […]
Group Sues FBI for Documents on Previously Unknown Cyber-Enabled Surveillance Platform Named ‘Gravestone’
Washington, DC — On Thursday, December 21, 2017, Property of the People filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the Bureau’s failure to comply with the group’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records on the FBI’s cyber-enabled surveillance platform named “Gravestone”. Very little is publicly known about Gravestone. In late 2016, Property of […]
Property of the People Demands Termination of Christy McCormick from Trump’s Election Integrity Committee
— Letter from Transparency Watchdog to Secretariat Reveals McCormick’s Dual Positions in Trump Admin Violates Federal Law — Read the letter to Secretariat HERE — Washington, DC — On Monday, December 11, 2017, Property of the People mailed a letter to the General Services Administration’s Committee Management Secretariat asking that Christy McCormick be terminated from […]
A Personal Appeal from The Sparrow Project
Dear Friend, By now you’ve probably received a dozen or more emails about #GivingTuesday. I would be remiss to say that this note is something uniquely different, but I’d like to take a second to describe how the scope of work being serviced through The Sparrow Project has changed and can benefit from sustaining donations […]
Property of the People Forensically Reconstructs Trump’s Undisclosed White House Visitor Logs
— Partnership with ProPublica Makes 8,807 Meeting Records from the Executive Office of the President Searchable Online — Access the Searchable Records HERE Download the Raw Data HERE — Washington, DC — Property of the People, in partnership with ProPublica, published a searchable online database of 8,807 records today comprising meeting logs and calendar entries […]
Narco-a-Lago: Donald Trump Made Millions from Panama Development Used to Launder Drug Money
President Donald Trump has made millions from selling his name to a Panama development used to launder money from Latin American drug cartels, a Global Witness investigation reveals today. After licensing his name to the Trump Ocean Club in 2006, Trump appears to have turned a blind eye to the source of the buyers’ funds and […]
Paradise Papers: Global Witness Statement on Wilbur Ross’ Offshore Secrecy
Washington, DC — Leaked documents published today by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists expose how offshore tax havens, white-collar professionals, and anonymous company owners hide their finances behind a veil of secrecy. The documents from Bermuda-based law firm Appleby include evidence of dubious deals and holdings involving the Queen of England, Canadian Prime Minister […]
Documents Revealing Agency Payments to Mar-A-Lago and Trump Hotels Provide Strong New Evidence for Impeachment
The White House National Security Council (NSC) paid over $1,000 for an unidentified guest to stay two nights at Donald Trump’s luxury resort Mar-a-Lago, according to an invoice obtained by transparency group Property of the People via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This payment, made with a U.S. government charge card, constitutes the […]
Trump’s Afghanistan Strategy will Fail if it Does not Take on Corruption
Tonight at 9pm EST President Trump announced his new Afghanistan strategy, Global Witness’ Stephen Carter highlights what is needed for a real change in direction: “The United States is Afghanistan’s key partner and has real potential to help break the cycle of violence there. But its continued presence will change nothing unless the US and […]
‘Stand With Reality’ Awareness Campaign to Fund Legal Defense for Alleged Whistleblower Reality Winner
Stand With Reality, a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of concerned individuals, is launching a campaign today to defend N.S.A. contractor Ms. Reality Leigh Winner against an overzealous prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice. Winner has been charged under the Espionage Act, a 100-year-old statute originally designed for spies and saboteurs, for allegedly giving a […]
FOIA Litigation Produces Letter from Senators Feinstein and Cardin Urging President Obama to Directly Respond to Russian Cyberattacks
Washington, DC — Today, as a result of ongoing FOIA litigation, the US Department of State and Department of Homeland Security released four (4) documents to the newly formed transparency project Operation 45. Among the documents released Friday afternoon were records responsive to a November 1, 2016 letter from Senators Dianne Feinstein and Benjamin Cardin wherein the Senators call […]
Activists and Journalists Have Sued the FBI for Withholding Donald Trump’s File
Washington, DC — The nonprofit transparency organization Property of the People has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seeking the release of Donald J. Trump’s FBI file. The records requested, which cover a period from June 14, 1946 through June 15, 2015, will shed new light on already known investigations linking […]
New Yorkers Show Solidarity for Reality Winner, NSA Contractor Charged Under Espionage Act
New York, NY — The indictment of NSA contractor Reality Leigh Winner may be the opening salvo in the Trump Administration’s self-described war on leaks. Reality is facing a serious charge under the Espionage Act for allegedly sharing an NSA report on Russian attempts to compromise the 2016 US Presidential election. Concerned New Yorkers and political activists will show […]
US Withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement is Yet Another Gift to Special Interests at the Expense of People and the Planet
Washington, DC — Global Witness has issued the following statement in response to reports that President Donald Trump intends to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement: “If Donald Trump withdraws the US from the Paris Climate Agreement as reports suggest, he will give yet another gift to special interests at the expense of the public […]
Indigenous Activists will Confront Imperial Metals at Annual General Meeting
Vancouver, BC — Indigenous delegates and tribal allies will be confronting Imperial Metals at their Annual General Meeting at the Executive Plaza Hotel Coquitlam, 405 North Road, Coquitlam, British Columbia at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2017. “It is clear that there are major human rights and Indigenous rights violations happening within Canada and within […]
Chelsea Manning Releases First Portrait of Herself on Social Media
Today, Chelsea Manning released her first full portrait image on social media. The posts on Twitter and Instagram follow her release from military prison yesterday. Chelsea’s photo can be found here On Twitter: https://twitter.com/xychelsea/status/865250670831702016 Okay, so here I am everyone!! =P https://t.co/NuyZlcWfd9#HelloWorld pic.twitter.com/gKsMFTYukO — Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) May 18, 2017 On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BUPbwX0htrw/ Okay, so here I am […]
Chelsea Manning, Legal Team Confirm Chelsea’s Safe Release from Military Prison
Be sure to follow Chelsea Manning via her website: luminairity.com Today, Chelsea Manning was safely released from U.S. military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Said Chelsea Manning: “After another anxious four months of waiting, the day has finally arrived. I am looking forward to so much! Whatever is ahead of me, is far more important than the past. […]
The FBI is Investigating Donald Trump’s Call for Russian Hacking and Espionage
President Trump’s May 9, 2017 letter firing now-former FBI Director James Comey in part reads, “I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation[.]” However, a recent court filing by the Department of Justice on behalf of the FBI in an ongoing FOIA lawsuit plainly indicates the FBI […]
Statement from Chelsea Manning and Legal Team on Her Upcoming Release from Prison
Next week, Chelsea Manning will be released from U.S. military prison after serving a seven-year sentence for disclosing classified information that raised public awareness regarding the impact of war on innocent civilians. Manning, a transgender woman, was serving an unprecedented 35-year sentence for whistleblowing and was forced to serve her sentence in an all-male prison. […]
Lawyer Representing Investors Told to Quit ‘Fucking with Mr. Trump’
Newly released documents reveal that the FBI investigated an extortion threat related to a menacing phone call made to bankruptcy attorney Kristopher Hansen on February 18, 2009, wherein a Trump associate using the name “Carmine” threatened Hansen’s wife and children. Redactions within FBI documents initially indicated that the bureau’s extortion investigation was ongoing as of […]
Will Peter King’s Latent Misogyny Lead Him to Dodge LI Women’s Town Hall?
Massapequa Park, NY — Constituents from New York’s 2nd congressional district hand delivered an invitation to Rep. Peter King (NY-02) to participate in a Women’s Town Hall on May 7 at the Dominican Village in Amityville. The Women’s Town Hall is being organized by New York’s 2nd District Democrats, the National Organization for Women – NY, and […]
New Leaks Show Shell Oil Executives at the Center of a Scheme to Steal $1.1 Billion from Nigeria’s People
Oil giants Shell and Eni knowingly took part in a vast bribery scheme for one of Africa’s most valuable oil blocks which deprived Nigeria and its people of $1.1billion, an exposé by Global Witness and Finance Uncovered reveals. New leaked internal emails seen by Global Witness and Finance Uncovered show that Shell’s most senior decision-makers […]
Peter King Skips Town Hall for Closed Door Meeting, Activists Release Transcript
Massapequa Park, NY – Members of new group, New York’s 2nd District Democrats (NY02 Dems) have been requesting meetings with Rep. Pete King. He has refused to schedule constituent meetings or hold a Town Hall. He has also been deleting dissenting comments from his Facebook page, and blocking constituents. On Friday, February 3, the group joined a […]