An ethics complaint filed by over 100 former judges alleges that Acting AG Blanche engaged in professional misconduct & conflicts of interest in his handling of Trump’s controversial lawsuit against the IRS, abuse of authority to target Trump’s political enemies, & mishandling of the Epstein files.

“This is about really, really wealthy people who have very strong preferences for the direction of American law, and they don’t want to be out in the sunshine. They want to avoid any type of transparency,” says Paul Collins, a University of Massachusetts Amherst political scientist.

"The move suggests that the DOJ plans to use tactics normally reserved for the department’s most dangerous targets — terrorists, organized crime — on protesters."

NEW: From @billiejsweeney.bsky.social for Important Context and @assignedmedia.org: The Trump administration is breaking ground, targeting nonprofits whose politics it disagrees with—groups focused on climate change, reproductive rights, Palestinian freedom, racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights, etc.

"In speaking directing the purchase of Israel Bonds and speaking at SFOF-linked events, DiNapoli has aligned himself with Republicans who demonize diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and socially responsible investing, said David Armiak, a research director and an investigative journalist"

“Polarization is actually something that’s perhaps necessary in a society,” Moreton said. “No one really believes that somehow we’d have the Voting Rights Act if Martin Luther King had just sat down with the wizard of the KKK and they had hashed out their disagreements.”

4 states now report losing $1 billion+ to data center tax breaks. Costs keep rising; 14 states still fail to disclose what these subsidies cost. Residents deserve to know what it's costing them to subsidize Big Tech *before* another deal is approved. ➡️ goodjobsfirst.org/even-cloudie...

"Kaiser poured money into reserves and investments in recent years. Kaiser put $27 billion into reserves in just four years, for a total of $67 billion in savings and investments, the nonpartisan Center for Media and Democracy found."

"The Center for Media and Democracy’s David Armiak, who has tracked the Concord Fund–RAGA money for years, broke the Right Vote transfer on May 8, 2026. RAGA’s first-quarter 2026 IRS filing lists Right Vote among the top donors of a $9.6 million quarter."

NEW: With gas prices across the country soaring since Trump launched his war on Iran on Feb 28, American consumers have already shelled out $43.6 billion in higher energy costs. And they’re continuing to spend roughly $200 million more a day on gas than before the war.

NEW: Voter suppression activist & documented insurrectionist Cleta Mitchell has released a "Model Election Laws Handbook" via her Election Integrity Network. The handbook includes model policies that would force voters to face poll charges (via ID requirements), reduce opportunities to vote, & more.

NEW: CfA urged the State Financial Officer’s Foundation (SFOF) to remove Board President Seth Metcalf from his role. Court records reveal Mr. Metcalf engaged in an effort to induce an Ohio teachers' pension fund to hire his unqualified company to manage nearly 70% of its assets.

NEW: Later this month, the Chicago City Council is expected to approve an ordinance that bars city law enforcement officers from “actively participating” in extremist groups such as the Proud Boys & Oath Keepers.

NEW: The Republican Attorneys General Association received $2 mil from the Heritage & Leonard Leo-tied operation Right Vote in January. In all, RAGA raised $9.6 mil in the first 3 months of the year — almost double the $5.3 mil it amassed in the first quarter of 2024, the last major election year.

The Center for Media and Democracy's David Armiak will moderate a Q&A with the directors of the documentary Steal this story, please! following a screening on Sunday May 10. Showtime is 6 pm. Tickets still available! 🎟️🍿🥤 www.marcustheatres.com/movies/steal...

Join us on Sunday in Madison for a screening of Steal this story, please! followed by a Q&A with the film directors.

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

The Modern Ag Alliance has been the leading public face of a campaign to quash tens of thousands of cancer claims surrounding the use of Roundup, the highly controversial and most widely used pesticide in the world. buff.ly/RlJ0RCw

In the eight years since it bought Monsanto, Bayer AG has been saddled with an endless stream of lawsuits and settlement payments for cancer claims related to the most widely used herbicide in the world. buff.ly/02F4XD4

The executive order President Trump signed in February protecting and encouraging the production of glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Roundup, is a major victory for Bayer AG. buff.ly/EkbPuma

It's an important series about a company moving on all fronts to prevent accountability. Read it today at @prospect.org. prospect.org/tag/bayer/

Finally, we look at the Modern Ag Alliance, a front group that has pushed Bayer's agenda to wiggle out of liability for poisoning Americans. Modern Ag has paid a DC-based PR firm, the Penta Group, $13.6 million; they are a major Bayer client. prospect.org/2026/04/27/a...

So far, Bayer has gotten that immunity in three states: Georgia, North Dakota, and Kentucky, which passed it over Andy Beshear's veto. prospect.org/2026/04/27/b...

Next, we look at how Bayer is lobbying Congress to lend a hand, with glyphosate immunity embedded in the upcoming farm bill, something that has split the MAHA movement, while moving immunity bills at the state level as well. prospect.org/2026/04/27/b...

The company has invested heavily in Trump, and it's working. prospect.org/2026/04/27/b...

As the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that could stall lawsuits against Roundup's role in causing cancer, we have a 3-part series from @exposedbycmd.bsky.social on Bayer/Monsanto's drive for immunity from Roundup liability. First, on the overall lobbying, PR, & legal campaign:

NEW: Ag Front Group Shields Bayer in Controversial Roundup Liability Fights (This is the third in a three-part series on Bayer’s crusade for immunity from Roundup-related cancer claims.)

NEW: Bayer Banks on Congress for Permanent Roundup Immunity (This is the second in a three-part series on Bayer’s crusade for immunity from Roundup-related cancer claims.)

NEW: Bayer “Turns Over Every Stone” to Stiff Roundup Cancer Victims

PUBLISHED: Most Big Political Players on the Right Sat Out Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Race www.exposedbycmd.org/2026/04/16/m...

NEW: The Center for Media and Democracy has joined with other democracy defenders on an amicus brief in support of a League of Women Voters lawsuit challenging conversion of the SAVE database to a tool to disenfranchise voters. Filed with @commoncause.org, @campaignlegal.org, & @protectdemocracy.org

NEW: We filed an amicus brief objecting to the overhaul & repurposing of the SAVE system as an illegal effort to nationalize voter reg. & disenfranchise qualified voters. Filed w/ @campaignlegal.org, @exposedbycmd.bsky.social, and @commoncause.org. Amicus here: protdem.org/4skbHBT Details below ⬇️

Vivek Ramaswamy's race for governor of Ohio is really a demonstration of how much crypto cash one politician can get, as our report in conjunction with @exposedbycmd.bsky.social explains. prospect.org/2026/04/04/w...

NEW: Ohio’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wants to invest taxpayer funds in crypto despite big losses in this sector and for his own company.

NEW: None of the more than dozen bills to criminalize abortion considered this year have passed, but extremists hoping to ban all abortions and put abortion patients on death row continue to flood the zone.

NEW: Charles Koch’s massive political spending hasn’t been enough to avoid a DOJ investigation into alleged fertilizer price fixing, and it faces two class-action lawsuits accusing its subsidiaries in the fertilizer and containerboard industries of antitrust violations.

"Tiffany Justice, one of three original spokesmodels of Moms for Liberty who moved on to Heritage Action, has lost her job at Heritage after only seven months."

NEW: At Fairview Health Services in the Twin Cities, hospital administrators are resisting efforts by labor union leaders to establish clear protocols for ensuring that patients are protected from ICE officers & that caregivers are able to do their jobs & provide all patients with the care they need

David Armiak, Research Director for the Center for Media and Democracy, joins Court Accountability Action's Evan Vorpahl on @legalafmtn.bsky.social to discuss CMD's IRS complaint against the Republican Attorneys General Association and the dark money networks funding state AGs.

Congress must not once again extend FISA Section 702 without stopping abuses that allow surveillance of Americans, including journalists. Read the letter we signed with over 80 other organizations: demandprogress.org/wp-content/u...

Update: This afternoon Bayfield County, WI will vote on whether to greenlight the sheriff's office purchasing over $100,000 in riot gear. They'll use it to respond to protests agains the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline reroute around the Bad River reservation And they aim for Enbridge to pay for it 1/

PRESS RELEASE: CMD filed two complaints today with the IRS against the Republican Governors Association & Republican State Leadership Committee for failing to itemize their contributions & expenditures in their 2025 Year-end reports.

NEW: Several groups affiliated with ALEC have been waging a well-funded campaign to call a convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to amend our Constitution. The Heritage Foundation, the prime force driving Project 2025, has strongly endorsed the effort to call an Article V convention.

ICYMI: The Texas Public Policy Foundation has launched a new funding stream well beyond its home state to support groups with a history of election denialism. In addition to the SPN affiliate’s work in Texas, TPPF funded “election judge” trainings in Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada in 2024.

PUBLISHED: The Texas Public Policy Foundation has launched a new funding stream well beyond its home state to support groups with a history of election denialism. In addition to the SPN affiliate’s work in Texas, TPPF funded “election judge” trainings in Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada in 2024.

PUBLISHED: The ultra-right State Freedom Caucus Network now has at least 15 state affiliates, with new caucuses announced last month in Minnesota and West Virginia. At least 167 lawmakers are members in the 15 states, according to a CMD review.

DraftKings wants your legislature. @matthewccook5.bsky.social reports a DraftKings-backed super PAC is pouring $1.2M into Illinois Democratic primaries, backing candidates who’ll block tighter rules and higher taxes after the state’s per-bet tax cut into profits.

NEW: The sports gambling industry is pouring more than a million dollars into local Illinois races in a gambit to evade regulations and higher taxes.

ICYMI: The Center for Media and Democracy filed an IRS complaint yesterday against the Republican Attorneys General Association for failing to disclose Its donors in its latest filing. Read more 👇

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