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NLPC was founded in late 1991 following the release of the Senate Ethics Committee report whitewashing the Keating Five. The report made reference to the Code of Ethics for Government, but not by name, presumably for fear of giving it greater standing. NLPC was founded to promote ethics, and to give the Code the visibility it deserves. The author of the Code is Sen. Paul Douglas (D-IL) who served from 1948 to 1964. A "Sense of Congress" resolution that passed on July 11, 1958 urged adherence to the Code by all government officials. Initially, NLPC pursued two projects, the Government Integrity Project and the Legal Services Accountability Project. In 1993, NLPC successfully sued Hillary Rodham Clinton's secret health care task force to open its meetings and records. In their 2002 books, both Hillary Rodham Clinton and former White House aide Sidney Blumenthal acknowledged NLPC's role in sinking the plan. In 1996, NLPC secured documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demonstrating that then-FDA Commissioner David Kessler had over billed on his expense reimbursements. Kessler resigned shortly thereafter. In his 2001 book titled A Question of Intent, Kessler stated that NLPC "brought me as close to despair as I have ever been." In 1997, NLPC launched the Organized Labor Accountability Project, becoming the nation's only clearing house on union corruption. Since that time, NLPC’s archives have been utilized by journalists preparing articles on union corruption for many publications, including the New York Daily News and Reader’s Digest. In 1998, NLPC filed a series of Complaints against Rep. Jon Fox (R-PA) for failing to disclose a personal loan from a developer. Fox was defeated for re-election that year. In 1999, NLPC broke a major scandal involving the federally funded Legal Services Corporation (LSC), which was inflating the number of cases it claimed it handled. In 2001, NLPC filed an IRS Complaint against Jesse Jackson's largest nonprofit group. It was a catalyst. After years of silence, journalists openly confronted Jackson on what has been obvious to millions of Americans, namely that he operates more like an extortionist than a civil rights leader. As the liberal on-line magazine Slate asked, "Why did the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Post and the New York Times and the rest of the majors wait until the National Legal and Policy Center got curious about this?" In 2002, Rush Limbaugh spoke on-air to NLPC's growing reputation: "the National Legal and Policy Center, very reputable group...this outfit would not make public things that they are not dead certain of." Several weeks later Rush paid an additional compliment by stating that NLPC does "terrific research." In 2003, NLPC launched the Corporate Integrity Project. Both liberal and conservative media outlets immediately accepted NLPC as a credible source of information and comment on the corporate scandals, especially WorldCom/MCI. In 2003, NLPC upended the $30 billion plan for the Air Force to lease, rather than buy, 100 mid-air refueling aircraft. The lease-plan was killed, saving taxpayers at least $4 billion.NLPC unearthed evidence of cozy dealings between Darleen Druyun and Boeing. Druyun was the Air Force official who negotiated the deal, who went to work for Boeing shortly thereafter. In a Complaint to the Pentagon Inspector General, which resulted in a front-page Wall Street Journal story, NLPC detailed how the official sold her home to a Boeing executive, and that Boeing had hired her daughter. In the wake of NLPC's revelations, Boeing CFO Michael Sears was fired and Boeing CEO Phil Condit resigned. Sears and Druyun served prison terms in 2005. In 2003, a Complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by NLPC resulted in a Conciliation Agreement under which Al Sharpton had to pay a $5,500 fine for late filing of disclosure documents. In 2004, the FEC fined two leadership PACs associated with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) a total of $21,000 in response to an NLPC Complaint. In 2004, the FEC ruled in response to another NLPC Complaint that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) illegally failed to disclose large loans to her campaign just prior to her 2000 Senate election. Another Complaint against Sharpton, filed in 2004, asked the FEC to deny Sharpton taxpayer matching funds. The FEC ruled that Sharpton must return $100,000 that he received in federal matching funds and denied him an additional $79,709, for which he had purportedly qualified. In 2005, the New York Stock Exchange ended its support for Jesse Jackson’s groups in apparent response to NLPC protests. NLPC is a 501(c)(3) foundation. Donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations are welcome in any amount. Contributions are tax deductible. |
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