David Brock, founder of the liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America (MMFA), is now taking overCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
“In a major power play that aligns liberal muscle more fully behind the Democratic Party — and Hillary Clinton — the self-described right-wing hitman-turned-Clinton enforcer David Brock is taking over a leading watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington,”writes POLITICO.
With references in the media as a “nonpartisan” group, the Brock announcement may come as a shock to some who may not pay close attention to who is actually behind the group– but it shouldn’t.
CREW’s website states the following of its goals: “At CREW, we believe politicians must be held accountable for their actions. Day in and day out, we work to ensure government officials -regardless of party affiliation- act with honesty and integrity and merit the public trust.”
Despite what the website claims, CREW’s operations have always leaned heavily liberal. While they do take shots at Democrats, it is not nearly as often or as damaging as those directed at Republicans. CREW has launched legal battles against Republicans while mostly issuing verbal or written scoldings against Democrats. They’ve been extremely fortunate to squeak by without having a Democratic stigma tied to their organization. With the hiring of Brock, it just brings it more readily out and into the open.
Founded in 2001, the organization was launched by two Democratic strategists. The first, Norm Eisen, is an attorney and major liberal donor. In 2008, Eisen served as Deputy General Counsel to President Obama’s transition team. After this, he was appointed special advisor to the president for ethics. In 2011, he became the United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic, a position he currently still holds. The second, Louis Mayberg, is co-founder of mutual fund management firm ProFund Advisors LLC and a major Democratic donor. CREW was founded with the purpose of countering right-leaning groups such as Judicial Watch.
Mark Penn, who was listed as a founding director of CREW, is a former pollster who worked alongside President Bill Clinton for 6 years as an adviser. In 2000, Hillary Clinton brought Penn aboard to serve as an adviser to her senate campaign. In 2008, he became chief strategist to Hillary’s campaign as she was making a run for president. Penn’s wife, Nancy Jacobson, is also deeply entrenched in the left’s movement. Jacobson is a Democratic party fundraiser. Previously, she has worked with Bill Clinton, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Leadership Council, and former Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.
From 2003 up until now, Melanie Sloan served as the organizations executive director and was more or less the face of the organization. In 1993, Sloan worked for the Nominations Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee under then-Sen. Joe Biden, who was chairman at the time. Later, she worked at the Counsel for the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, then led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D- N.Y). Additionally, Sloan has worked on criminal justice issues with Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) while serving as the Minority Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee.
Below are a few examples of past and current employees at CREW.
Current employees at CREW include:
- Deputy Research Director Matt Corley – Former Assistant Editor at the Center for American Progress (Think Progress)
- Research Associate David Crockett – Former Research Associate for former Gov. Roy Barnes (D) of Georgia
- Communications Director Derrick Crowe – Former Political Director at Brave New Foundation which waspreviously funded by the Democracy Alliance
Former Employees include:
- Naomi Seligman – Former deputy director and communications director with CREW. Before that, sheworked at Media Matters for America as communications director — Brock’s group. After CREW, she went on to a top job at FitzGibbon Media.
- Lida Masoudpour- Former special projects associate at CREW. In the past, Masoudpour has worked for Media Matters for America, Hillary Clinton, FitzGibbon Media, and had ties to the Democracy Alliance.
As for the groups’ funding over the years, they have received money from far-left groups such as the Tides Foundation, Democracy Alliance, George Soros’ Open Society Institute, and the Arca Foundation. They have been joined on previous campaigns by extreme liberals organizations such as Democracy 21, Public Citizen, Common Cause, Public Campaign, and the Campaign Legal Center.
“CREW gives us some potentially powerful tools in the tool box,” Brock said after it was announced he’d now be leading the group.
For years now, CREW has been run by liberals with deep ties to far-left wing donors. David Brock taking over has just now stripped the “nonpartisan” label the group has tried to maintain since its inception.