[6] Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was co-founded in 2003 by Norman L. Eisen and Melanie Sloan in part as a liberal / progressive counterweight to conservative watchdog groups such as Judicial Watch.
At the time, Paul Singer of USA Today wrote, "One of the most vocal congressional ethics watchdog groups is becoming part of a Democratic political operation.
"[9] Politico wrote that Brock's newly announced involvement with CREW was a "major power play that aligns liberal muscle more fully behind the Democratic Party" and that CREW would add a "more politically oriented arm, expand its focus into state politics and donor targeting and will operate in close coordination with Brock's growing fleet of aggressive Democrat-backing nonprofits and super PACs—Media Matters, American Bridge, and the American Independent Institute.
[6] He was replaced by former George W. Bush White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter, "lending the group a bipartisan air", according to Politico.
However, in recent years CREW faced increased questions about its credibility, stemming from a 2014 shift that brought the group under Brock's sway and—in the eyes of many observers—into the Clinton orbit.
According to New York magazine, "Since then, it has been launching actions against the administration and its allies in Congress at a rate of about one a day, filing lawsuits and public-record inquiries and lodging complaints with authorities like the Office of Government Ethics."
For the last few years, it has been loosely aligned with a network of organizations, including the super-PAC American Bridge, run by Democratic operative David Brock.
[17] In February 2018, Environment & Energy Publishing wrote that Painter was "at the center of more than 180 legal challenges to Trump and his administration as vice chairman of the left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
"[5] The CREW mission statement has changed several times between 2005 and 2008 to de-emphasize its focus on personal litigation, dropping language that once read that CREW "differs from other good government groups in that it sues offending politicians directly" and that it "is a non-partisan legal watchdog group working to force our government officials to behave responsibly and ethically.
CREW uses aggressive legal action, in-depth research, and bold communications to reduce the influence of money in politics and help foster a government that is ethical and accountable.
We highlight abuses, change behavior, and lay the groundwork for new policies and approaches that encourage public officials to work for the benefit of the people, not powerful interests.
[33] A legal team representing CREW (including Laurence H. Tribe, Norman L. Eisen, Erwin Chemerinsky, Richard Painter, and Zephyr Teachout) announced its intention to file suit in federal court in New York on January 23, 2017, on the grounds that President Donald Trump's business interests violate a provision in the Emoluments Clause in the Constitution by receiving payments from foreign government entities.
The suit has asked the court to order Trump to stop receiving payments from foreign government via his hotels, golf courses, rentals and leased properties.
[34] United States District Judge George B. Daniels dismissed the case on December 21, 2017, holding that plaintiffs lacked standing.
[39][40] CREW joined with the National Security Archive to challenge Trump's deletion of tweets as a violation of the Presidential Records Act of 1981.
[46] Brock left CREW in December 2016, and was replaced as chairman of the board of directors by former George W. Bush ethics lawyer Richard Painter.
[55] In a report specifically about CREW, the Chicago Tribune noted the group "calls itself nonpartisan, but progressive", and employs staff from both Republican and Democratic administrations.
In 2006, Congressional Quarterly reported, "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has taken aim almost exclusively at GOP members of Congress.
"[7] The journal Broadcasting & Cable in 2011 described CREW's former chief legal counsel, Anne Weismann, as "a Democrat-recommended witness and so the closest to an [Obama] administration defender".
[61] When asked in 2014 if CREW would continue pursuing complaints against Democrats, Brock responded, "No party has a monopoly on corruption and at this early juncture, we are not making categorical statements about anything that we will and won't do.