Melanie Sloan

[5] Before founding Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in 2003, Sloan served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2003.

Before becoming a prosecutor, Sloan served as Minority Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, working on criminal justice issues for then-Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI).

[27] On the current Justice Department position, Sloan, stated: "We are deeply disappointed that the Obama administration has failed to recognize the grievous harm top Bush White House officials inflicted on Joe and Valerie Wilson.

"[28] In October 2010, The American Prospect reporter Mike Elk raised allegations that Sloan was working in conjunction with for-profit college lobbyists to attack the credibility of student lending reform advocates.

[29] Elk alleged that while Sloan was criticizing the student lending reforms advocates, she was also talking about potential jobs with lobbyists, including Lanny Davis, who worked for the for-profit college industry.

In the summer of 2010, Sloan and CREW were highly critical of famed short-seller Steve Eisman, writing letters to the congressional subcommittee, denouncing the fact that he had an adverse financial interest.

CREW published a rebuttal of the article's claims, noting the ethics concern about individuals manipulating the regulatory process for personal benefit.