Press Releases
Lobbyist Loophole Allows Corporations to Backtrack on Promises to Support Democracy After January 6
WASHINGTON, DC – New reporting from Politico reveals that lobbyists for several companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta and Toyota, gave personal donations to members of Congress who voted against certifying the election results — all despite these corporations’ pledges to suspend donations to these lawmakers who have been dubbed the ‘Sedition Caucus.’ According to Politico, there were “more than $28,000 in donations from lobbyists to lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election.”
The story follows an Accountable.US analysis finding Fortune 500 companies and corporate trade associations donated over $800,000 in December 2021 alone to the ‘Sedition Caucus’, just days before the first anniversary of the deadly Capitol coup attempt. These contributions rounded out the biggest quarter since the insurrection and brought the 2021 total to over $9 million.
Corporations are masquerading as defenders of democracy while their lobbyists are quietly shoveling money to Big Lie-spreading politicians that tried to finish what the Capitol rioters started. When corporations continue to give their stamp of approval to lawmakers that jeopardized our democracy and stoked the insurrection, they are showing that they only really value cultivating political influence above all else.”
Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US
Last month, Accountable.US released a report ‘In Bad Company’ highlighting the hypocrisy of numerous big-name corporations that have not followed through on their words of support for democracy.