Washington, DC — Government watchdog Accountable.US released a new analysis finding Fortune 500 companies and corporate trade associations donated over $800,000 in December 2021 alone to the 147 members of Congress that voted against certifying the 2020 election, just days before the first anniversary of the deadly Capitol coup attempt. These contributions to the ‘Sedition Caucus’ rounded out the biggest quarter since the insurrection and brought the 2021 total to over $9 million.

In addition, amid Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s refusal to interview with the U.S. House Select Committee on January 6th to discuss his conversations with Donald Trump before, during and after the riot, Accountable.US sent letters to major corporate donors of McCarthy — revealed in his latest quarterly FEC filing — that have also made public statements in support of preserving democracy in the aftermath of the insurrection. Companies are urged to call on McCarthy to fully cooperate with the Select Committee, noting: “Given the significant amount of campaign money your company’s political action committee has contributed to McCarthy, we believe your voice in this matter would be impactful.” Letter recipients include: Wells FargoEli Lilly,  WalgreensDuke EnergyFord Motor CompanyAmerican Airlines and Comcast.

 

More and more corporations that touted their commitment to democracy in the insurrection’s aftermath are showing they were never serious -- otherwise they wouldn’t have rewarded the very politicians that tried to finish what the Capitol rioters started. Even after the violent coup attempt, 147 Republicans in Congress disgracefully continued to fan the flames of the 'Big Lie' by voting to cancel the will of the American people, and yet they still reaped millions from industry. Corporations that couldn’t even go a year without compromising their own stated values on democracy clearly value having political influence over lawmakers even more — no matter what dangerous and undemocratic views they hold.”

Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US

Last August, Accountable.US launched its searchable tracker that allows the public to search Fortune 500 corporations and big corporate trade associations that have contributed to those in Congress that voted against certifying the 2020 election since January of 2021 — including corporations that made pledges to halt or pause donations to the lawmakers that perpetuated the Big Lie. 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.

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