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For Immediate Release
July, 11 2016, 11:00am EDT
Contact:
Gabriela Melendez, 202-715-0826, gmelendez@aclu.org
ACLU and Groups to Speaker Ryan: Disband Panel to Investigate Planned Parenthood
Unusual Mix of Groups Send Letter to Ryan Highlighting Panel’s Abuse of Power
WASHINGTON
The American Civil Liberties Union and over 20 organizations sent a letter today to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urging him to disband a select committee formed to investigate Planned Parenthood.
The letter was signed by a mix of groups concerned with the panel's abuse of power, including violations of House rules and customs and disregard for legitimate safety concerns for others resulting from its actions. The letter details how the panel's majority routinely refuses to share information or consult with some of its own members and has targeted health care providers and researchers in ways that threaten their safety and interfere with critical medical research.
"The panel has gone well beyond its scope and is engaging in a fishing expedition and smear campaign against doctors and researchers," said Karin Johanson, ACLU national political director. "Congress does not have limitless powers -- we urge the select panel to preserve the integrity of congressional investigations and oversight by bringing an end to this unfair investigation."
The panel has issued 36 subpoenas and, in an unprecedented tactic, 30 of them have been issued without consulting minority members or first requesting that information be provided voluntarily. The chair has disseminated personal information of health care providers to the media, anti-abortion extremists, and the public.
In one case, 10 subpoenas were issued to investigate one doctor. The documents named family members and other doctors in the practice. Subpoenas were sent to two hospitals, two small businesses, and three local emergency response entities where the doctor worked. A statement from the chair condemned the doctor for performing legal abortions.
The ACLU-led coalition letter reads, "Such a standardless approach to congressional investigation harms those engaged in reproductive health work today, but tomorrow it could be environmentalists, free speech advocates, academicians, scientists, or indeed any group that happens to draw the ire of the majority."
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the minority staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the parent committee of the select panel, have cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing in its handling of fetal tissue donation. Thirteen different state investigations came to the same conclusion, and eight additional states declined to investigate.
The following groups signed the letter:
Aids United
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Arab American Institute
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Communications Workers of America
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Environmental Working Group
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAAD)
Human Rights Campaign
Lambda Legal
NAACP
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Immigration Law Center
National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Women's Health Network
National Women's Law Center
Public Citizen
SEIU
Sierra Club
The Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists
Transgender Law Center
This statement is online here: https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-and-groups-speaker-ryan-disband-panel-investigate-planned-parenthood
The letter is here: https://www.aclu.org/letter/paul-ryan-disband-select-panel-letter
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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Following Platner Allegations, Progressives Warn Democratic Establishment: 'This Is Not Your Opening'
The campaign, said one organizer, "was never really about one candidate. It was about what Mainers ultimately wanted and deserved: a Senate seat that answers to them."
Jul 07, 2026
As calls mounted on Monday evening for US Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the race in Maine following sexual assault allegations, progressive organizers emphasized that primary voters in the state have made clear their demand for a candidate who prioritizes the needs of working people.
Should Platner be replaced as the Democratic nominee, said the political action organization Our Revolution, the new candidate must be one "who has actually lived the fight Graham Platner ran on: a record with working people, with unions, against corporate money."
"To the Democratic establishment: This is not your opening," said Joseph Geevarghese, the group's executive director. "Mainers did not vote by an overwhelming margin against Janet Mills and the [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]'s handpicked pick just to be handed another status-quo candidate anyway. They deserve what they voted for... The movement will settle for nothing less, because that is what Mainers deserve."
Platner has not said whether he will end his campaign, during which he has traveled across the state and energized voters from across the political spectrum with his working-class-focused platform—one that calls for Medicare for All, a billionaire's minimum tax, a stop to "billionaires buying elections" through a repeal of Citizens United, and an end to US military aid for Israel.
In a video he posted on social media Monday in response to the allegations, which came from a woman he dated from 2019-21, he denied that he had committed sexual assault but said he was "mindful of the political reality” and that his campaign is "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward" in order to defeat five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The Maine Senate race is crucial as Democrats aim to win back control of the US Senate.
An aide for Platner told The New York Times Monday evening that if he were to step aside, "it would only be with a guarantee of being replaced by a candidate who he believes is true to the values and vision and policy agenda of the campaign that Maine voted for."
Platner won the Democratic primary in June by nearly 53 points. His opponent, Gov. Janet Mills, was on the ballot despite having suspended her campaign in April, citing a lack of funds. Ahead of the primary, Platner had faced other controversies, including one regarding comments he made on Reddit several years ago; a skull-and-crossbones tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol—a connection he said he was not aware of; and allegations of physical aggression from a GOP-affiliated ex-girlfriend.
Geevarghese said Monday that "everyone deserves a fair and open process, and Graham Platner is entitled to due process like anyone else. But the allegations against him are credible, and at this point they are too serious to treat as a distraction from the campaign or the issues. Sexual violence is a red line. We are withdrawing our endorsement and calling on him to withdraw from this race."
He emphasized that the campaign "engaged thousands of working people in Maine around a simple idea: that Maine's Senate seat should belong to its people, not corporate money."
"That was never really about one candidate," Geevarghese said. "It was about what Mainers ultimately wanted and deserved: a Senate seat that answers to them."
The sentiment was echoed by the Maine Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which had not previously endorsed Platner.
"The power of the Platner campaign was undeniable, but that power does not come from a candidate; it comes from tens of thousands of Mainers who were inspired by his campaign's platform and urgency," said Maine DSA. "Over the last year, everyday people who had long ago written off electoral politics have shown up and worked to build power on a scale Maine has never seen before."
"Maine Democratic Party leadership has a choice: Nominate an establishment candidate who offers excuses, not answers, and ultimately loses to Susan Collins; or offer a candidate who harnesses the still-growing momentum, follows the platform that is so energizing to voters in Maine and across the country, and takes our state back for the many, not the money," said the group.
The state's Democratic candidate for governor, former state legislator Hannah Pingree, also said that Platner had "tapped into something real—voters hungry for change showed up with real passion and energy."
"That energy doesn't have to go away," said Pingree. "It needs a new candidate to carry it forward."
Under state law, Platner could be replaced on the ballot if he withdraws by July 13. The state Democratic Party would have until July 27 to name a replacement.
According to the Times, party officials in the state "have discussed possible plans to replace Mr. Platner on the ballot, with options including a pop-up convention on the weekend of July 25 to choose a nominee, or holding a statewide caucus to effectively redo the party’s primary election."
They have reportedly "ruled out having the state party’s committee, which includes about 100 members, choose the nominee."
Potential replacements who have been named include former Democratic gubernatorial candidates such as Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former state Senate President Troy Jackson, who campaigned with Platner and was also endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) when he ran for governor.
Jackson told Bangor Daily News reporter Benjamin Kail late Monday that potentially having to replace Platner on the ballot was "something I never considered, but if Graham's stepping away, I am very, very interested and think I'm the best person to replace him."
He said he "received dozens of calls and messages of support" after the news broke Monday.
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Big Oil Takeover 'Now Complete,' Watchdog Warns as Exxon Lawyer Joins Trump DOJ
“The Justice Department that should be fighting to protect clean air and water and avert catastrophic climate change will now work on behalf of polluters to advance the poisoning of people and the planet.”
Jul 07, 2026
The executive counsel at the fossil fuel behemoth ExxonMobil is leaving his role to join the Trump Justice Department's newly renamed Energy and Natural Resources Division, a move one watchdog organization said shows that "Big Oil’s capture of the US government is now complete."
Robert Levy, who worked at Exxon for 17 years, announced in a recent LinkedIn post that he is departing the company, whose profits surged amid the Trump administration's illegal war on Iran. Levy will reportedly serve as senior counsel at the DOJ's Energy and Natural Resources Division, which the Trump Justice Department renamed last month from the Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement Monday that "the new so-called Energy and Natural Resources Division at the Justice Department explicitly aims to abuse emergency powers to drive oil and gas production, override state environmental enforcement, and generally serve at the beck and call of Big Oil."
"Nothing could make that more clear than the naming of Robert Levy, ExxonMobil’s former executive counsel, a position that had him leading the company’s legal strategy on advocacy and civil justice, to run the division," said Weissman. "The Justice Department that should be fighting to protect clean air and water and avert catastrophic climate change will now work on behalf of polluters to advance the poisoning of people and the planet."
US President Donald Trump campaigned in 2024 on delivering massive, climate-destroying wins for the oil and gas industry, which spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support the president's White House bid and the campaigns of his Republican allies.
Fossil fuel giants have received a significant return on their investment. As Owen Bacskai of the Brennan Center for Justice noted, Trump's "signature legislative package—which one executive deemed 'positive for us across all of our top priorities'—gives oil and gas firms $18 billion in tax incentives while rolling back incentives for clean energy alternatives."
Trump has also "placed fossil fuel allies in charge of the agencies that oversee the industry and fast-tracked drilling projects on public lands," Bacskai wrote. "In just his first 100 days back in office, Trump took at least 145 actions to undo environmental rules—more than he reversed during his entire first term as president. Before Trump even reentered the White House, the industry was reportedly pre-drafting executive orders for him to issue."
Perhaps the biggest gift to Big Oil was the Environmental Protection Agency's decision earlier this year to repeal the "endangerment finding" underpinning climate regulations.
Critics expect more of the same industry-friendly actions from the Trump DOJ's Energy and Natural Resources Division, which last week touted its role in defending "Trump’s executive orders on unleashing American energy, reinvigorating the clean coal industry, and declaring an energy emergency."
“The Justice Department that should be fighting to protect clean air and water and avert catastrophic climate change will now work on behalf of polluters to advance the poisoning of people and the planet," said Weissman of Public Citizen.
Last year, Public Citizen and the Revolving Door Project released an analysis showing that the Trump administration has installed dozens of former fossil fuel industry employees, executives, and lawyers across the federal government, positioning Big Oil allies to advance "the massive expansion of polluting energy, the destruction of public lands, and the sabotage and suppression of renewable energy."
“This is nothing short of a Texas oil industry takeover of the US government at the expense of consumers, the climate, public health, and public lands and waters,” Alan Zibel, a research director at Public Citizen, said at the time of the report's release. "To execute his extreme, reckless, backward-looking fossil fuel agenda, Trump has stocked his administration with fossil fuel staffers and ideologues."
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Platner Says Campaign Determining 'Best Path Forward' After Sexual Assault Allegations
A Maine woman accused the Democratic US Senate candidate of drunkenly assaulting her at her home in 2021, which he denied.
Jul 06, 2026
US Senate candidate Graham Platner on Monday denied allegations of sexual assault, but the Maine Democrat also said his campaign is considering the "best path forward" in the wake of Politico's reporting.
Jenny Racicot told The New York Times in an article published last month that Platner's behavior was "reckless" and "unsettling" during their on-and-off relationship in 2019-21, and she cut off contact after he arrived at her Maine home drunk, despite her telling him not to come over. Politico reported Monday that the 41-year-old had told the newspaper off the record that he assaulted her.
Racicot told Politico that Platner came into her home uninvited that night and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said that she was conflicted about publicly accusing him in part because she agrees with the candidate politically, but decided to speak out after much of the reaction to the Times focused on another ex with ties to the Republican Party. The outlet reviewed documents, including emails with her therapist, and spoke with sources Racicot had previously told about her experience.
In a two-minute video shared on social media Monday, Platner called Racicot's allegations "troubling, serious, and false," and said that "any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false." He also said that, "mindful of the political reality" that the reporting will inflict, "we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward."
Platner decisively won his primary last month, after his opponent, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign in late April. The oyster farmer and combat veteran is a political newcomer who has championed progressive policies and called out the ultrarich, as well as the politicians who serve them—including longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, whom he's running to unseat in November.
While Platner has traveled Maine, speaking and rallying with working-class voters, he's also faced a series of controversies, including concerns over his offensive posts on Reddit, and the skull and crossbones tattoo he got with fellow Marines in Croatia, which he claimed he did not know closely resembled a Nazi symbol and got covered up during the campaign.
There was also the allegation from the GOP-affiliated ex interviewed by the Times, Lyndsey Fifield, that Platner was physically aggressive during their relationship, which he denied, and reporting that Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, told a senior campaign staffer that he had exchanged sexual messages with other women during their marriage, which Gertner responded to with a video.
In a statement to Politico on Monday, Platner's campaign pointed to previous controversies, saying:
These allegations are very serious and Graham vigorously denies them. They are also coached and coordinated by out-of-state establishment operatives. For a year, opponents of this campaign have thrown everything they can at Graham—calling him a Nazi, a war criminal, and a communist. None of it has been true, and this is no different. It is not a coincidence that this story comes a week before the ballot deadline, just as the previous false allegations came a week before the primary. Graham began this campaign to fight for a Maine where everyone is treated with dignity and where Mainers are put first, and no amount of desperate smears will stop this movement from seeing that vision through.
Following Politico's reporting, Platner has lost some key support. At least two members of Congress who backed him—Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.)—withdrew their endorsements, and the Maine Democratic Party's chair, vice chair, and executive director issued a joint statement urging him to withdraw as the party nominee.
The US National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), by texting "START" to 88788, or through chat at thehotline.org. It offers 24/7, free, and confidential support. DomesticShelters.org has a list of global and national resources.
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