The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) is an advocacy group that seeks to advance ethics by limiting government. NLPC engages in research, investigation, education, and legal action to expose and hold government, politicians, and corporations accountable for shortcomings in character, morality, and common sense. 1
The National Legal and Policy Center is a former associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. 2
Activities
The National Legal and Policy Center’s Corporate Integrity Project has criticized the CEOs and directors of companies like Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Verizon for supporting and praising the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. NLPC claims that companies like these endorsed BLM’s anti-law enforcement statements and actions, contributing to the destruction and violence that occurred surrounding the 2020 protests following the police-custody death of George Floyd. NLPC further claims that criminal behavior was aided by corporate endorsements of the BLM movement on social media. 3
The National Legal and Policy Center has claimed that Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, was not alone in receiving money from foreign interests, but was instead part of a network of institutions and other individuals. In 2022, NLPC called on the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware to investigate whether the Truman National Security Project and the Penn Biden Center at the University of Pennsylvania had engaged in activities supporting the interests of Chinese entities and Burisma Holdings in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. 4
The National Legal and Policy Center claims that while the media hyped President Joe Biden’s executive orders as the strongest and strictest ethics rules for incoming executive branch appointees, his administration has violated it. The executive order states that a lobbyist must wait two years before taking a government position that involves the issue for which they lobbied. NLPC claims that George Salem’s appointment to chair the USAID Partnership for Peace Fund was only three months removed from his position as a Washington lobbyist and foreign agent for the Palestinian Authority. 5
Funding
The National Legal and Policy Center is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While NLPC does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Sarah Scaife Foundation ($175,000 in 2020), 6 the Carthage Foundation ($125,000 in 2014), 7 and the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation ($50,000 in 2020). 8
People
Tom Anderson is the director of the Government Integrity Project at NLPC. 9
Paul Chesser is the director of the Corporate Integrity Project at NLPC. Chesser formerly worked as director of communications and research at the American Tradition Institute, special correspondent at the Heartland Institute, associate editor of the John Locke Foundation’s Carolina Journal, and director of Climate Strategies Watch. Chesser is a former senior fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation. 10
Carl Horowitz is the director of the Organized Labor Accountability Project at NLPC. 11 Horowitz is a former housing and urban affairs policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation. 12
Board of Directors
Peter Flaherty is the chair, CEO, and co-founder of the National Legal and Policy Center. 13
Richard F. LaMountain is a former vice president of Oregonians for Immigration Reform. 14
Other members of the board include vice-chair Kurt Christensen and David Wilkinson. 15
References
- “Our Story.” National Legal and Policy Center. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/our-story/.
- “The Network.” State Policy Network, 2016. Archived from the original February 23, 2017. July 25, 2022. http://web.archive.org/web/20170223133711/https://spn.org/directory/.
- “UPDATE: Police Widow Blames BLM-Supporting ‘Woke’ Companies for Husband’s Murder.” National Legal and Policy Center, July 20, 2022. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/corporate-integrity-project/police-widow-blames-blm-supporting-woke-companies-for-husbands-death/.
- Flaherty, Peter. “Foreign Agent Probe of Hunter Biden Should Include UPenn and Nonprofit Group.” National Legal and Policy Center, April 1, 2022. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/government-integrity-project/foreign-agent-probe-of-hunter-biden-should-include-upenn-and-nonprofit-group/.
- Anderson, Tom. “After Media Hype, Biden Disregards His Own Ethics Rules.” National Legal and Policy Center, February 12, 2022. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/current-projects/after-media-hype-biden-disregards-his-own-ethics-rules/.
- Sarah Scaife Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2020, Part XV, Line 3.
- Carthage Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2014, Part XV, Line 3.
- Ed Uihlein Family Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2020, Part XV, Line 3.
- “Tom Anderson.” National Legal and Policy Center. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/tom-anderson/.
- “Paul Chesser.” National Legal and Policy Center. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/paul-chesser/.
- “Our Story.” National Legal and Policy Center. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/our-story/.
- “Carl F. Horowitz.” Center for Immigration Studies. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://cis.org/Carl-F-Horowitz.
- “Peter Flaherty.” National Legal and Policy Center. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/peter-flaherty/.
- LaMountain, Richard F. “Voters May Get Chance to End Dems’ Abuse of ‘Emergency Clause.’” Oregon Catalyst, August 2, 2015. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://oregoncatalyst.com/31501-voters-chance-dems-abuse-emergency-clause.html.
- “Our Story.” National Legal and Policy Center. Accessed July 25, 2022. https://www.nlpc.org/our-story/.