Project On Government Oversight

10/17/2026

Our democracy runs on accountability, and accountability happens because people like you demand it.

But three stories in the news this past week show that the people with the most power are testing how far they can go without answering to anyone.

1. An FBI whistleblower says the White House pushed the agency to investigate people protesting ICE in Los Angeles. After she raised alarm that this violated the First Amendment, she says she was demoted in retaliation and resigned as a result: https://nbcnews.to/4yj9HN3

2. CEOs of Flock Safety & other surveillance companies skipped a Senate hearing on how their cameras are being abused. Then, Congress failed to close the loophole allowing the gov't to buy your data without a warrant.

Now both chambers are on recess until after the election.

3. And finally, the president is trying to dodge consequences of his own lawsuit against the IRS.

POGO and our partners went to court to hold him responsible for the time and resources he wasted.

The public deserves to be paid back in full. We’re not backing down.

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So, what can YOU do?

Let’s turn outrage into action.

Press members of Congress to demand answers: https://bit.ly/47XJnxc

Power our work: https://bit.ly/47XJnxc

Your support lets us keep investigating, testifying, and going to court.

There is no democracy without accountability. When those in power answer to no one, we all lose. When they answer to us, we’re all stronger.

10/16/2026

A surveillance reckoning has arrived.

That's why we've called on Congress to protect privacy and dismantle the surveillance state.

As people across the country rise up against cameras tracking their every move, Congress must act to protect privacy and dismantle the surveillance state.

10/16/2026

You've likely heard a lot about the $1.5 trillion defense budget-- but what does all that spending actually mean?

Our defense expert, Virginia Burger, has the answers for you:

Breaking down what a $1.5 trillion defense budget means, from process failure to contractor enrichment.

10/14/2026

The CFTC's eyebrow-raising action here is why Congress needs to step in and stop all federal employees from using prediction markets.

Even the appearance of insider trading damages public trust.

Congress must take action.

Bloomberg: an adviser to CFTC chair Michael Selig had staff withdraw a referral on $500M-$760M in oil futures placed 15 minutes before Trump's March 23 Iran post.

10/13/2026

“In a recent conversation with DefenseScoop via email, Virginia Burger, who served for nine years as an active-duty Marine Corps officer, raised concerns about the recent data inconsistencies in the Pentagon’s accounting for military casualties.

'Little else degrades the American people’s trust in the military more than the impression that the Pentagon is failing to adequately convey the true casualties of war,' said Burger, who is now a senior defense policy analyst at the Project on Government Oversight.

In her view, adequate systems already exist to handle this issue, and changing them 'does nothing to increase transparency.'

'They just need to use them in the appropriate manner, as every administration before them has managed to do,' Burger said."

DCAS currently includes information about personnel who have been classified as deceased, wounded, ill, or injured during their service.

10/13/2026

Our nation was founded on a promise of accountability.

Now, we must ask ourselves whether we’re keeping this promise.

From July: America's First Big Idea Was Accountability

We must uphold the promise made in our founding documents.

10/11/2026

Do you have questions about medical care in ICE custody?

Want to better understand who is responsible when people don't get the care they need?

POGO Investigates answers those questions and more in their latest:

When people in ICE custody have medical needs, who provides that care? What care is required? And who is responsible if those requirements aren’t met?

10/09/2026

Seventeen years ago, 13 people were killed and more than 30 wounded at Fort Hood. Our hearts remain with the families and survivors.

The man responsible was tried, convicted, and sentenced through the military justice system, and that process deserves respect. But the plan to livestream his ex*****on runs counter to our Constitution and our values.

It’s been nearly a century since the U.S. held a public ex*****on. There are strong arguments that it is unconstitutionally cruel, exposes society and minors to harm, and risks provoking further violence and endanger troops.

No provision in military code allows it.

Congress must step in now to make sure this, and future military ex*****ons are not livestreamed.

Read the full statement from POGO’s David Janovsky:

The federal government’s decision to livestream the ex*****on runs counter to the Constitution and our country’s values.

10/09/2026

“The revolving door has always been there, but it seems to only get worse over time. Under this administration, that doesn’t seem to prioritize things like ethics and conflicts of interest; it’s even worse than it has been previously.” -POGO's Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette

IT leaders at the agency have flirted with the boundaries of ethical and legal limits with various ties to federal contractors, government experts say.

10/08/2026

"Congress needs to defend the privacy rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution. That means going beyond Flock and passing laws that keep up with technology. It means ending warrantless surveillance in all its forms.

We are in a critical moment where public outrage over Flock and unrestrained AI are high, but more is required of us to dismantle this system of mass surveillance.

Government being able to crush our privacy rights and peer into our personal lives—for any reason, at any time, using increasingly powerful AI to know us better than we know ourselves, would all but obliterate our civil liberties.

Congress must step up and pass legislation that stops dragnet surveillance in all of its forms, not just Flock cameras."

Chances are, you’ve seen one in your neighborhood. Flock cameras have become a major flashpoint for voters in the leadup to the midterms. The concept sounds straight out of 1984 — a network of government-owned cameras that track your movements — it’s no wonder that Americans across party lin...