Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

Dear Friends,

Every lawsuit my team has filed against the Trump Administration has been important. They each say something about who we are as a people: that we will stand up for the Constitution, basic decency, and fundamental American values. This month, my office challenged the Administration’s policy of forced family separation on the U.S. southern border — a rogue, cruel and unconstitutional policy that must be stopped.

Earlier in June, we filed suit against major tech companies for breaking our state campaign finance laws. Whether I’m bringing a case against multinational companies violating our state laws or unlawful, unconstitutional policies at the border, my goal is always to defend the state and protect Washingtonians.

In this issue:

Thank you for following the work of the Attorney General’s Office.

Sincerely,

Bob Ferguson
Washington State Attorney General


Challenging President Trump’s family separation policy  

The Trump Administration’s policy of forced family separation on the U.S. southern border is not just unconstitutional. It’s inhumane and cruel. My office led a coalition of 18 states in challenging the policy, arguing that splitting up families at the border violates the Constitution and federal asylum laws.

I’ve asked the judge to accelerate our case. We collected nearly one hundred declarations describing the harmful effects of separating children from their parents. This included declarations from parents themselves and interviews with some of the detained children. Their stories are gut-wrenching. These families deserve justice as quickly as possible.

The Trump Administration’s policy continues to harm thousands of parents and their children. It violates fundamental American values. I will keep fighting to end it.

 

The Seattle Times
AG Ferguson: Washington, other states to sue Trump over separating immigrant families at border

The Spokesman-Review
Washington among states to use over ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy

KUOW
Washington sues ‘rouge and chaotic’ administration over family separations

KING 5
Washington AG to file suit over family separations


Holding Facebook and Google accountable

Washington state law requires commercial advertisers to be transparent about who is buying political advertising. This applies to all advertisers, from small-town papers and TV stations to large corporations.

In early June, my office filed suit against Facebook and Google for not providing legally required information about Washington state political advertising. According to documents filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission, in the last decade, Washington candidates and political committees reported about $3.4 million in payments to Facebook and $1.5 million to Google related to advertising. Under Washington law, the companies must disclose where that money is coming from. The information advertisers are legally required to collect includes:

  • The name of the candidate or measure supported or opposed;
  • The dates the advertiser provided the service;
  • The name and address of the person who sponsored the advertising; and
  • The total cost of the advertising, who paid for it (which may be different than the sponsor) and what method of payment they used.

However, Facebook and Google were not providing this information. For example, Eli Sanders, the associate editor of The Stranger, hand-delivered a letter to both companies’ Seattle offices requesting information on 2017 municipal election political advertising, but neither company provided him any of the legally required information.

Washingtonians deserve to know who is paying for political advertisements that come up on their news feeds.

 

The Seattle Times
Attorney General Bob Ferguson sues Facebook and Google over political ad records  

The Stranger
Facebook and Google sued by Washington for failing to disclose political ads

Geekwire
Google and Facebook sued by Washington State AG for alleged violations of campaign finance law

 
 
 

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