it appeared POGO paid the two employees to influence the Department of the Interior to take actions and make policies that benefited POGO. While calling the payments a "mistake" on POGO's part, U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman disputed the agency's report, saying that it did not provide any evidence that the payments were improper. In 2000, U.S. Representative Don Young threatened bringing a Contempt of Congress charge against POGO, after the organization refused to comply with a House of Representatives subpoena for documents relating to the payments. Young later withdrew the charge, lacking the votes for passage. The report, hearings, and contempt threat were described by Martin Lobel, an attorney involved in the case, as being driven by "oil company congressional lapdogs" bent on hounding oil industry enemies and derailing regulatory reform. In 2003, the Department of Justice filed a civil action against POGO and one of the federal employees, and a U.S. district judge ruled in favor of the agency. POGO appealed the case and went to trial in 2008, where a jury found POGO and the federal employee had violated the law. The judge ordered POGO to pay only $120,000 because he said the organization had acted "in good faith" when they made the payments. However, in 2010, the appeals court found the district judge had made a mistake in his directions to the jury. POGO and the agency went to trial again in 2012, but a mistrial was declared after jurors couldn't come to a unanimous verdict. A month later, in 2013, the Department of Justice said it would not litigate on the matter for a third time. Publications POGO's reports can be found online here. In 2002, POGO, Government Accountability Project, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, co-published the book The Art of Anonymous Activism: Serving the Public while Surviving Public Service. It is described as a "how-to guide" for government employees who wish to expose corruption or misconduct in their organization without endangering their careers. In 2009, POGO published The Art of Congressional Oversight: A User's Guide to Doing It Right, which is a guide geared towards congressional staffers. POGO published a second edition in 2015. Awards & External Reviews In 2009, POGO received the Society of Professional Journalists' Sunshine Award for its work uncovering wasteful spending in the Air Force, investigating the Minerals Management Service at the Department of the Interior, and compiling the Federal