in December 2016 and set about distancing the organization from Brock. Eisen stepped down from the board in February 2019. In January 2018, CREW issued a 36-page report on Trump's presidency, calling it the "most unethical presidency" in U.S. history. In February 2018, Environment & Energy Publishing wrote that Painter was "at the center of more than 180 legal challenges to Trump and his administration as vice chairman of the left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington." During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the group received $432,000 in federally backed small business loans from Newtek Small Business as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. Mission statements The organization's website says it is "dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests." The CREW mission statement has changed several times between 2005 and 2008 to de-emphasize its focus on personal litigation, dropping language that once read that CREW "differs from other good government groups in that it sues offending politicians directly" and that it "is a non-partisan legal watchdog group working to force our government officials to behave responsibly and ethically. CREW's mission is to use the legal system to expose government officials who betray the public interest by serving special interests. CREW aims to counterbalance the conservative legal watchdog groups that made such a strong impact over the past decade". It added that CREW "advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach." In 2015, the organization's mission stated, "CREW uses high-impact legal actions to target government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests [...] we work to ensure government officials—regardless of party affiliation—act with honesty and integrity and merit the public trust." As of 2018, the organization's mission states, "Dedicated to fighting the influence of money on our political system. CREW uses aggressive legal action, in-depth research, and bold communications to reduce the influence of money in politics and help foster a government that is ethical and accountable. We highlight abuses, change behavior, and lay the groundwork for new policies and approaches that encourage public officials to work for the benefit of the people, not powerful interests." Activities According to the organization, its activities include litigation, FOIA requests, congressional ethics complaints, Internal Revenue Service complaints, Federal Election Commission complaints, and requests for investigation with government agencies. CREW's Most Corrupt list