In response to a decision today by the state's lobbying regulator to decline to exempt the New York Civil Liberties Union and three other controversial organizations from disclosing its donors, the NYCLU released the following statement. It is attributable to Executive Director Donna Lieberman:

“We’re deeply disappointed in the Joint Commission on Public Ethics' decision. The Supreme Court has long recognized that donors who support organizations that engage in advocacy on controversial issues may become targets of retaliation, and worse, and therefore the Court has held that the government may not compel the publication of personal information regarding those individuals.

“Further, this decision by a so-called ethics commission flies in the face of basic ethics. JCOPE meets in private, it is selectively secret, and its constantly changing standards are clear to absolutely nobody. We will fight this decision and consider every option available to us, including litigation.”