The Hill: Trump’s ‘treason’ talk is unprecedented, un-American Posted on February 14, 2018 Democracy Amendments As a piece in The Hill today noted, President Trump recently suggested congressional Democrats were guilty of “treason” for failing to applaud his State of the Union speech. As he put it, “Can we call that treason? Why not?” Here’s why not: The Constitution specifically defines treason, and failing to applaud the president isn’t treason—not by a longRead More
Watch now: Interview by the Young Turks with Senior Counsel Shanna Cleveland on Our Recent Victory to Divest Trump SoHo Posted on February 12, 2018 (November 29, 2018) Free Speech For People Senior Counsel Shanna Cleveland recently talked with the Young Turks for a two-part interview about our campaign to divest public pension funds from Trump-owned businesses and the emergence of support for Russia in modern-day white supremacy. Part 1: Part 2: Read More
Massachusetts Legislature to Consider an Act to Stop Corporations from Claiming Religious Exemptions from Anti-Discrimination Laws Posted on February 8, 2018 (February 8, 2018) In an effort to protect civil rights, the Massachusetts legislature will consider an act to stop corporations from claiming religious exemptions from anti-discrimination laws, sponsored by Representative Michael Day of Stoneham. Late Wednesday evening, the Massachusetts legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary favorably reported H.767 (officially called “An Act to strengthen civil rights,” and unofficially theRead More
Free Speech For People Calls for Urgent Release of Pentagon Information on Trump’s Military Parade Posted on February 7, 2018 (October 3, 2018) Today, Free Speech For People submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Defense, calling for the urgent release of communications, documents, and other records regarding President Trump’s proposed military parade through Washington, D.C. As reported in the Washington Post on February 6, while President Trump has long expressed a desire for aRead More
Trump Officials Are Exploring Mass Arrests of US Mayors Posted on January 30, 2018 Impeachment Trump administration officials are openly floating the idea of mass arrests of mayors of sanctuary cities. Two different high-ranking officials discussed this on national television in January alone. On January 16, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen told the Senate Judiciary Committee that, at her department’s request, federal prosecutors are “reviewing what avenues might be available” to arrestRead More
Free Speech For People Joins Watchdog Groups’ Letter to House Speaker Ryan About Rep. Nunes Posted on January 29, 2018 Free Speech For People joined Democracy 21 and fourteen other watchdog groups and individuals in a letter to House Speaker Ryan today, challenging the continued involvement of Rep. Devin Nunes in the House’s Russia investigations. The letter called on Speaker Ryan “to act promptly to remove Chairman Nunes from any further participation in any aspect of the RussiaRead More
What the Ninth Circuit’s Prostitution Decision Can Teach Us About Money in Politics Posted on January 29, 2018 (October 3, 2018) Democracy Amendments A federal court of appeals just rejected a case challenging prostitution laws as unconstitutional. A Newsweek piece published this Saturday—as it happens, the anniversary of oral argument in the case that created super PACs—explained how this decision, perhaps unexpectedly, shows what’s wrong with the way the Supreme Court thinks about money in politics. The analysis draws on scholarship byRead More
SpeechNow v. FEC – The Case that Created Super PACs, and Our Challenge Posted on January 27, 2018 (January 24, 2018) January 27 marks the eighth anniversary of oral argument in the case that created super PACs. Contrary to popular belief, super PACs were not created by the Supreme Court in Citizens United, but rather by a subsequent lower court decision called SpeechNow v. FEC, argued on January 27, 2010 (just six days after the Citizens United decision). As weRead More
How Big Donors Drove Tax Reform Posted on January 24, 2018 (January 25, 2018) There was big news this week on the money in politics front. Recent Federal Election Commission filings show that less than two weeks after the House passed the tax bill, Charles and Elizabeth Koch each donated $247,700 to Paul Ryan’s super PAC, Team Ryan. The same day, they lavished another $406,800 on the National Republican Congressional Committee. Major donors MarleneRead More
Celebrating the life of Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock Posted on January 24, 2018 (November 29, 2018) Today is the birthday of Doris Haddock, otherwise known as Granny D, who, at the age of 89, walked across the country to press for an overhaul of our nation’s campaign finance system. When she set out from California, she did not have any grand plan as to how she would do this. She justRead More