John Bonifaz joins John Iadarola on The Damage Report Posted on January 10, 2019 (January 10, 2019) Free Speech For People President, John Bonifaz, joined John Iadarola of The Damage Report to discuss the recent op-ed, authored by John Bonifaz and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, in the Detroit Free Press, ‘Now is the Time to Begin Impeachment Proceedings Against President Trump‘, and to discuss why we do not need to wait for theRead More
Supreme Court Rejects Exxon’s Frivolous Appeal Posted on January 7, 2019 Today the Supreme Court dealt a harsh blow to Exxon’s latest attempts to derail investigations into whether the company committed fraud by misleading consumers and investors about climate change. While the decision is unsurprising given the legal infirmity of Exxon’s claims – challenging the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Attorney General – it is a welcomeRead More
Bipartisan Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United Introduced Posted on January 4, 2019 (January 4, 2019) Free Speech For People is proud to join Public Citizen, Common Cause, People for the American Way, and American Promise, in support of the re-introduction of the Democracy for All Amendment, to get big money out of politics and overturn the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. Free Speech For People was foundedRead More
A Turning Point for Impeachment Posted on January 3, 2019 (January 7, 2019) Free Speech For People President, John Bonifaz, joins Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in an op-ed for the Detroit Free Press detailing the case for impeachment proceedings against the President. Read More
Ben Clements Joins Frances Rivera on Weekends with Alex Witt Posted on January 2, 2019 On December 29, 2018, Free Speech For People Board Chair, Ben Clements, joined MSNBC’s Frances Rivera on Weekends with Alex Witt to discuss the latest on the investigation of the President by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the investigation of Trump’s business interests, including the Trump Organization. Free Speech For People recently renewed our callRead More
New study shows how small-donor matching funds can help reduce influence of big money Posted on December 20, 2018 Today, the Campaign Finance Institute released a new study analyzing the potential impact if New York state reforms its campaign finance legislation to include tighter contribution limits, a ban on limited-liability companies (LLCs) from making contributions, and a small donor matching fund program modeled on the one in New York City. The Institute concludes thatRead More
Impeachment Media Round-Up Posted on December 18, 2018 (January 24, 2019) Impeachment has been in the news lately with the recent sentencing of Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and as the Mueller investigation continues. But we’ve known of Trump’s impeachable offenses since he took the oath of office. Check out our round-up of the latest news on impeachment proceedings against the President: WBUR: It’s TimeRead More
Our Comment on the Federal Election Commission’s Draft Opinion Rejecting a Special Cryptocurrency Loophole Posted on December 11, 2018 (December 11, 2018) Today, we submitted a comment on the Federal Election Commission’s draft opinion rejecting a proposal by a company called OsiaNetwork LLC that would allow unlimited campaign contributions in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency on the theory that automated cryptocurrency mining is a form of “volunteering.” We believe the draft opinion is correct in its rejection of the “volunteering” exception, butRead More
McConnell v. FEC, 15 Years Later Posted on December 10, 2018 Democracy Amendments Today is the fifteenth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, a case that points to a future that could have been. The case The case was born out of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as McCain-Feingold after its two Senate sponsors, John McCain (R-Ariz.)Read More
Harvard Law and Policy Review: Exposing Exxon’s Ham-Fisted Attempts to Wield a Weaponized First Amendment Posted on December 6, 2018 In an article for Harvard Law and Policy Review, Free Speech For People Senior Counsel, Shanna Cleveland, details Exxon’s misuse of the First Amendment, and fabricated claim of corporate constitutional rights, to evade accountability for potentially misleading statements made by the corporation regarding the impact of fossil fuels on climate change. Exxon’s claims of freeRead More