Leading Constitutional Lawyers Back Bill to Close Loophole Allowing Foreign Contributions to NYC Political Campaigns Posted on October 9, 2018 In a press release issued today by New York Public Advocate Letitia James, it was announced that Federal Election Commission Vice-Chair, Ellen Weintraub, and Harvard Law Professors, Charles Fried and Laurence Tribe, have submitted letters to the New York City Council in support of legislation introduced by PA James on August 8, 2018, to endRead More
Indigenous Peoples Day 2018 and the Blackout in Puerto Rico Posted on October 8, 2018 Free Speech For People observes the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day. In honor of this day, we are re-posting our July 2018 report, prepared with United for a Fair Economy, on Blackout in Puerto Rico: How 120 years of corporate dominance and political inequality stifles self-determination today. The report discusses the history ofRead More
Free Speech For People Calls for an Impeachment Investigation Against Justice Brett Kavanaugh Posted on October 6, 2018 ImpeachBrett.org, a non-partisan campaign led by Free Speech For People, launched a petition today, following the vote in the U.S. Senate to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling on the House Judiciary Committee to begin immediate hearings on whether to impeach Judge Brett Kavanaugh on multiple counts of sexual assault, perjury, andRead More
Newsweek: Impeach Brett Kavanaugh Petition Starts Immediately After He’s Officially Voted onto Supreme Court Posted on October 6, 2018 Free Speech For People launched a campaign to impeach Justice Brett Kavanaugh on September 9, 2018, following evidence emerging of Kavanaugh committing perjury before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. We have since expanded the grounds for impeachment to include credible allegations of sexual assault and bringing the judiciary into disrepute. Newsweek covered our campaign today,Read More
FSFP to Federal Election Commission: Don’t Allow Unlimited Bitcoin Contributions Posted on October 5, 2018 Today, Free Speech For People asked the Federal Election Commission to reject a request for an advisory opinion from a company called OsiaNetwork LLC that would allow unlimited campaign contributions in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. OsiaNetwork is proposing that donors could lend unlimited amounts of computer processing power to the company for “mining” cryptocurrency, which could thenRead More
Letitia James, John Bonifaz, and Shanna Cleveland in the Gotham Gazette: Closing the Door on Foreign Money in New York City Elections Posted on October 4, 2018 (October 4, 2018) In an opinion piece for the Gotham Gazette, Free Speech For People President John Bonifaz and Senior Counsel Shanna Cleveland join New York City Public Advocate Letitia James in calling for New York City to close the loophole that allows foreign entities to leverage ownership stakes in corporations to spend money in city elections. FreeRead More
Summer 2019 legal internships at Free Speech For People Posted on October 2, 2018 (January 14, 2019) Come join the campaign to reclaim democracy for the people! Free Speech For People, a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization, was founded in 2010 after the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision. We’re working to renew our democracy and reclaim our Constitution for We the People, not big money and corporate interests, and to challenge PresidentRead More
The Nation: Brett Kavanaugh Should Be Impeached Posted on September 28, 2018 In an article in The Nation, John Nichols cited our campaign calling on Congress to launch impeachment proceedings against Judge Brett Kavanaugh for committing perjury. Nichols discusses the background of the call for impeachment proceedings. He details how, during his confirmation hearings in 2004 and 2006, Kavanaugh was questioned regarding an incident in which privateRead More
Key Win in the Fight Against Corporate Corruption in Politics Posted on September 20, 2018 (September 20, 2018) The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently upheld one of the Commonwealth’s most critical tools in protecting the integrity of its elections: a century-old ban on corporate contributions to state and local candidates. In reaching its decision in 1A Auto v. Sullivan, the court noted that its ruling would be consistent with Supreme Court precedent, every FederalRead More
Ron Fein Joins Congressman Al Green for ‘Impeachment: A Necessary Remedy for Bigotry in Policy” Posted on September 17, 2018 Free Speech For People Legal Director Ron Fein joined Congressman Al Green and Distinguished Professor of History at American University, Allan Lichtman, on September 13, 2018, at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference for the special forum, “Impeachment: A Necessary Remedy for Bigotry in Policy”. The panelists discussed the threat posed to our democracyRead More