November 27th: Time To Transition – A Call To Defend Democracy Posted on November 20, 2020 Challenging Corruption One of the hallmarks of our presidential elections is the peaceful transition of power from one president to the next. Even when a sitting president has lost his bid for a second term, he has graciously conceded and prepared for the newly-elected president to take office. President Trump, however, has not only refused to concedeRead More
Progressive Organizations Launch Emergency Coalition to Block Trump’s Supreme Court Nomination Posted on October 5, 2020 (October 8, 2020) Challenging Corruption Following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Be A Hero Fund, Demand Progress, Equal Justice Society, Free Speech For People, and Women’s March have formed a coalition to block action on Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 5, 2020) – A group of progressive organizations has announcedRead More
A Statement on Trump’s Illegitimate Supreme Court Nomination from FSFP Board Chair Ben Clements. Posted on September 22, 2020 (October 8, 2020) Challenging Corruption On Friday, with the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we lost an American hero, one who overcame deeply entrenched gender discrimination in our society and our legal system to become one of the most important and influential civil rights lawyers, judges, and Supreme Court justices in our nation’s history. Her life’s workRead More
Coalition Of National Organizations Declares Any Trump Nomination To Supreme Court Illegitimate Following Death Of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Posted on September 18, 2020 (October 8, 2020) Challenging Corruption September 18, 2020 — Following the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Free Speech For People and a coalition of national organizations released tonight this joint statement: “Any Trump nomination to the Supreme Court this year would be illegitimate and must be rejected.” See the list of all signatories to this statement here.Read More
New report: President Trump’s Commutation of Roger Stone’s Criminal Sentence Violated the Faithful Execution Clauses of the U.S. Constitution Posted on August 5, 2020 Challenging Corruption The President’s constitutional power to pardon (or to commute) is broad, but it is not absolute. Rather, it is limited by the text of the Constitution, including, for example, the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment, and, most relevant here, Article II’s Faithful Execution Clauses, which established legal constraints on the Executive similar toRead More
New Revelations from Manhattan DA Show Why New York Attorney General Should Revoke Trump Organization’s Corporate Charter Posted on August 3, 2020 Challenging Corruption New revelations from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance demonstrate why it is more important than ever for New York State Attorney General Letitia James to begin proceedings to dissolve the Trump Organization. Background In 2019, the New York County District Attorney’s Office—acting on behalf of a grand jury—served a subpoena duces tecum on Mazars USA,Read More
FSFP Board Chair Ben Clements Authors New Oped on How the House Could Stop Trump’s Unconstitutional Use of Federal Paramilitary Officials In U.S Cities. Posted on July 29, 2020 Challenging Corruption FSFP Board Chair Ben Clements recently authored an Oped about how The House of Representatives could stop Trump’s unconstitutional use of federal paramilitary officials in U.S cities. “Trump’s use of these federal agencies to turn our country into a police state is not only unconstitutional. It is straight out of the playbook of the fascistRead More
“Trump has abused the pardon power in violation of the Constitution.”: FSFP Board Chair Ben Clements On Trump’s Unconstitutional Commutation Of Roger Stone’s Prison Sentence. Posted on July 23, 2020 (July 23, 2020) Challenging Corruption FSFP Board Chair Ben Clements recently authored an Oped on Trump’s unconstitutional commutation of Roger Stone’s prison sentence. The new piece comes after Free Speech For People filed a motion before the federal district court in U.S. v. Stone on behalf of constitutional law Professors Jed Shugerman and Ethan Leib seeking permission to submit anRead More
FSFP Board Chair Ben Clements Joins The BradCast To Discuss Trump’s Unconstitutional Commutation of Roger Stone’s Prison Sentence. Posted on July 20, 2020 (July 20, 2020) Challenging Corruption FSFP Board Chair and Senior Legal Advisor Ben Clements recently appeared on The BradCast to discuss Trump’s unconstitutional commutation of Roger Stone’s prison sentence and the implications of this latest abuse of the presidential pardon power. “The notion that the presidential pardon power or any other presidential power is absolute is just flat out wrongRead More
Free Speech For People Seeks to File Amicus Brief in U.S. v. Stone on Behalf of Constitutional Law Professors Posted on July 15, 2020 (July 15, 2020) Challenging Corruption Free Speech For People just filed an urgent motion before the federal district court in U.S. v. Stone on behalf of constitutional law Professors Jed Shugerman and Ethan Leib seeking permission to submit an amicus brief arguing that the court should not automatically accept the executive grant of clemency but rather should consider whether itRead More