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TELL CONGRESS: IMPEACH TRUMP. AGAIN.

Trump’s return to the White House poses an unprecedented risk for our democracy. During his campaign and in the months between his election and inauguration, Trump has threatened to engage in unlawful, unconstitutional conduct. He has once more positioned himself to abuse the office for personal profit and power in violation of clear constitutional commands and at the expense of our democratic institutions, constitutional precedent, and the safety of our country’s most vulnerable.

Free Speech For People is calling on Congress to launch an immediate impeachment investigation to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to impeach Donald Trump for offenses that have already occurred and that will continue in the days to come. Congress must also be prepared to expand its investigation if Trump undertakes any of the other impeachable actions that he has threatened to carry out.

Trump is not a monarch. He is beholden to the Constitution, as is Congress. And as the Founders understood, if we are to preserve our democracy for the people, then Congress has a duty to investigate and, if necessary, remove a corrupt executive.

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IMPEACH JUSTICE ALITO AND JUSTICE THOMAS

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has introduced articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito for “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” in violation of Article II of the U.S. Constitution, making them unfit to continue serving on the Supreme Court.

Investigative reporting has exposed that Justice Thomas and Justice Alito have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from billionaires. Thomas has also refused to recuse himself from matters before the Court in which his wife had an interest, including attempts to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election. Justice Alito, meanwhile, displayed a symbol of the January 6th insurrection and the “Stop the Steal” movement outside his house after the 2020 election and then flew an“Appeal to Heaven” flag, a symbol of Christian nationalism, over his vacation home in 2023. Alito, like Thomas, refused to recuse himself in cases related to January 6.

The Supreme Court is facing a crisis of legitimacy. We must demand an end to corruption at the highest court in our nation. Given the compelling evidence against Justice Thomas and Justice Alito for repeated transgressions fitting this description, it is imperative that the Judiciary Committee promptly begin impeachment proceedings against them.

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INVESTIGATE SUPREME COURT CORRUPTION

Investigative reporting from ProPublica has exposed that at least two justices have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from billionaires.

Justice Alito displayed a symbol of the January 6th insurrection and the “Stop the Steal” movement outside his house after the 2020 election and then flew an“Appeal to Heaven” flag, a symbol of Christian nationalism, over his vacation home in 2023. And now he’s refused to recuse himself in cases related to January 6.

The Senate Judiciary Committee must take action to address the crisis. We call on them to:

• Hold public hearings to expose corruption at the Supreme Court;
• Subpoena right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow and enforce the existing subpoena against Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society;
• Subpoenaing Justice Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann Alito;
• Subpoenaing Chief Justice Roberts regarding his handling of the insurrectionist flag incident based on reports that the Supreme Court was aware of it at the time that it happened; and
• Exposing the conflict of interest in cases related to the January 6th insurrection.

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IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AGAINST KAVANAUGH

In a March 2021 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse argues that the FBI’s 2018 investigation into sexual assault allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was “politically-constrained and probably fake.” According to the letter, the FBI failed to conduct a thorough review of the evidence against Kavanaugh, including ignoring a tip line for allegations and evidence and refusing to hear witness testimony.

Then, in July 2021, the FBI revealed it had received over 4500 tips regarding Justice Kavanaugh on a phone line during its background investigation. They passed the “relevant” tips off to President Trump’s White House Counsel’s Office, which refused to allow Senators to properly review them before Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.

Free Speech For People has repeatedly called for Kavanaugh’s impeachment on the basis of perjury, as well as on sexual assault allegations and an overt display of political bias during his confirmation hearing. The case for impeachment has only grown as he continues to bring the judiciary into disrepute.

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THE BIG TECH ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

A handful of global corporations have taken control of the internet, the dominant medium of all modern communication and commerce, and have used that control to create and sell databases of personal information of all Americans and to promote unprecedented amplification of dangerous disinformation and violence. This has created a grave threat to our democracy and our people. In the face of this threat, our elected officials have failed to take any meaningful action.

Free Speech For People has launched a campaign to demand action and has crafted model federal legislation, the Big Tech Accountability Act, to hold social media companies accountable; to protect internet users, voters, and the broader community from the dangers of rampant amplification of disinformation and violence; and to protect online personal privacy and autonomy.

The Big Tech Accountability Act will:

• Ensure accountability when social media companies amplify dangerous disinformation and threats of violence;
• Protect the broader community from the dangers of the rampant spread online of disinformation and threats of violence;
• Protect online personal privacy and freedom against commercial exploitation.

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STOP THE ATTACK ON VOTING RIGHTS

Our democracy relies on the promise of every American’s right to vote freely and fairly. Yet since the 2020 election, legislators have made hundreds of attempts to suppress voting rights, falsely arguing that widespread voter fraud took place in 2020 and denied former President Trump a second term in office. These efforts have led to 19 states passing 34 laws severely restricting voting rights in 2021.

These attacks on our democracy violate the First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Congress must act now by passing the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to protect voting rights across the country and make null and void these harmful voter suppression laws at the state level. Congress must take action to protect voting rights nationwide.

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ABOLISH SUPER PACS ONCE AND FOR ALL

For 15 years, super PACs have given billionaires, corporations, and other wealthy interests a backdoor to pour unlimited money into our elections. These unlimited contributions to super PACs, often totaling millions of dollars during federal elections, present the threat of corruption and the appearance of corruption in the political process. Further, super PACs have the power to shape elections, and candidates’ ability to direct massive contributions to super PACs can make or break campaigns.Rep. Summer Lee has introduced a bill that would place a $5,000 per calendar year limit on contributions to super PACs spending nationwide. This would effectively abolish super PACs and curtail the undue influence that billionaires and corporations exert on our elections. Add your name: End super PAC spending and protect our democracy.

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END FOREIGN-INFLUENCED CORPORATE SPENDING IN US ELECTIONS

We’ve witnessed money from corporations with significant foreign ownership flowing into our elections, circumventing direct bans on foreign influence enshrined in federal law. Citizens United created a massive loophole for foreign interests to acquire stakes in U.S. corporations and then use that leverage to influence or control the corporation’s political activity, including campaign contributions, contributions to super PACs, and independent expenditures. Across the country, companies like Amazon and Airbnb with partial foreign ownership have used their money to influence the outcome of elections and to advance political agendas in their favor.

But we can put a stop to it. Congressman Jamie Raskin and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have re-introduced the ‘Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act’, a bill to ban foreign-influenced corporations from spending money to influence our elections, closing a major Citizens United loophole and preserving American self-government. Free Speech For People was instrumental in drafting this model legislation and passing it in Seattle last year, and we continue to advocate for it on all levels of government.

Now more than ever, we must restore faith and confidence in our democracy. By banning multinational corporations spending unlimited sums of money to influence our elections, we are upholding the letter of the law and getting us one step closer to a democracy that is truly by and for the people. It’s time to end foreign-influenced corporate spending in U.S. elections.

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SAVE DEMOCRACY. ELIMINATE THE FILIBUSTER.

The filibuster, a “Jim Crow relic” that allows a minority of senators to hold votes hostage, is wreaking havoc on our democracy. It has already been used this year to block the For the People Act and legislation to lift the debt ceiling, and it nearly killed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed earlier this year.

Now, as the Senate seeks to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, Senate Republicans have invoked the filibuster again, thwarting one of the largest democracy reform measures in a generation.

The path forward is clear: The filibuster must be eliminated as a weapon that a handful of senators can wield to veto popular democracy-protecting bills. To reclaim our democracy, we must eliminate the filibuster.

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EXPAND THE SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court is facing a crisis of confidence. The Federalist Society and other corporate-backed organizations have spent decades packing the courts, creating a right-wing majority that frequently votes against the will of the people and undermines basic constitutional principles.

On May 2, 2022, Politico reported that a leaked draft of a majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito made clear that the Supreme Court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade as early as June. With that decision, a woman’s right to choose will be jeopardized nationwide. President Biden and Congress cannot sit idly by while fundamental rights are eviscerated by this Supreme Court.

Members of Congress have already introduced legislation to address this crisis. The Judiciary Act would add four seats to the Supreme Court, reflecting the growth of the judiciary over the past 150 years. The time to act is now. To restore legitimacy and balance and secure the rights of the American people, Congress must pass the Judiciary Act and expand the Supreme Court.

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TELL PRESIDENT BIDEN: THE NATIONAL ARCHIVIST MUST CERTIFY THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

Free Speech For People, Generation Ratify, and six other organizations have issued a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, urging him to instruct the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to rescind its January 6, 2020 advisory opinion regarding the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The Archivist of the United States is responsible for publishing and certifying the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but has declined to do so in deference to the OLC opinion. Rescinding this erroneous opinion will clear the way for the Archivist to publish and certify the ERA.

Under the direction of former Attorney General Bill Barr, the OLC argued that the ERA has not and cannot be properly ratified because only 35 states ratified the ERA prior to the expiration of an extra-constitutional seven-year ratification deadline imposed in 1972. This deadline, however, was not included in the text of the amendment passed by Congress and ratified by the states and, as such, lacks any constitutional authority. Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia have since ratified the amendment, satisfying the constitutional requirement that a proposed amendment be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

The United States currently lacks explicit federal constitutional protection against discrimination on the basis of sex. The ERA would correct this, by ensuring that “[e]quality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

President Biden, this moment demands bold action. We call on you to safeguard our democracy by directing the Archivist to publish the ERA immediately, establishing it as a necessary shield against an impending assault on equality, justice, and the rights of all Americans.

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