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 the conclusion of the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump.
Today is a big day for impeachment news! Check out the following news and op-eds regarding impeachment:
In an op-ed published today, Representative Rashida Tlaib and Free Speech For People President, John Bonifaz, assert that, “President Donald Trump is a direct and serious threat to our country.” Their message is clear that the time for an impeachment investigation of the President is now:
“This is not just about Donald Trump. This is about all of us. What should we be as a nation? Who should we be as a people? In the face of this constitutional crisis, we must rise. We must rise to defend our Constitution, to defend our democracy, and to defend that bedrock principle that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States.”
In an article for the Nation, John Nichols reports on the Detroit Free Press op-ed, offering support for Representative Tlaib and John Bonifaz’s call for impeachment proceedings against the President. Nichols reflects on Representative Tlaib’s legal background and full grasp of the Constitution, writing:
[Representative Tlaib’s] sense of urgency, rooted in her own history as a lawyer and activist, will inform Tlaib’s service, as she makes clear in her rejection of petty political calculations regarding impeachment.
The LA Times reports that Representative Brad Sherman plans to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump today, Thursday, January 3. Representative Sherman explains:
“There is no reason it shouldn’t be before the Congress,” Sherman said. “Every day, Donald Trump shows that leaving the White House would be good for our country.”
Axios reports that Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are seeking an Investigative Counsel, “an attorney with several years of investigative or litigation experience.” This job posting is likely in anticipation of possible impeachment proceedings:
After controlling the entire government for two years, Republicans on the Hill and in the White House are assuming a defensive crouch, with incoming House Democratic chairs vowing aggressive investigations.
To take action and help us keep the pressure on Congress to launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, click here!
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 call on the New York State Attorney General to begin an investigation into whether to revoke the corporate charter of the Trump Organization due to the company’s alleged criminal activities, including money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, facilitating unconstitutional foreign government payments (emoluments) to the president and concealing a political slush fund by invoicing bogus “legal services.” This renewed call follows the submission of a guilty plea by Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen for, among other charges, conspiring with the President to violate federal campaign finance law and evade regulatory scrutiny through a fraudulent scheme of concealing “hush money” payments and campaign expenses.
Click here to learn more about the campaign to Dissolve the Trump Organization!
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:
I know a widespread view among many Dem leaders is that impeachment by the Dem-controlled House would be a mistake if the GOP-controlled Senate won’t convict. 1/n
— John Coates (@jciv) December 8, 2018
And a reminder that Representative-elect Rashida Tlaib gifted our book, The Constitution Demands It, to each new member of Congress:
This was my gift to my new member class.
“To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards out of men.” – from Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s poem Protest.
I am making sure we know our power in Congress to hold corrupt elected officials accountable. pic.twitter.com/U3HKPnEZ7J
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 28, 2018
To purchase our book, click here.
And to get involved in the movement to hold the President accountable to the law, click here.
On November 27, US Representative-elect Rashida Tlaib delivered our book, The Constitution Demands It: The Case for the Impeachment of Donald Trump, to every new member of Congress, as reported by the Independent Journal Review.
Tlaib tweeted about the gift:
This was my gift to my new member class.
“To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards out of men.” – from Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s poem Protest.
I am making sure we know our power in Congress to hold corrupt elected officials accountable. pic.twitter.com/U3HKPnEZ7J
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 28, 2018
Representative-elect Tlaib is one of the first of two Muslim women elected to Congress and is the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress. She has been vocal about her support for pursuing impeachment investigations of Donald Trump and is committed to holding our elected officials accountable to the Constitution.
Thank you, Representative-elect Tlaib, for your dedication to our democracy and for your efforts to provide new members of Congress with the tools to take action.
To learn more, read the article in the Independent Journal Review. To purchase our book, click here.
Photo by Rashida Tlaib
On December 2, 2018, Free Speech For People Board Chair, Ben Clements, joined Weekends with Alex Witt on MSNBC to discuss the latest developments in the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and holding the President accountable to the law. In addition to the Mueller investigation, Free Speech For People launched, in January 2017, a campaign calling for an impeachment investigation of the President. While the Mueller investigation is exploring any potential criminal activity conducted by the President and his associates, an impeachment investigation would hold the President accountable for violations of the Constitution.
For more information on the legal grounds for an impeachment investigation of the President, visit impeachmentproject.org/book.
In a powerful opinion editorial for USA Today, Jason Sattler, makes the case for impeachment to end the corruption and lawlessness of Trump presidency. Sattler explores the most recent actions by Trump made in defiance of the law, including the unconstitutional and illegal appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney General to undermine the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller; obstruction of justice; violation of two anti-corruption provisions of the Constitution; and more.
The day after Americans showed up to vote in numbers not seen for a midterm election in over 100 years, to deliver Republicans their worst House losses since Watergate, Trump promptly revealed his contempt for both the Constitution and the American people.
Matt Whitaker’s appointment as acting attorney general hours after the polls closed was likely unconstitutional, definitely dubious, and an all but obvious an attempt to obstruct justice — given that Whitaker has publicly laid out exactly why and how he’d undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
…
America cannot bet our democracy on guys who are willing to work for Donald Trump — or expect one investigation to contain the overwhelming rot of this administration.
The American people have responded to Trump’s assault on our democracy with marches, unprecedented political involvement and a massive drubbing at the polls. The people we elected need to show they are willing to rise up just as convincingly and check this president while that is still possible.
Click here to read the full article in USA Today.
Photo: United_States_Capitol_-_west_front.jpg: Architect of the Capitolderivative work: O.J. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Free Speech For People Board Chair, Ben Clements, and Legal Director, Ron Fein, co-authors of the book, The Constitution Demands It: The Case for the Impeachment of Donald Trump, join WGBH Greater Boston to discuss why now is the time for impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Ron Fein, Free Speech For People Legal Director and co-author of The Constitution Demands It, recently spoke with Peter Collins on his podcast about impeachment:
Fein thumbnails the impeachment process, and we talk about past cases of impeachment of Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon and Andrew Johnson. Then he details the 8-plus draft articles of impeachment proposed in the book. We agree on 7 of the 8 charges, and briefly discuss the Russiagate narrative.
We discuss the recalcitrance toward impeachment shown by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, and by Hillary Clinton in a recent interview with Rachel Maddow. Polls show that almost half of voters support impeachment now, but party leaders follow the polls instead of leading on a matter they say threatens the future of the republic. Fein is even-handed, and criticizes Republicans who place party loyalty and tax cuts over the corruption of their leader.
Listen to the interview below! And listen to more interviews from the Peter B. Collins Show here.
An article from Bustle reports that even Donald Trump’s children have started to worry about the possible launch of impeachment proceedings against him:
President Donald Trump’s children have tirelessly defended him against any and all criticism since he first launched his bid for office. But the release of Bob Woodward’s White House exposé and the New York Times op-ed about “the resistance inside the Trump administration,” as well as the continuing FBI probe into the Trump campaign, may have them a little rattled. In fact, Ivanka Trump worries about impeachment, a source close to the president’s senior advisor told Vanity Fair.
With the midterm elections quickly approaching, as well as added pressure of growing negative press, the atmosphere in the White House has increased the concern among Trump’s family and advisors:
But even his daughter is reportedly concerned that the recent barrage of negative press, dwindling approval ratings, and numerous lawsuits could end with her father’s impeachment…
Democrats taking hold of Congress would put President Trump at greater risk of impeachment, and experts predict that they have a shot at flipping both the House and the Senate this year. A Washington Post report last month revealed that White House aides were considering sending Ivanka to Democratic strongholds to help her dad campaign for Republicans in the midterm election.
Read the article here!
Written by a trio of veteran constitutional attorneys, The Constitution Demands It, makes the definitive legal case for the impeachment of Donald Trump.