Free Speech For People


John,

Free Speech For People and its coalition partners have released a letter to Judge Merrick Garland, Biden's nominee for Attorney General, urging the establishment of an independent task force within the Department of Justice to* investigate any potential federal criminal or civil violations that may have been committed by President Trump, members of his administration, or his campaign, business, or other associates.*

For at least the past five years, Donald Trump, and his aides and associates, have engaged in a flurry of unethical, unconstitutional, and often criminal activity, culminating with the seditious insurrection on the United States Capitol on January 6th, incited and encouraged by the President and his allies. If we are to begin the process of restoring the integrity of the Department of Justice and the rule of law to our nation, it is essential that the Department thoroughly investigate these actions and, where warranted and appropriate, hold accountable those who have violated the nation's laws.

*Sign if you agree: Judge Garland must commit to establishing an independent Department of Justice task force to investigate all potential federal crimes committed by Trump and his associates.* [ [link removed] ]

Our letter to Judge Garland calls for an investigation on the following grounds:

* "Offenses related to President Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election", including soliciting aid from the President of Ukraine in exchange for military aid, sabotaging the U.S. Postal Service, and attempting to prevent tabulation of ballots and cause state legislatures to appoint slates of electors contrary to the will of the voters.

Just in the last few days, President Trump and aides were found engaging in illegal election tampering in a recorded phone call in which they pressured Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" to overturn the presidential election outcome in that state. (Two Members of Congress have already sent a criminal referral to the FBI regarding that phone call.) Since overturning Georgia's election results alone would not yield an Electoral College majority for Trump, it is almost certain that he made or attempted similar conversations with election officials in other states.

The culmination of this misconduct has been President Trump's speech inciting an angry mob which then marched toward Capitol Hill and engaged in a violent, seditious attack on the United States Capitol, taking over the House and Senate chambers and forcing emergency evacuation or sheltering of the United States Congress, all in an effort to stop the certification of the electoral votes from the 2020 election. President Trump's actions may constitute rebellion or insurrection, seditious conspiracy, and advocating the overthrow of the government.

* "Offenses related to the 2016 election," "including Russian interference cited by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and involvement in Michael Cohen's criminal offenses, that were not prosecuted during the Trump presidency because of Department of Justice policy". That same policy acknowledges that "[r]ecognizing an immunity from prosecution for a sitting President would not preclude such prosecution once the President's term is over," and consequently ceases to apply to Mr. Trump at 12:00 pm on January 20, 2021.

* "Offenses related to misuse of the presidency and high office for personal profit, including bribery or extortion", in violation of the Emoluments Clause.

* "Other offenses related to the Trump Organization, including tax fraud, bank fraud, or insurance fraud." While the Trump Organization is already under investigation by New York state authorities for state law violations, this conduct raises serious questions of federal criminal law that must be investigated by federal authorities, under the leadership of the Department of Justice.

* "Offenses related to immigration and the U.S.-Mexican border." Of particular note, the administration implemented a policy of family separation and detention of children under conditions that, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "may amount to torture."

* "Other offenses", including obstruction of justice, obstruction of the lawful function of federal agencies, and destruction or concealment of federal records, many of which may occur in the remaining days of the transition period.

As the Department of Justice has long recognized [ [link removed] ], "the President is not above the law, and...he is ultimately accountable for his misconduct that occurs before, during, and after his service to the country." To fulfill this principle, we are urging an independent task force to investigate-and, if appropriate, prosecute-President Trump, his officials, and his associates.

Read the full letter here [ [link removed] ].

*Support our letter to Judge Merrick Garland by signing our petition. Trump must be held accountable for his repeated attacks on our democracy.* [ [link removed] ]

In solidarity,

Ben Clements
Board Chair and Senior Legal Advisor
Free Speech For People


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