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For Immediate Release
March, 27 2019, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Alexandra Flores-Quilty, afq@bytheppl.us, 503-740-6516
National Public Interest Groups Rally Behind Resolution to Launch Impeachment Investigation Against President Trump
Representing over one million people, Free Speech For People and By the People issued a joint statement today endorsing Representative Rashida Tlaib's resolution to authorize the House Committee on Judiciary to inquire whether President Trump has committed impeachable offenses.
WASHINGTON
Representing over one million people, Free Speech For People and By the People issued a joint statement today endorsing Representative Rashida Tlaib's resolution to authorize the House Committee on Judiciary to inquire whether President Trump has committed impeachable offenses.
" Donald Trump has been committing impeachable offenses on a daily basis throughout his presidency. It is past time for Congress to hold him accountable and the House should act promptly on Representative Tlaib's resolution," says Ben Clements, the Board Chair of Free Speech For People and co-author alongside John Bonifaz and Ron Fein of the book The Constitution Demands It: The Case For The Impeachment of Donald Trump.
"We applaud Congresswoman Tlaib for introducing this resolution to start a formal impeachment investigation of the president," says John Bonifaz, Co-Founder and President of Free Speech For People. "Members of Congress took an oath to defend our Constitution and that responsibility cannot be delegated to an attorney general chosen by the president to shield him from any accountability. This impeachment investigation must move forward now, and it must cover all of the potential high crimes committed by this president, not only those which may be revealed by the Mueller report."
"Since it began, the Mueller investigation has demonstrated that Trump is a corrupt liar who values despots and dollars over the lives of Americans -- and that his inner circle broke the law on his behalf. From what we've seen with our own eyes, we know that Trump's near-daily impeachable offenses also stretch far beyond the scope of the Mueller report," says Alexandra Flores-Quilty, spokesperson for By the People. "That's why the American people have been pushing our members of Congress to do their constitutional duty and impeach Trump. Congress no longer has any excuses to wait to use the tool designed to protect our democracy from threats such as this -- which warrant action now, not during the next election cycle. Heeding this call, Representative Rashida Tlaib just introduced the first House resolution to begin an official investigation into grounds for impeachment. Impeachment is not only necessary, it's possible: if we the people remind Congress that they work for us."
"The House of Representatives has a critical role in holding the president accountable for potentially impeachable misconduct. That includes pocketing unconstitutional payoffs from foreign governments through his businesses, scheming with his lawyer to make illegal hush money payments to influence an election, and--whatever his handpicked attorney general may decide for purposes of criminal prosecution--obstructing the administration of justice. We look forward to the House opening an impeachment inquiry as soon as possible," says Ron Fein, Legal Director of Free Speech For People.
In a Dear Colleague letter to fellow Members of Congress, Representative Tlaib references three specific areas of inquiry:
- Whether the actions of President Trump and his businesses violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause. Through President Trump's businesses in the United States and abroad, the president has received payments, regulatory approval, and other forms of direct and indirect financial benefits from foreign governments.
- Whether President Trump committed crimes to defraud the United States by directing Michael Cohen to make illegal payments to interfere and affect the 2016 Presidential election, which has eroded faith in elections and perpetuated political corruption.
- Whether the Special Counsel's evidence on obstruction of justice pertaining to the President's actions and intents violates federal law.
Free Speech For People is a national non-partisan non-profit organization founded on the day of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC that works to defend our democracy and our Constitution.
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One critic said Secretary of State Marco Rubio's "crude effort" to sanction Francesca Albanese "only serves to establish that the U.S. is an international outlaw."
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Defenders of Palestine and the rule of law on Wednesday condemned Secretary of State Marco Rubio's announcement of sanctions targeting United Nations expert Francesca Albanese, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's U.S.-backed genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
In a post on the social media site X, Rubio said he is imposing sanctions on Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, "for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt International Criminal Court action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives."
"Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated," Rubio added. "We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense. The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies."
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Rubio's announcement came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza including murder and forced starvation—met with President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials in Washington, D.C.
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The Trump administration previously sanctioned ICC officials including Prosecutor Karim Khan for issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Albanese has accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention since early 2024. Last week, she asserted that "Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history."
"The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is apocalyptic," she said. "In Gaza, Palestinians continue to endure suffering beyond imagination."
Israel's 642-day assault and siege on Gaza—which is the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice genocide case—has left more than 209,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, whose figures have been deemed accurate by Israeli military intelligence and peer-reviewed studies, at least two of which concluded the official death toll is likely an undercount.
U.N. experts, jurists, genocide scholars including numerous numerous Jews in Israel and around the world, national leaders, and human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Jewish Voice for Peace, and CodePink are among those accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Responding to Rubio's announcement, Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard said on social media that "Francesca Albanese is working tirelessly to document and report on Israel's unlawful occupation, apartheid, and genocide, on the basis of international law."
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Medea Benjamin, co-founder of highlighted the movement to nominate Albanese for the Nobel Peace Prize, which stands in stark contrast with Netanyahu's dubious nomination of Trump for the award.
U.S. human rights attorney Craig Mokhiber—who in October 2023 resigned from his U.N. post over what he called the world body's inaction in the face of "a genocide unfolding before our eyes"—accused Rubio of "a lawless, vile act."
"Your arrogance will catch up to you," Mokhiber added. "The impunity that you are enjoying now will be gone within a few years, and I am confident that you will be held accountable for your persecution of human rights defenders and for your violations of the human rights of countless people in the U.S. There are millions who will work to ensure it."
Laura Boldrini, a lawmaker from Albanese's native Italy and former U.N. human rights official, said on social media that Rubio's move is "a disgrace that cannot be ignored."
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After days of publicly railing against Brazil for the trial of its former leader, Jair Bolsonaro, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened the South American country with a 50% tariff "on any and all Brazilian products sent into the United States."
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"This is a disgrace, just old-fashioned imperialism. A 50% tariff because Brazil's legal system has defended democracy."
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Echoing those posts, Trump wrote to Lula: "The way Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace. This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!"
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Both Trump and Elon have used their power and platforms to go after Brazil. When Musk did it last year I spoke with some Brazilian media experts and journalists who explained that Brazil actually takes online disinformation and threats to their democracy seriously www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
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— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge.bsky.social) July 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Trump claimed in his letter to Lula that "these Tariffs are necessary to correct the many years of Brazil's Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, causing these unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States. However, The Guardian noted, "the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil, thanks in part to a free-trade agreement expanded in 2020, during Trump's first term."
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The MTA is on track to raise $500 million from congestion pricing in 2025, as was projected when the policy went into effect. The agency also reports that subway and bus usage have gone up since congestion pricing began, while service speed has improved to "near record levels."
Beyond improving convenience, data shows the program is already improving quality of life in other ways. Early estimates from a working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research show that within the first month of congestion pricing, CO₂ emissions from vehicles decreased by 2.5% with other forms of air pollution and soot levels also declining. These numbers will likely continue to rise as public transit usage expands.
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During the tumultuous year leading up to congestion pricing's implementation, business groups raised fears that charging drivers would bankrupt small business owners. Hochul even blocked the policy from going into effect for months last year, citing those concerns.
Trump's Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, has called the charge a "slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners."
But the city reports more pedestrian traffic and faster commutes, increasing economic activity.
"Gridlock is bad for the economy," noted a statement from the state of New York. "Commuters are saving as much as 21 minutes each way. Time savings help businesses make deliveries and save costs."
The city also reports increased Broadway ticket sales, hotel occupancy, and commercial office leasing since the policy went into effect, as well as record employment figures.
Despite nearly immediate indicators of the congestion scheme's success, the Trump administration has been attempting to kill it since he returned to office in January.
"We've...fended off five months of unlawful attempts from the federal government to unwind this successful program and will keep fighting–and winning–in the courts," Hochul said.
In February, the White House infamously posted an artificially generated image of Trump wearing a crown. It quoted President Trump saying: "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"
That same month, U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy withdrew federal approval for the congestion pricing pilot program, threatening to pull funding for other state transportation projects if it was not halted.
But a U.S. district judge issued a temporary restraining order in May that has, for the time being, halted the Trump administration's efforts.
Attempts to kill the program may prove more difficult in the future, as it has overcome initial skepticism to grow broadly popular with a majority of New Yorkers. Hochul herself was once among those skeptics, but she has grown to become one of its greatest champions.
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