‘Impeach Trump’ is Back in Business

On Inauguration Day, as President Donald Trump was being sworn in, impeachment efforts were already in play.

“Trump’s return to the White House poses an unprecedented threat to our democracy,” said Free Speech for People, the non-profit parent organization of “Impeach Trump. Again.”

As America was bidding Joe Biden “good riddance,” were contributions already flowing into ActBlue Charities, Inc., the official donation organization for “Free Speech for People?”

So, they are firing up the old “Impeach Trump” scheme… See? Everyone is a winner when Trump is President.

What are their claims about Trump? That “Not only is he disqualified from the presidency, but he has already violated the United States Constitution. And, just like eight years ago, more violations will certainly follow.”

Operating under “Impeach Trump Again,” led by Free Speech For People, they have initiated “an immediate impeachment investigation into Donald Trump’s violations of the Emoluments Clauses and into his unlawful, corrupt campaign practices.”

“Trump’s return to the White House poses an unprecedented threat to our democracy,” says John Bonifaz, President of Free Speech For People and co-author of “The Constitution Demands It: The Case For The Impeachment of Donald Trump.”

Bonifaz claims Trump has violated the Emoluments Clauses by “profiting from the United States.”

Impeach Trump. Again claims:

“Trump has refused to sell his ownership stake in companies through which he is assured to receive substantial payments from foreign governments in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause. At least five foreign governments pay a combined $2 million per month in fees for their units in Trump World Tower; and because all five of these foreign governments are currently paying Trump these monthly fees, Trump is in violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause from the moment he took the oath of office.”

Reuters reports:

“Donald Trump will hand over daily management of his multi-billion-dollar real estate, hotel, golf, media and licensing portfolio to his children when he enters the White House, the Trump Organization said on Friday.”

(as he did during his first term)

“All of the president-elect’s investments, assets and business interests will remain in a trust managed by his children, the company said. Trump will not sit on or be appointed to any boards and will have no role in day-to-day decision-making, it said.”

And Attorney William A. Burck, global co-chair of law firm Quinn Emanuel LLP, will serve as the Trump Organization’s outside ethics advisor.

Here are the other charges against President Trump, according to Impeach Trump. Again:

Congress’s impeachment investigation must also examine unlawful, unconstitutional, or corrupt practices that occurred during Trump’s re-election campaign, which include:

• Violating campaign finance laws by offering benefits in exchange for campaign contributions, including (1) by offering tax and regulatory favors to oil and gas executives if they provide r $1 billion in contributions;  (2) concealing legal services payments by his campaign and related super PACs; (3) unlawfully coordinating with super PACs that supported his candidacy, including those financed by billionaires he later appointed to key administrative positions; and (4) facilitating and accepting unlawful campaign contributions from Elon Musk via X and via Musk’s million-dollar “lottery” scheme that paid out prizes only to individuals who would publicly support Trump.

• Using racist, xenophobic rhetoric, including by referring to  immigrants in Aurora, Colorado as “blood thirty criminals” from whom voters have to be “rescued”; repeating false claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, even after such claims led to bomb threats and other threats of violence; and referring to immigrants as committing “horrendous crimes” because of “their genes.”

• Threatening physical violence, including murder, against political opponents, a  U.S. military commander, journalists, and protesters; and

• Spreading dangerous disinformation about U.S. hurricane disaster response.

Is this a joke?

Looking at the IRS 990 form for 2022 for Free Speech for People (the most recent year the IRS has), they “normally receive a substantial part of their support from a government unit or from the general public.” It is notable that Charity Navigator does not have their IRS 990 forms, and whacked 5 points off of their rating for it.

Free Speech for People IRS Form 990 reveals:

In 2022, they received $3,786,737 in gifts, grants and contributions.

They receive $2 million worth of “Donated services and use of facilities.”

They gave a $50,000 grant to “Our Revolution,” a 501 (C)(4), which links to ActBlue. “Our Revolution”explains its mission: “Our Revolution members and volunteers are building power and electing more and more progressives at every level of government. Not only are we hitting the streets, we’re hitting the phones and investing in massive voter turnout operations in key races across the country. We need as many allies as possible on the inside to organize with our outside movement for change.”

Free Speech for People claims 75.710% public support.

Mr. Bonifaz also runs (or ran) Democracy Action Inc., which appears to be a lobbying organization, which received a couple of cash transactions in 2022, for $249 and $2,299, according to the IRS Form 990.

On its website, Free Speech for People announced Monday, “Public Interest Group Calls for Immediate Impeachment Investigation Against President Trump.”

Free Speech For People co-launched the first national campaign to impeach Donald Trump in January 2017.

Free Speech For People is a national non-profit non-partisan organization dedicated to defending our democracy and our Constitution. Through our cutting-edge legal advocacy, public education, and organizing work, we are a catalyzing leader in the country challenging big money in politics, confronting corruption in government, fighting to protect our right to vote and our elections, holding insurrectionists accountable, and advancing a new jurisprudence grounded in the promises of political equality and democratic self-government.

I might believe they were actually non-partisan if they also called for “Impeach Biden” over his family’s influence peddling scheme and dubious financial history with foreign countries.

Free Speech for People claims to be “CHALLENGING CORRUPTION” because “Trump’s return to the White House poses an unprecedented threat to our democracy.”

It actually sounds more like a fundraising blueprint…