U.S. States join in condemning Trump’s attacks on Nonprofits’ Freedom of Speech
On October 9, 10 U.S. attorneys general issued a joint statement condemning Donald Trump’s “baseless and unprecedented attacks on nonprofits’ freedom of speech.” In a September 25 memorandum, Trump directed the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and potentially prosecute organizations and entities, including nonprofits and charities, that support or fund causes and activities that the Trump administration disagrees with, under the guise of fighting “political violence.”
This includes among other things a threat to investigate “institutional and individual funders, and officers and employees of organizations, that are responsible for, sponsor, or otherwise aid and abet” causes, policies, or ideas that Trump opposes. Shortly thereafter, Trump called the Open Society Foundation, a major national foundation whose work includes defending individual liberties and promoting free and open debate and democracy around the world, a “likely candidate” for prosecution.
Perversely, Trump claims without any justification in the memo, that the organizations he targets in the memo are engaged in activities that are “designed to suppress lawful political activity or obstruct the rule of law,” when in fact the clear intent of his memo is to quell nonprofits’ freedom of speech and freedom of association that the First Amendment protects.
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In their joint statement, the coalition ofattorneys general said:
Among the rights Americans cherish most are our freedom of speech and freedom of association, which the Constitution has guaranteed for more than 200 years, and one of the important ways Americans express those freedoms is through supporting, belonging to, and volunteering for nonprofits and charitable organizations. Charities and nonprofits are woven into the fabric of American society, in every state and community. Any attempts to target nonprofits for simply fulfilling their missions, no matter their beliefs or worldview, is a gross violation of their and all Americans’ First Amendment rights to free speech and free association — which the U.S. Supreme Court recently held ‘is especially important in preserving political and cultural diversity and in shielding dissident expression from suppression by the majority.’ In a country founded on the right to hold different opinions than the king, the President’s shameless attempt to punish nonprofits and charities who may not co-sign his extremist agenda is deeply un-American.
These coercive efforts also violate donors’ intent for how contributions should be used. We strongly condemn the Trump administration’s naked effort to intimidate charities from fulfilling their missions and donors’ intent. Our message to the nonprofits and charities we oversee is: You keep fulfilling your missions, and we will keep fighting against attempts to weaponize the government to suppress your legitimate activities and constitutional freedoms.
The attorneys general issuing this statement are Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the coalition, and the attorney generals of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, and Washington.
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Trump’s most recent threats are part of a broader pattern of conduct and statements targeting nonprofits and charitable organizations that oppose his administration’s extremist ideology and actions with threats of prosecution, investigations, revocation of exempt status, funding disruptions, and other consequences. Examples include executive orders and public statements threatening private organizations that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion; abruptly cutting federal funding to and publicly calling for an end to tax exemptions for universities and charitable organizations that President Trump believes oppose his extremist agenda; and removing public-service organizations that provide services to immigrants and refugees from student loan forgiveness programs.
The National Council of Nonprofits, the largest network of its kind in the country, has also condemned President Trump’s attacks on nonprofits, as have more than 3,700 nonprofits from around the country in an open letter.
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Source: Office of the Maryland Attorney General
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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