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impeach trump
It's Been Just 11 Days, But 100,000 Have Already Signed Petition to 'Impeach Trump Again'
"The overwhelming support for impeachment shows that the American public is not willing to accept King Trump," said Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Free Speech for People campaign director.
Jan 30, 2025
The nonprofit Free Speech for People is leading a new nonpartisan campaign to drum up support for U.S. President Donald Trump's removal—"Impeach Trump Again"—and reported Thursday that the effort has already garnered over 100,000 petition signatures.
The campaign is calling on Congress to launch an impeachment investigation into Trump and says that the signature numbers signal "widespread support" for a probe.
"The overwhelming support for impeachment shows that the American public is not willing to accept King Trump," said Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Free Speech for People campaign director, in a Thursday statement. "We need bold leaders in Congress willing to stand up and hold Trump accountable for his abuses of power and initiate an impeachment inquiry."
The petition, which was launched on Inauguration Day, calls on Congress to initiate an impeachment investigation into Trump based on potential violations of the U.S. Constitution's emoluments clauses, his pardoning of insurrectionists who took part in the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, and his "unlawful" and "corrupt" campaign practices.
Free Speech for People also launched a campaign to build public support for Trump's impeachment on the day of his inauguration back in 2017.
The emoluments clauses require that Trump "fully divest himself from any businesses receiving profits, gains, or advantages, beyond his official compensation, from the federal government or the individual states," according to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Trump's business empire—which, as far as the public knows, he has not divested from—now includes not only real estate, but also a social media platform and a cryptocurrency token.
The campaign also lists other alleged impeachable offenses.
Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives during his first term, but in both cases he was acquitted by the Senate. Both chambers of Congress are now controlled by Trump's Republican Party.
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Citing Failure to Prosecute Trump and Cronies, Legal Group Calls On AG Garland to Resign
"As long as Trump and his co-conspirators walk free, American democracy is in danger."
Nov 04, 2021
Frustrated by the U.S. attorney general's failure to investigate or take legal action against former President Donald Trump and his associates for various potential crimes, Free Speech for People argued Thursday that because Merrick Garland "is unwilling to step up, it is time for him to step down."
"Garland is no longer fit to serve as attorney general."
Free Speech for People's call for Garland to resign came in a lengthy statement outlining his inaction as well as Trump's troubling behavior while running for and serving as president. It followed the U.S. legal advocacy group urging Garland to "establish an independent task force to centralize and coordinate criminal investigations of Trump and his associates."
The organization called for a task force in January, just days after news broke that incoming President Joe Biden would nominate Garland to lead the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Since the Senate confirmed his nomination in March, the statement says, Garland hasn't taken "any meaningful action" to hold accountable Trump or "his co-conspirators for attempting to overthrow the government on January 6, 2021 and a flurry" of earlier criminal acts.
While Trump was president, the House of Representatives impeached him twice: in December 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and this past January for "high crimes and misdemeanors" after he incited a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Warning that "DOJ's inaction--Garland's inaction--endangers the rule of law," Free Speech for People's statement outlines some of what came before and after the 45th president's address that was followed by a violent mob of his supporters storming the halls of Congress:
Even before the 2020 election, Trump conspired with key aides to sabotage a free and fair election by extorting (or, viewed another way, bribing) the president of Ukraine to embarrass Joe Biden politically in exchange for military aid. (Although the Senate failed to convict him in an impeachment trial for this conduct, that has no impact on criminal proceedings.) And as the election approached, Trump bragged that he was deliberately sabotaging the Postal Service to limit voting-by-mail.
After his election defeat, Trump called Georgia's secretary of state and pressured him 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.) He also pressured another Georgia official to investigate counties where Biden received more votes. Since overturning Georgia's election results alone wouldn't yield a victory for Trump, it's almost certain that he made or attempted similar conversations with elections officials in other states.
"That is not all of Trump's potential criminal liability," the statement notes, explaining that despite "extensive evidence that Trump obstructed justice," Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated his actions related to the 2016 election, didn't consider filing charges because of a DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president--a policy that now doesn't apply.
"The same policy probably protected Trump from the federal criminal charges against his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who paid off Trump's mistresses for their silence during the campaign," the statement continues, also highlighting that the businessman and former reality television host "spent his entire time in office misusing the presidency for personal profit."
While primarily focusing on Trump's actions and Garland's lack thereof, Free Speech for People also raised alarm about members of Congress "who appear to have helped plan" the insurrection: GOP Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Madison Cawthorn (N.C.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.).
Along with failing to investigate those Republicans, the statement says, the department Garland oversees has "inexcusably sat on its hands" since the House voted last month to hold former Trump adviser Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress while the attorney general "has actively defended or continued many Trump-era DOJ policies, including the cover-up of the key DOJ legal memo regarding Trump's obstruction of justice, and defending Trump's libel of a rape victim."
"For all these reasons, Garland is no longer fit to serve as attorney general," the statement declares. "His previous record of federal service should not blind us to the fact that he is simply the wrong person for this job at this time."
"As long as Trump and his co-conspirators walk free, American democracy is in danger. We need an attorney general who understands that danger and is willing to take action to protect democracy and the rule of law," the statement concludes. "Merrick Garland must resign."
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McConnell, McCarthy Ripped for Opposing January 6 Inquiry Commission
"The American people deserve answers about how this happened, why it happened, and what we will do to ensure our democracy is never threatened in this way again."
May 19, 2021
Democracy defenders on Wednesday slammed decisions by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to oppose legislation that would form a bipartisan commission to investigate the deadly January 6 attack on the United States Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
"Shame on the Republicans for choosing the Big Lie over the truth... The American people will see for themselves whether our Republican friends stand on the side of truth or on the side of Donald Trump's Big Lie."
--Sen. Chuck Schumer
"After careful consideration, I've made the decision to oppose the House Democrats' slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of January 6," McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor.
The Senate minority leader's decision--first reported by Politico--follows a Tuesday announcement by McCarthy (R-Calif.) that he also opposes an inquiry into the Capitol attack. House lawmakers are scheduled to vote Wednesday on a bill authorizing the commission of inquiry.
McConnell's opposition means it will be even harder for supporters of the measure to garner the 10 GOP votes needed for Senate passage. Some Republican senators including Susan Collins of Maine and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana have signaled their support for the bill.
\u201cFor anyone not keeping score.\n\nPeople who want an indie commission to investigate the Jan 6. attack: Dems, some GOP, bipartisan ldrs of the 9/11 panel, the family of a Capitol police officer who died from suicide after Jan. 6.\n\nPeople who don't: Kevin McCarthy + Mitch McConnell.\u201d— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1621446152
Last week, House Homeland Security Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.)--one of only 10 GOP lawmakers who voted on January 13 to impeach Trump for inciting the January 6 attack--reached an agreement "to introduce legislation to form a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate the January 6 domestic terrorism attack on the United States Capitol and recommend changes to further protect the Capitol."
Democratic lawmakers ripped McConnell and other Republicans for rejecting the commission bill.
"Shame on the Republicans for choosing the Big Lie over the truth--not all Republicans, but the majority who seem to be doing it," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday during a floor speech, referring to the fallacy that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. "The American people will see for themselves whether our Republican friends stand on the side of truth or on the side of Donald Trump's Big Lie."
\u201cSen. Chuck Schumer: "Letting the most dishonest president in American history dictate the prerogatives of the Republican Party will be its demise." https://t.co/67fqqxCxXY\u201d— The Hill (@The Hill) 1621445398
Schumer linked opposition to the January 6 commission with GOP voter suppression efforts and dark money groups boasting about making it harder for Americans to vote.
"Last week, a spokesperson for Heritage Action--the lobbying arm of a far-right think tank--told a group of Republican donors that Heritage Action was drafting new voter restrictions and literally handing them over to state legislatures in order to give the laws 'that grassroots feel,'" he said.
"She went on to crow about how 'quickly and quietly' her organization managed to get new limits on voting passed in Iowa," Schumer continued. "She told the donors that she looked at her team of right-wing lobbyists and said, 'It can't be that easy.' That's how the far right is talking about making it harder for Americans to vote. Behind closed doors, with well-heeled donors, they are laughing about how easy it is to limit American voting rights."
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday that "Republican leadership seems to be doing everything they can to protect [former] President Trump's Big Lie."
"They would rather hide from the truth than face the reality of what happened on January 6 and who is responsible," the Senate Democratic whip said.
\u201cRepublican leadership seems to be doing everything they can to protect President Trump\u2019s Big Lie.\n \nThey would rather hide from the truth than face the reality of what happened on January 6 and who is responsible.\u201d— Senator Dick Durbin (@Senator Dick Durbin) 1621442819
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) tweeted Wednesday that "there is no current commission to investigate the insurrection, so the January 6 commission would not be 'another commission.'"
"As a House impeachment manager, I know there are still multiple unknown facts," he added. "What are [McCarthy and] Sen. McConnell hiding from the American public?"
While McConnell accused Democrats of negotiating the commission bill in "bad faith," some observers noted that it was he who stonewalled Trump's impeachment trial until after President Joe Biden's inauguration--then voted twice that the trial was unconstitutional because Trump was no longer in office.
\u201cMitch McConnell pulled the absolutely despicable move of refusing to hold impeachment trial while Trump was in office & then voting that impeachment was unconstitutional since Trump no longer in office. Now he\u2019s opposing commission to investigate insurrection\u201d— Ari Berman (@Ari Berman) 1621438137
Pro-democracy groups and individuals also condemned McConnell's decision, while some called for the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene if GOP leaders successfully derail the commission effort.
"The domestic terrorist attack on our Capitol on January 6 was planned and executed with encouragement from the highest levels of our government," said Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way. "The American people deserve answers about how this happened, why it happened, and what we will do to ensure our democracy is never threatened in this way again."
"Every member of Congress needs to treat the events of January 6 as a warning sign of what's to come, and a bipartisan Commission is the first step toward accountability," Jealous added. "The House and Senate must pass this legislation. And then, congressional leaders, including Senate Minority Leader McConnell and House Minority Leader McCarthy, have the responsibility to appoint commissioners who will be relentless and clear-eyed in their pursuit of the facts and the truth."
\u201cNo matter what Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, or Kevin McCarthy say, we need an insurrection commission. In fact, the more they say we don't need one, the more we really, really do.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1621437944
\u201cIf Mitch McConnell succeeds in blocking the January 6th Commission AG Garland must appoint a special counsel to investigate the insurrection.\n\nSubpoena all the seditious members of Congress who are clearly afraid their roles in this will be exposed.\u201d— Chris Hahn (@Chris Hahn) 1621437768
The single article of impeachment passed on January 13 against Trump--the first president ever to be impeached twice--said he "repeatedly issued false statements asserting that the presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by state or federal officials."
Minutes after Trump's inflammatory speech urging supporters to march on the Capitol and "fight like hell" at the January 6 Washington, D.C. "Stop the Steal" rally, a mob stormed the Capitol complex, delaying the certification of then President-elect Biden's Electoral College victory for hours as lawmakers and congressional staff hid and fled for their lives.
Five people--including one U.S. Capitol Police officer--were killed and over 100 others were wounded.
Over 150 Republican lawmakers were in the process of contesting the legitimate election results at the time of the attack. Some observers asserted that the reason McConnell and other Republicans so staunchly reject an inquiry into the events of January 6 is rooted in their complicity in them.
\u201cNo surprise. @LeaderMcConnell opposes 1/6 commission bill. After all, the subpoena targets will mostly be GOPers, including Trump & his kids. So the Dems should force a vote on the bill. Let the Rs block it & further prove they are a Trump cult w/ no concern for law & order.\u201d— David Corn (@David Corn) 1621438188
Writing about McCarthy's opposition to the commission for Vanity Fair on Wednesday, Eric Lutz asserted that the minority leader "was complicit in the lies that fueled the deadly riot and in the white-washing that followed, and any probe into the events of that day is certain to shine an unflattering spotlight on him and his GOP colleagues."
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