One need not look too deeply to discover the two groups behind the movement to impeach Donald Trump are tied to billionaire George Soros, while the organization that just filed a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of Trump’s presidency is financed by Soros’s Open Society Foundations.
On Monday, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit claiming that Trump is in violation of a Constitutional clause banning government officials from accepting benefits from foreign nations.
Politico reported:
The suit, backed by several prominent Constitutional scholars, claims that Trump’s business dealings with foreign countries who rent space in his buildings or lend money to his real estate ventures run afoul of the foreign emoluments clause.
“President Trump has made his slogan ‘America First,’” CREW’s Noah Bookbinder said in a statement. “So you would think he would want to strictly follow the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, since it was written to ensure our government officials are thinking of Americans first, and not foreign governments.”
CREW describes itself as an organization that utilizes “high-impact legal actions to target government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests.”
CREW, which does not publicize its donor list, has received financing from Soros’s Open Society Foundations. According to Discover the Networks, CREW has also been funded by the Soros-financed Tides Foundation.
In August 2014, longtime Hillary Clinton ally David Brock, founder of the heavily Soros-financed Media Matters for America progressive group, was elected chairman of CREW’s board.
Brock departed the organization last December, but Politico reported over the weekend that CREW is part of a network of groups for which the activist is attempting to raise $40 million to take on Trump.
Politico reported from a fundraiser Saturday in Aventura, Florida:
The constellation of political groups in Democratic strategist David Brock’s network are aiming to raise roughly $40 million in 2017, the Clinton antagonist-turned-top ally told roughly 120 donors gathered here on Saturday.
…Brock’s groups include Media Matters, a liberal news media watchdog; ShareBlue, a liberal news site; American Bridge, the party’s primary opposition research organization; and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which carries out legal actions. CREW will be a particular locus of activity this year, according to donors briefed on the plans.
Meanwhile, a campaign to impeach Trump officially kicked off as soon as the billionaire was sworn in last Friday. The movement’s centralized hub is the ImpeachDonaldTrumpNow.org website, which documents that it is being led by by two liberal advocacy groups – Free Speech for People and RootsAction.
The Washington Post reported on the two group’s effort:
The organizers behind the campaign, Free Speech for People and RootsAction, are hinging their case on Trump’s insistence on maintaining ownership of his luxury hotel and golf course business while in office. Ethics experts have warned that his financial holdings could potentially lead to constitutional violations and undermine public faith in his decision-making.
“If we were to wait for all the ill effects that could come from this, too much damage to our democracy would occur,” said Ron Fein, legal director at Free Speech for People. “It will undermine faith in basic institutions. If nothing else, it’s important for Americans to trust that the president is doing what he thinks is the right thing … not that it would help jump-start a stalled casino project in another country.”
A closer look at the two groups leading the impeachment campaign is instructive.
Attorney and activist John Bonifaz is the co-founder and president of Free Speech for People.
Bonifaz is the founder of the National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI), where he also served as general counsel and executive director.
The NRVI’s website documents it is the recipient of “generous foundation and institutional support” from 24 past and present grantors, including Soros’s Open Society Institute.
The NRVI is also funded by the Soros-funded Tides Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation, which has partnered with the Open Society Foundations on numerous projects. Former President Obama served as a paid board member of the Joyce Foundation for eight years from 1994 to 2002. Joyce has also been a prominent donor to the Soros-funded Media Matters For America progressive activist group.
Lance Lindblom, a director at the Free Speech for People group behind the impeachment campaign, previously served as Executive Vice President at Soros Foundation’s Open Society Institute/Open Society Fund, his bio relates.
And Jeff Clements, Co-Founder and General Counsel for Free Speech for People, popped up in a leaked Open Society Foundations document as attending the Soros-funded group’s U.S. Programs Board Meeting and Retreat February 23-24, 2011. Bonifaz was also in attendance at the retreat, at which Soros himself provided opening remarks.
The other group behind the Trump impeachment campaign, RootsAction, is led by a small team that includes its co-founder Norman Solomon. Solomon also founded the Institute for Public Accuracy, which, Discover The Networks reports, is funded by Soros’ Open Society Foundations.
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.
With research by Joshua Klein.