Free Speech For People is a left-of-center advocacy group that supports expanding campaign finance regulations, including constitutional amendments to limit campaign spending by private individuals and organizations. ¹ Free Speech For People was founded on the same day that the Supreme Court decreased restrictions on campaign spending in its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) and aims to overturn the decision. ²

Free Speech For People has also pushed to impeach President Donald Trump, beginning a movement for impeachment on the day of his first inauguration in 2017. ³ In January 2024, on the day of President Trump’s second inauguration, Free Speech for People relaunched its Trump impeachment effort, claiming that he had violated the Constitution on his first day in office and throughout his 2024 presidential campaign. ⁴

History

Free Speech For People was founded in 2010 on the same day the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission (FEC) decision that struck down certain restrictions on spending related to elections by businesses, certain nonprofits, and labor unions. ⁵ Attorneys John Bonifaz and Jeff Clements co-founded the organization with the express goal of passing a constitutional amendment to limit election spending. ^{5 6 5} The amendment would overturn the decisions in both Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo, which ruled that limitations on expenditures for one’s own election violate the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. ⁵

Aside from supporting a constitutional amendment, Free Speech For People advocates for various left-of-center campaign finance reforms to limit the influence of campaign spending at the federal, state and local level. ⁵ Free Speech For People has also embraced a left-of-center agenda more broadly, lobbying for President Donald Trump’s impeachment from the day he took office in 2017.

Leadership

Free Speech For People, though purportedly nonpartisan, is led by a group of activists involved in left-of-center organizing. John Bonifaz is the co-founder and president of Free Speech For People. Bonifaz previously founded and worked as the executive director of the National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI), another organization that seeks to limit campaign spending. ² NVRI led an unsuccessful push to force Ohio to recount its 2004 presidential ballots to dispute the victory of President George W. Bush. ²

Ben Clements is the chairman of Free Speech For People. Clements is a private attorney who also worked as first chief legal counsel to former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D). Clements is involved in other left-of-center organizations as well, sitting as a board member for Stop Handgun Violence and as an advisory committee member of the Boston chapter of the American Constitution Society. ²

Free Speech For People’s senior political advisor Steve Cobble is an assistant fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, a left-wing think tank. ² Cobble is also a co-founder of Progressive Democrats of America, an organization that aims to support the Democratic Party and push an agenda focused on promoting environmentalism and expanding public healthcare. ^{2 7} Cobble has written for left-of-center publications including The Nation and The Progressive. ² Early in his career, Cobble organized on behalf of several left-of-center political candidates, working as a delegate coordinator for Jesse Jackson’s left-wing presidential campaign in 1988. ² Cobble has organized within the mainstream Democratic Party as well, working on the presidential campaigns of both George McGovern and Dennis Kucinich. ²

Other Free Speech For People senior staff members have been involved in left-of-center organizing as well. Senior advisor on election security Susan Greenhalgh previously worked for Verified Voting and at the National Election Defense Coalition, two left-of-center organizations focused on elections. ² Oske Buckley is the director of administration and finance for Free Speech For People. ² Buckley previously worked for Voter Action, and for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas and Western Missouri. ²

Ben Binswanger is a director on Free Speech for People’s board. Binswanger was an AOL executive until 2003 when he became the chief operating officer of the Case Foundation and later vice president for program and impact of the Skoll Foundation. In 2014, he became the executive director of the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation. Binswanger has also sat on the boards of Demos, the National Voting Rights Institute, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, and the Network for Good. ^{8 9}

Venu Gupta is a director on Free Speech for People’s board. Gupta is the founder and CEO of Solidarity Futures, a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting firm. ^{8 10}

Joia Mukherjee is a director on Free Speech for People’s board. Since 2000, Mukherjee has been the chief medical officer of Partners in Health, a philanthropic charity that provides health care services, training, and systems management to low-income communities in the United States and around the world. ⁸

Political Advocacy

Dissolution of super PACs

In July 2020, Free Speech For People joined 16 states and six Democratic senators in litigation aimed at persuading the Supreme Court to abolish super PACs. ¹¹ Free Speech For People has also advocated a range of left-wing constitutional amendments, including the abolition of the Electoral College and the establishment of a government campaign funding system for all federal candidates. ¹

Trump First Term Impeachment Advocacy

Much of Free Speech For People’s work after the 2016 election focused directly on targeting the first administration of President Donald Trump. Free Speech For People established a petition calling for the California and New York state retirement systems to divest from Trump SoHo, a subsidiary of the Trump Organization. ¹² The petition claimed the investments violate the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution and fund Donald Trump directly. ¹² Free Speech For People has since called for the entire Trump Organization to be dissolved by the state of New York. ¹³

In 2017, Free Speech For People began a partnership with left-of-center organizing group RootsAction ahead of Trump’s inauguration. The moment Trump took the oath of office, the two organizations launched the website ImpeachDonaldTrumpNow.org, an initiative to gain support for the impeachment of President Trump. ³ The following year, Free Speech For People released The Constitution Demands It: The Case For The Impeachment of Donald Trump, a book written by Bonifaz, Clements, and Fein arguing for impeachment. ¹⁴ In Free Speech For People’s 2019 End of Year Update the group took credit for helping to “build” the impeachment movement that led to the then-pending House of Representatives vote to impeach President Trump. ¹⁵

FSP collected signatures from 1.4 million Americans and passed seventeen local ordinances supporting the impeachment of President Trump. ^{16 17}

Trump Disqualification Litigation

In 2023, Free Speech for People filed a lawsuit on behalf of state voters against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), LaBrant v. Benson, to disqualify former president Donald Trump’s name from appearing on the 2024 presidential ballot by claiming Trump violated section three, the insurrection clause, of the Fourteenth Amendment. ¹⁸

In November 2023, a Michigan Court of Claims judge rejected the case on procedural grounds, stating that state law did not, “allow the secretary of state to exclude a candidate like Trump from the primary election.” ¹⁹ In December of that year, the case was taken before a Michigan Appeals Court but the court affirmed the previous decision. Shortly after, the case was taken before the Michigan state Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear the appeal to overturn the ruling and instead affirmed the previous ruling that Trump’s name be kept on the 2024 presidential ballot. ^{20 18}

Free Speech for People legal director Ron Fein released a statement, claiming the state Supreme Court’s decision, “conflicts with longstanding US Supreme Court precedent that makes clear that when political parties use the election machinery of the state to select, via the primary process, their candidates for the general election, they must comply with all constitutional requirements in that process.” ²⁰ As of January 2024, attorneys from Free Speech for People have filed similar lawsuits to keep Trump’s name off the ballot in the states of Minnesota and Oregon. ²⁰

Impeach Trump. Again. (ITA)

On January 20, 2025 (Inauguration Day), Free Speech for People launched Impeach Trump. Again (ITA), an initiative to encourage the U.S. Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump immediately upon the commencement of his second administration. Free Speech for People claims that ITA is a “non-partisan campaign.” ⁴

ITA argues for impeaching President Trump based on his conduct during his first day in office on his second term and his conduct during his third presidential campaign. According to ITA, President Trump has violated the Emoluments Clauses of the U.S. Constitution by enriching himself in office, broke numerous campaign finance and laws and ethics regulations during his third presidential campaign, and abused his pardoning power. ²¹

ITA claims that during the 2024 presidential election, President Trump promised to commit impeachable offenses once he became president. Allegedly, President Trump promised to “unlawfully mobilize the U.S. military in U.S. cities”; “cruelly and unconstitutionally imprison and separate immigrant families”; “selectively prosecute or otherwise seek retribution against political rivals and journalists”; and “appoint billionaire campaign contributors such as Elon Musk–including in manners that evade congressional oversight–to key positions that will provide them decision-making authority from which they are positioned to personally profit at the expense and to the detriment of the American people and in possible violation of the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses.” ²²

Big Tech Accountability Act

Free Speech for People advocates for the Big Tech Accountability Act, model legislation crafted by the group to regulate big tech companies. The legislation aims to hold social media companies legally responsible for “disinformation and threats of violence” promoted on their platforms and limit the ability of corporations to use the private information of their customers. In an FAQ on the legislation, Free Speech for People claims that these regulations would not restrict free speech, but rather protect users from “white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other fanatics… drowning out the voices of ordinary people.” ^{23 24}

Amicus Briefs

Gonzales v. Google was a case argued in the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 in which the relatives of a man killed by ISIS terrorists sued Google because its algorithms allegedly “recommended ISIS-produced terrorist videos to its users.” In December 2022, Free Speech for People filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hold Google legally accountable for the content promoted on its websites. ²⁵

In October 2018, filed an amicus brief in Exxon Mobil Corp v. Healey, a case filed by Exxon Mobil challenging investigations by the Massachusetts and New York state attorney generals into whether the company misled shareholders and the public regarding the extent to which it knew that its activity contributed to climate change. The amicus brief relayed arguments from a group of law professors affirming that the investigation did not violate Exxon Mobil’s First Amendment rights. Exxon Mobil ultimately lost the case and its appeals were eventually denied. ^{26 27}

U.S. Supreme Court

According to Free Speech for People, the U.S. Supreme Court has lost its legitimacy due to corruption. Free Speech for People claims that at least two Supreme Court Justices are “on the [right-wing] billionaire payroll,” that at least one Justice had credible sexual assault allegations against him, that at least two Justices have illegitimately refused to recuse themselves from cases involving the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol in support of President Donald Trump despite personal conflicts of interest, and that the Federalist Society and other right-wing nonprofits have systematically influenced lower courts for decades. To combat this corruption, Free Speech for People recommends impeaching U.S. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh, expanding the number of seats in the U.S. Supreme Court, and implementing term limits on its seats, among other changes. ²⁸

Contaminating the Courts

In 2018, Free Speech for People and Greenpeace published “Containing the Courts,” a report claiming that major corporations “misuse the constitution,” usually the First Amendment, to engage in misconduct that harms the environment. The report claims that the “trend isn’t totally new” but has become far more prominent since the Citizens United v. FEC decision permitted unlimited corporate expenditures on elections. ^{29 30}

1. “The Democracy Amendments.” Free Speech For People, June 15, 2020. https://freespeechforpeople.org/democracy-amendments/.
2. About Free Speech for People. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://freespeechforpeople.org/about/
3. Gold, Matea. “The Campaign to Impeach President Trump Has Begun.” The Washington Post. January 20, 2017. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/01/20/the-campaign-to-impeach-president-trump-has-begun/
4. Public Interest Group Calls for Immediate Impeachment Investigation Against President Trump.” Free Speech for People. January 20, 2025. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://freespeechforpeople.org/public-interest-group-calls-for-immediate-impeachment-investigation-against-president-trump/
5. About Free Speech for People. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://freespeechforpeople.org/about/
6. Editorial Board. “Dump ‘Citizens United.’” The Nation. January 20, 2012. Accessed September 6, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2012/01/20/145504318/the-nation-dump-citizens-united
7. “About PDA: Progressive Democrats of America.” Progressive Democrats of America. Accessed September 24, 2020. https://pdamerica.org/about-pda/.
8. “About Free Speech for People.” Free Speech for People. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://freespeechforpeople.org/about/
9. “Ben Binswanger.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-binswanger-688494112/.
10. “Venu Gupta.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/venuguptambajd/.
11. Swann, Sara. “New Longshot Bid Tries to Persuade Supreme Court to Rein In Super PACs.” The Fulcrum. July 23, 2020. https://thefulcrum.us/campaign-finance/super-pac-supreme-court
12. Free Speech for People. MoveOn. Accessed September 5, 2020. https://sign.moveon.org/partnerships/free-speech-for-people
13.  “Dissolve the Trump Organization.” Free Speech For People, June 4, 2020. https://freespeechforpeople.org/revoke-trump-charter/.
14. “The Impeachment Project.” Accessed September 6, 2020. https://www.impeachmentproject.org/
15. “2019 End of Year Update.” Free Speech for People.” Accessed September 6, 2020. https://freespeechforpeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-annual-report-.pdf
16. “Homepage.” Impeach Trump Now. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://impeachdonaldtrumpnow.org/.
17. “Why Impeachment.” Impeach Trump Now. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://impeachdonaldtrumpnow.org/case-for-impeachment/why-impeachment/.
18. “LaBrant v. Benson.” Constitutional Accountability Center, Accessed January 2, 2024. https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/labrant-v-benson/
19. Burga, Solcyre. “Michigan Supreme Court Keeps Trump on the State’s 2024 Ballot.” Time, December 27, 2023. https://time.com/6551024/michigan-supreme-court-trump-2024-ballot/
20. Williams, Corey. “Michigan Supreme Court will keep Trump on 2024 primary ballot.” ABC News, December 27, 2023. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/michigan-supreme-court-trump-2024-ballot-105939100
21. ^[1] “The Case For Impeachment On Day One.” Impeach Trump. Again. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.impeachtrumpagain.org/#case.
22. “The Case For Impeachment On Day One.” Impeach Trump. Again. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://www.impeachtrumpagain.org/#case.
23. “The Big Tech Accountability Act.” Free Speech for People. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://freespeechforpeople.org/big-tech-accountability-act/.
24. “Big Tech Accountability Act – Frequently Asked Questions.” Free Speech for People. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://freespeechforpeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/big-tech-accountability-act-faq-doc-02022022.pdf.
25. “Gonzalez v. Google.” Free Speech for People. Accessed January 25, 2025. Free Speech for People. https://freespeechforpeople.org/gonzalez-v-google/.
26. “Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Healey.” Free Speech for People. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://freespeechforpeople.org/exxon-mobil-v-healey/.
27. “Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Healey.” Climate Case Chart. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://climatecasechart.com/case/exxon-mobil-corp-v-healey/.
28. “SCOTUS Reform Now.” Free Speech for People. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://www.scotusreformnow.com/.
29. “Contaminating the Courts: A Joint Report by Free Speech For People and Greenpeace.” Free Speech for People. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://freespeechforpeople.org/contaminating-the-courts/.
30. “Contaminating the Courts: How Corporations Are Misusing the Constitution to Attack the Environment.” Free Speech for People. April 19, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://freespeechforpeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Contaminating-the-Courts.pdf.