truthout--2020-08-06--Social Media Sites Pull Trump’s Posts for Violating COVID Misinformation Rules

Two social media sites took bold action against accounts belonging to President Donald Trump and his presidential election campaign for sharing videos of an interview in which he made false statements about coronavirus .
“ Team Trump , ” the president ’ s official campaign Twitter account , was temporarily suspended after it had shared the video of Trump ’ s comments in a Fox News interview that took place on Wednesday , in which he falsely claimed that children are “ almost immune ” to the effects of coronavirus , and therefore they should return to school in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children , children are almost — and I would almost say definitely — but almost immune from this disease , ” Trump falsely asserted on the program .
“ They don ’ t have a problem .
They just don ’ t have a problem.
” Twitter would not allow the account to resume tweeting until Team Trump deleted the post .
The social media company also took action against the president ’ s Twitter account for sharing Team Trump ’ s tweet , removing it and replacing the post with a message @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter ’ s rules regarding the dissemination of false information on COVID-19 .
Facebook took similar actions against Trump ’ s campaign team hours earlier for sharing the same video .
Facebook removed the post from the site after they deemed the information within the video as false .
It was the first time the company had removed a post from Trump ’ s campaign for spreading false information .
YouTube also announced it was taking the video down from Trump ’ s campaign channel for violating the company ’ s misinformation policies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the original interview , available on the Fox News YouTube channel .
The Trump campaign responded disapprovingly to the removal of the videos from its social channels .
“ Social media companies are not the arbiters of truth , ” Courtney Parella , a spokesperson for the Trump campaign , said .
Though children are less likely to exhibit serious symptoms of COVID-19 , they are just as likely to spread the disease as easily as adults .
And while kids make up a small fraction of those who have died from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country under the age of 15 have passed away due to complications from the disease , as well as hundreds between the ages of 15 to 24 .
One study from JAMA Pediatrics examined the treatment and hospitalization of children in the U.S. who were seen by doctors in the early stages of the pandemic .
Of 48 children who were part of the study , 31 percent required hospitalization , with 6.25 percent needing ventilatory support .
Illness in children , the study found , is “ far less frequent ” that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible .
Coronavirus “ can result in a significant disease burden in children ” the study also said .
In short , even though children are less likely to die or require the same amount of care from the disease as adults are , saying they are “ almost immune ” from coronavirus is a false notion that may give off the wrong impression to parents , particularly those who are supporters of the president , putting their children at risk as a result .
While children ’ s safety and health are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this fall , teachers across the nation are also worried that sending kids back during the pandemic may result in dire outcomes for themselves or their families , too .
A recent NPR/Ipsos poll published this week found that 82 percent of teachers said they were concerned about returning to school this year , and two-thirds said they would prefer to teach remotely .
Seventy-seven percent of teachers also said they were worried about how teaching in the classroom would affect their health .
“ Educators believe they are viewed as expendable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their jobs or the health of themselves and their loved ones , ” National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García said in a statement responding to Trump ’ s statements .

Two social media sites took bold action against accounts belonging to President Donald Trump and his presidential election campaign for sharing videos of an interview in which he made false statements about coronavirus.
“Team Trump,” the president’s official campaign Twitter account, was temporarily suspended after it had shared the video of Trump’s comments in a Fox News interview that took place on Wednesday, in which he falsely claimed that children are “almost immune” to the effects of coronavirus, and therefore they should return to school in the fall.
“If you look at children, children are almost — and I would almost say definitely — but almost immune from this disease,” Trump falsely asserted on the program. “They don’t have a problem. They just don’t have a problem.”
Twitter would not allow the account to resume tweeting until Team Trump deleted the post.
The social media company also took action against the president’s Twitter account for sharing Team Trump’s tweet, removing it and replacing the post with a message that said it was in violation of Twitter’s rules regarding the dissemination of false information on COVID-19.
Facebook took similar actions against Trump’s campaign team hours earlier for sharing the same video. Facebook removed the post from the site after they deemed the information within the video as false. It was the first time the company had removed a post from Trump’s campaign for spreading false information.
YouTube also announced it was taking the video down from Trump’s campaign channel for violating the company’s misinformation policies. It left in place, however, the original interview, available on the Fox News YouTube channel.
The Trump campaign responded disapprovingly to the removal of the videos from its social channels. “Social media companies are not the arbiters of truth,” Courtney Parella, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said.
Though children are less likely to exhibit serious symptoms of COVID-19, they are just as likely to spread the disease as easily as adults. And while kids make up a small fraction of those who have died from coronavirus, dozens of children across the country under the age of 15 have passed away due to complications from the disease, as well as hundreds between the ages of 15 to 24.
One study from JAMA Pediatrics examined the treatment and hospitalization of children in the U.S. who were seen by doctors in the early stages of the pandemic. Of 48 children who were part of the study, 31 percent required hospitalization, with 6.25 percent needing ventilatory support.
Illness in children, the study found, is “far less frequent” that it is in adults, but still possible. Coronavirus “can result in a significant disease burden in children” the study also said.
In short, even though children are less likely to die or require the same amount of care from the disease as adults are, saying they are “almost immune” from coronavirus is a false notion that may give off the wrong impression to parents, particularly those who are supporters of the president, putting their children at risk as a result.
While children’s safety and health are among the main concerns about reopening schools this fall, teachers across the nation are also worried that sending kids back during the pandemic may result in dire outcomes for themselves or their families, too.
A recent NPR/Ipsos poll published this week found that 82 percent of teachers said they were concerned about returning to school this year, and two-thirds said they would prefer to teach remotely. Seventy-seven percent of teachers also said they were worried about how teaching in the classroom would affect their health.
“Educators believe they are viewed as expendable, and they feel forced to choose between their jobs or the health of themselves and their loved ones,” National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García said in a statement responding to Trump’s statements.
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truthout--2020-08-06--Fossil Fuel Industry Funds Racist Policing and Pollutes Communities of Color

As movements for racial and environmental justice escalate across the US , these struggles — which , as groups like the National Black Environmental Justice Network point out , must be seen as one — have a common foe : the fossil fuel industry .
The same companies that drive environmental racism in Black and Brown communities through toxic and climate-changing pollution also fund police power in cities that stretch from Houston and Detroit to New Orleans and Salt Lake City .
Oil and gas companies , private utilities , and financial institutions that bankroll fossil fuels are all big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raise money to buy weapons , equipment , and surveillance technology for police departments , bypassing already outsized public police budgets .
These corporate actors — from Chevron and Shell to Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase — can be found serving as directors and funders of police foundations nationwide .
Furthermore , these companies sponsor events and galas that celebrate the police and remind the public that police power is backed up by corporate power .
Fossil fuel companies , utilities , and the banks that fund them are prominent political players in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These companies , which rely on extraction and exploitation to secure their profits , have an incentive to form tight bonds with police forces , which function to uphold and protect their interests in the face of community opposition .
In many states , these companies go so far as to back laws to criminalize protests of dirty energy projects such as pipelines , openly weaponizing the police and criminal justice system to protect the profits of the fossil fuel industry and the banks that fund them .
This symbiotic relationship between the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the companies that are polluting Black and Brown communities — like Marathon Petroleum in Detroit , Valero in Corpus Christi , or Shell in Louisiana — are the same ones that are aligned with and propping up police forces in these same cities .
This is why divesting from fossil fuels and fighting to end environmental racism goes hand in hand with defunding the police in the fight for racial justice and reinvestment in Black and Brown communities .
Fossil fuel companies support police foundations across the country , especially in major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Louisiana .
A few of the most prominent Big Oil backers of police foundations include : • Chevron , one of the top integrated oil and gas companies in the world , with a market capitalization value that ranked only behind ExxonMobil at the end of 2019 .
The fifth biggest US refiner , Chevron is a top polluter that owns two of the top six benzene-emitting refineries in the US .
Chevron ’ s refineries are the targets of numerous environmental justice fights .
For example , in Richmond , California , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the power , pollution , and environmental racism of Chevron , which owns a major refinery in the city made up of 80 % people of color .
Chevron is a “ Corporate Partner of the Police ” sponsor of the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation , as well as a board member of the Houston Police Foundation and sponsor of the Houston Police Department ’ s mounted patrol .
It is also donor to and , as of the end of 2018 , a board member of the Salt Lake City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nation ’ s largest oil refining company , has a history of environmental pollution that disproportionately impacts the health of Black and Brown communities where their refineries are based .
Sine 2000 Marathon has been fined over $ 1.4 billion for various environmental , consumer , and workplace violations .
The company operates 16 refineries around the country , including a notorious 250-acre refinery in a Detroit , Michigan community that is 71 % Black .
Since 2013 Marathon ’ s Detroit refinery has received 15 violations from the state environmental regulator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In 2019 the refinery leaked a “ gasoil ” mixture that created a toxic vapor cloud that sent workers to the hospital .
Marathon ’ s Security Coordinator sits on the board of the Detroit Public Safety Foundation , the city ’ s police foundation .
Marathon is also listed as a “ Commanding Sponsor ” of the foundation ’ s fundraising event “ Above & Beyond ” and a “ Bronze Sponsor ” of their “ Women in Blue ” event .
• Shell , one of the biggest fossil fuel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global emitter of carbon pollution .
It is building a huge ethane cracker plant near Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania that some feel could start to turn Appalachia into the next “ Cancer Alley ” — the nickname for the New Orleans-to-Baton Rouge corridor of Louisiana refineries , where Shell is also a major polluter .
Cancer Alley runs through several Black communities that face extremely high rates of pollution and cancer — largely believed to be caused by refining and petrochemical operations .
Shell is a “ Featured Partner ” of the New Orleans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Houston Police Department ’ s Mounted Patrol .
• Valero is the second biggest oil refining company in the US .
Its Corpus Christi East refinery — part of the city ’ s “ Refinery Row , ” where a slew of refineries sit near predominantly poor , Black , and Brown communities — is a top emitter of benzene .
Valero has a board seat on the Corpus Christi Police Foundation ’ s board of directors , and it is a sponsor of the Houston Police Department ’ s Mounted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Houston , Texas , is one of the largest privately-held oil drillers in the country and is best known for buying older oil and gas fields from other producers in order to extract any remaining product .
The company is also known for racking up environmental violations .
From 2012 to 2015 Hilcorp ’ s Alaska operation had 25 documented violations of environmental regulations including allowing a gas pipeline on the seafloor to leak methane rather than stop production until a repair was possible .
In Ohio , Hilcorp ’ s drilling practices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while in Louisiana they have been responsible for several oil spills and destroyed oyster beds in an already vulnerable coastal community .
Hilcorp ’ s billionaire co-founder and Chairman Jeff Hildebrand has a board seat on the Houston Police Foundation and is a notable attendee of their fundraising events .
Other fossil fuel companies also support police foundations .
For example , Energy Transfer Partners , one of the companies behind the Dakota Access Pipeline , is a listed sponsor of the Friends of the Dallas Police , while Aramco , Cabot Oil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below sponsor the Houston Police ’ s Mounted Patrol Department .
Utility companies are some of the dirtiest and most dangerous polluters in the country .
According to a 2019 benchmarking report backed by several utility companies , the 100 largest utilities accounted for 80 % of measurable air emissions in the United States .
Another 2019 study found that Black communities disproportionately suffer health issues , including respiratory and cardiovascular damage , and face a higher risk of death from the fine particulate emissions that come from power plants .
Utilities nationwide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which means they often also hold roles in local police foundations as board members and donors .
Here are some other major utility companies that back police foundations : • Detroit Edison ( DTE ) is an electric utility company headquartered in Detroit , Michigan .
DTE ’ s Director of Corporate and Government Affairs sits on the board of the Detroit Public Safety Foundation , the city ’ s police foundation .
DTE sponsors the foundation ’ s events such as the Above & Beyond Awards and donates directly through its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 138,000 between 2014 and 2018 .
Around 65 % of the energy produced at DTE comes from coal , the dirtiest fossil fuel to burn .
In May 2020 DTE was forced to pay a $ 1.8 million civil penalty and agree to spend $ 5.5 million on air quality mitigation projects as part of a settlement with the EPA over violations of the Clean Air Act .
• Exelon is a publicly-traded energy company headquartered in Chicago and the largest utility in the country with eight subsidiaries .
Exelon is a major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police foundations where it and its subsidiaries operate , giving to foundations in Baltimore , Philadelphia , Chicago , and Washington D.C. For example , in Baltimore County , BGE , a subsidiary of Exelon , has a seat on the police foundation board and is a gold level sponsor .
Exelon is currently embroiled in a major lobbying scandal in its home state of Illinois for allegedly hiring in exchange for political favors .
It has been charged with bribery and has agreed to pay a $ 200 million fine .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 200 million over 50 years to settle a lawsuit over pollution in the Chesapeake Bay .
• Entergy is a publicly-traded , Fortune 500 company headquartered in Louisiana that also services parts of Arkansas , Mississippi , and Texas .
Entergy is arguably the most powerful corporate force in Louisiana , with presences on prominent chambers , business associations , philanthropic organizations , and even charter school advocacy groups across the state .
Entergy is a “ Featured Partner ” of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation with top billing on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 Entergy made headlines after it paid actors $ 60-200 dollars to pose as grassroots supporters at a City Council meeting that was considering the company ’ s proposed gas-fired power plant in New Orleans East , home to a large Vietnamese community .
The resulting scandal , lawsuit , and city council investigation prompted the Entergy New Orleans CEO to step down .
• Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company , which was ranked the second most polluting power company by the Los Angeles Times in 2019 .
Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Atlanta Police Foundation and has one representative on its Board of Trustees and two representatives on its “ Young Executives Board.
” In addition to its board seats , Georgia Power sponsors the Foundation ’ s numerous fundraising events including “ A Night in Blue , ” “ Blue Jean Ball , ” “ Crime is Toast Breakfast , ” and “ Link Up Against Crime Golf Tournament.
” The company made a direct $ 500,000 donation to the foundation in 2016 .
A 2018 investigation by the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 12 coal-powered plants were contaminating groundwater with toxic pollutants .
Ten of those plants belonged to Georgia Power .
• Duke Energy is a publicly-traded electric power company headquartered in Charlotte , North Carolina and is a bronze level sponsor of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Foundation .
Duke was ranked the number one polluting power company in the county by the Los Angeles Times in 2019 .
In 2015 Duke was sued over a major coal ash leak in North Carolina and in 2020 was forced to agree to the largest environmental cleanup in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coal-fired Gallagher plant in West Louisville , Kentucky where over 30 % of nearby residents suffer from environment-related illnesses .
Duke was the second largest owner of the recently abandoned Atlantic Coast Pipeline project .
Other utilities also back police foundations .
For example , mega-utility and top owner of the now-cancelled Atlantic Coast Pipeline , Dominion Energy , has a seat on the board of the Richmond Police Foundation and is a donor to the Salt Lake City Police Foundation , while NV Energy has a board seat on the Las Vegas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events .
Fossil fuel companies depend on major financial institutions — such as banks , asset managers , and insurance companies — to prop up their oil , gas , and coal operations .
Many of these same firms that are financing our climate crisis and environmental racism are also helping to bankroll and support police foundations across the US .
Demands to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in a just transition , and to defund the police and reinvest in Black and Brown communities , have some common targets : big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the largest fossil fuel financiers that donate to these private foundations include : • JPMorgan Chase is the top global financier of fossil fuels , funneling over a quarter-trillion dollars towards oil , gas , and coal between 2016 and 2019 , according to the 2020 Banking on Fossil Fuels report .
Former ExxonMobil CEO and chairman Lee Raymond , who has a long record of climate denialism , has served on the board of JPMorganChase and its predecessor for over three decades .
Climate organizers have been campaigning to fully remove Raymond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a sponsor — a “ Corporate Partner of Police , ” officially — of the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation , which uses corporate donations to fund things like surveillance technology and the recruitment and training of police .
JPMorgan also occupies the Secretary/Treasurer position on the foundation ’ s board .
The bank ’ s donor relationship to police foundations also goes far back : nearly a decade ago , JPMorgan garnered scrutiny for its huge $ 4.6 million donation to the NYC Police Foundation for “ security upgrades , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ monitoring software for the department ’ s main data center , ” according to Police Magazine .
Organizers have recently staged protests against JPMorgan Chase in Chicago , demanding reparations after a new report revealed egregious racial disparities in the bank ’ s mortgage lending practices in the city .
• Wells Fargo is the second biggest global banker behind fossil fuels , with nearly $ 198 billion in financing between 2016 and 2019 .
The scandal-ridden bank has a slew of ties to police foundations .
It is a platinum sponsor and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Police Foundation .
It is also a partner and donor to the Seattle Police Foundation , a director and sponsor of the Atlanta Police Foundation , and a donor to the Salt Lake City Police Foundation .
Moreover , when it comes to financial ties to racist practices and institutions , Wells Fargo coziness with the police is just one example : the bank has been involved in discriminatory lending , propping up private prisons , and much more ( for more information , check out the ACRE ’ s Forego Wells campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fourth biggest global financier of fossil fuels , with nearly $ 157 billion between 2016 and 2019 channeled toward oil , gas , and coal .
Along with being a lender to some of the most controversial US pipeline projects , Bank of America also played a key advising role in Occidental ’ s acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum last year , the biggest oil merger in years .
Bank of America also had the biggest increase in financing fossil fuels from 2018 to 2019 — $ 13.1 billion — of any bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Climate Change report .
Bank of America is a sponsor of the Philadelphia Police Foundation and has seats on the Chicago , NYC , and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police foundation boards .
Its charitable arm has given $ 200,000 to the NYC Police Foundation , $ 51,250 to the Atlanta Police Foundation , $ 25,000 to the Boston Police Foundation , $ 10,000 to the Los Angeles Police Foundation , and smaller donations to police foundations in Sarasota , Duluth , Sacramento , and elsewhere .
Bank of America ’ s ties to racist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — just last year it agreed to pay a $ 4.2 million “ in back wages and interest to resolve alleged hiring discrimination violations found at several of the bank ’ s facilities , ” according to the US Department of Labor .
• BlackRock is the world ’ s largest asset manager and remains one of the biggest global investors in oil , gas , and coal .
According to a 2019 Guardian report , BlackRock has $ 87.3 billion invested in fossil fuel companies through its listed portfolio funds .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ routinely opposed motions at fossil fuel companies that would have forced directors to take more action on climate change , the analysis reveals.
” And even as BlackRock has gestured towards more climate accountability with companies BlackRock invests in , some have criticized the limited extent of these measures and the firm ’ s overall credibility on climate issues .
BlackRock ’ s Larry Fink is a big supporter of the one of the most powerful police foundations in the US , the NYC Police Foundation .
Not only is Fink a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has also co-chaired its annual gala from 2016 to 2019 .
Color of Change , which calls itself “ the nation ’ s largest online racial justice organization , ” is currently demanding that Fink and BlackRock stop supporting the foundation .
• Morgan Stanley , the 11th biggest global financier of fossil fuels from 2016 to 2018 , has close ties to police foundations .
Two of its executives togetherchaired the 2019 NYC Police Foundation Gala , which honored its chairman and CEO , James Gorman .
Morgan Stanley is represented on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and numerous other police foundation boards ( from Jupiter , Florida , to Long Beach , California ) , and is a Bronze Sponsor of the Charlotte Police Foundation .
Morgan Stanley also has a seat on the Greenville ( South Carolina ) Police Foundation board .
A former Morgan Stanley executive who served 16 years as the bank ’ s global head of diversity is now suing the firm , “ alleging racial bias for silencing and retaliating against employees who sought to make it more inclusive , ” with her lawsuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toxic workplace culture for employees of color , ” according to the Washington Post .
A host of other financial institutions also support police foundations .
For example Goldman Sachs , the 14th biggest financier of fossil fuels from 2016 to 2018 , is a big backer of police foundations .
It gave $ 250,000 to the Los Angeles Police Foundation and $ 15,000 to the NYC Police Foundation in 2018 , co-chaired the NYC Police Foundation ’ s 2019 Gala , and is a donor to the Salt Lake City Police Foundation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most powerful oil and gas companies , private utilities , and financial institutions that drive environmental injustice are also backers of the same police departments — through their funding , sponsoring , and governing of police foundations — that tyrannize the very communities these corporate actors pollute .
As demands continue to rise to defund the police and reinvest in Black and Brown communities , as well as to divest from the fossil fuel industry and reinvest in environmental justice and a just transition , the fossil fuel industry power structure presents a @ @ @ @ @ @ @

As movements for racial and environmental justice escalate across the US, these struggles — which, as groups like the National Black Environmental Justice Network point out, must be seen as one — have a common foe: the fossil fuel industry. The same companies that drive environmental racism in Black and Brown communities through toxic and climate-changing pollution also fund police power in cities that stretch from Houston and Detroit to New Orleans and Salt Lake City.
Oil and gas companies, private utilities, and financial institutions that bankroll fossil fuels are all big backers of police foundations, which privately raise money to buy weapons, equipment, and surveillance technology for police departments, bypassing already outsized public police budgets. These corporate actors — from Chevron and Shell to Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase — can be found serving as directors and funders of police foundations nationwide. Furthermore, these companies sponsor events and galas that celebrate the police and remind the public that police power is backed up by corporate power.
Fossil fuel companies, utilities, and the banks that fund them are prominent political players in any local or regional power structure. These companies, which rely on extraction and exploitation to secure their profits, have an incentive to form tight bonds with police forces, which function to uphold and protect their interests in the face of community opposition. In many states, these companies go so far as to back laws to criminalize protests of dirty energy projects such as pipelines, openly weaponizing the police and criminal justice system to protect the profits of the fossil fuel industry and the banks that fund them.
This symbiotic relationship between the fossil fuel industry and police often means that the companies that are polluting Black and Brown communities — like Marathon Petroleum in Detroit, Valero in Corpus Christi, or Shell in Louisiana — are the same ones that are aligned with and propping up police forces in these same cities. This is why divesting from fossil fuels and fighting to end environmental racism goes hand in hand with defunding the police in the fight for racial justice and reinvestment in Black and Brown communities.
Fossil Fuel Companies
Fossil fuel companies support police foundations across the country, especially in major oil producing states such as Texas and Louisiana. A few of the most prominent Big Oil backers of police foundations include:
Chevron, one of the top integrated oil and gas companies in the world, with a market capitalization value that ranked only behind ExxonMobil at the end of 2019. The fifth biggest US refiner, Chevron is a top polluter that owns two of the top six benzene-emitting refineries in the US. Chevron’s refineries are the targets of numerous environmental justice fights. For example, in Richmond, California, community residents have fought for years against the power, pollution, and environmental racism of Chevron, which owns a major refinery in the city made up of 80% people of color. Chevron is a “Corporate Partner of the Police” sponsor of the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation, as well as a board member of the Houston Police Foundation and sponsor of the Houston Police Department’s mounted patrol. It is also donor to and, as of the end of 2018, a board member of the Salt Lake City Police Foundation.
Marathon Petroleum, the nation’s largest oil refining company, has a history of environmental pollution that disproportionately impacts the health of Black and Brown communities where their refineries are based. Sine 2000 Marathon has been fined over $1.4 billion for various environmental, consumer, and workplace violations. The company operates 16 refineries around the country, including a notorious 250-acre refinery in a Detroit, Michigan community that is 71% Black. Since 2013 Marathon’s Detroit refinery has received 15 violations from the state environmental regulator for surpassing state and federal emissions limits. In 2019 the refinery leaked a “gasoil” mixture that created a toxic vapor cloud that sent workers to the hospital. Marathon’s Security Coordinator sits on the board of the Detroit Public Safety Foundation, the city’s police foundation. Marathon is also listed as a “Commanding Sponsor” of the foundation’s fundraising event “Above & Beyond” and a “Bronze Sponsor” of their “Women in Blue” event.
We’d like to thank Marathon Petroleum for making a special delivery to @detroitpolice 4th precinct for #NationalLawEnforcementAppreciationDay. They also delivered a check for new gym equipment at the precinct. Thanks Marathon for supporting #BacktheBlueDetroit pic.twitter.com/TnBq7VV2j5 — DetPublicSafetyFndtn (@DetPublicSafety) January 9, 2020
Shell, one of the biggest fossil fuel companies in the world and a major global emitter of carbon pollution. It is building a huge ethane cracker plant near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that some feel could start to turn Appalachia into the next “Cancer Alley” — the nickname for the New Orleans-to-Baton Rouge corridor of Louisiana refineries, where Shell is also a major polluter. Cancer Alley runs through several Black communities that face extremely high rates of pollution and cancer — largely believed to be caused by refining and petrochemical operations. Shell is a “Featured Partner” of the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation and a sponsor of the Houston Police Department’s Mounted Patrol.
Valero is the second biggest oil refining company in the US. Its Corpus Christi East refinery — part of the city’s “Refinery Row,” where a slew of refineries sit near predominantly poor, Black, and Brown communities — is a top emitter of benzene. Valero has a board seat on the Corpus Christi Police Foundation’s board of directors, and it is a sponsor of the Houston Police Department’s Mounted Patrol.
Hilcorp, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is one of the largest privately-held oil drillers in the country and is best known for buying older oil and gas fields from other producers in order to extract any remaining product. The company is also known for racking up environmental violations. From 2012 to 2015 Hilcorp’s Alaska operation had 25 documented violations of environmental regulations including allowing a gas pipeline on the seafloor to leak methane rather than stop production until a repair was possible. In Ohio, Hilcorp’s drilling practices were blamed for dozens of earthquakes, while in Louisiana they have been responsible for several oil spills and destroyed oyster beds in an already vulnerable coastal community. Hilcorp’s billionaire co-founder and Chairman Jeff Hildebrand has a board seat on the Houston Police Foundation and is a notable attendee of their fundraising events.
Other fossil fuel companies also support police foundations. For example, Energy Transfer Partners, one of the companies behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, is a listed sponsor of the Friends of the Dallas Police, while Aramco, Cabot Oil & Gas, and several companies profiled below sponsor the Houston Police’s Mounted Patrol Department.
Utility Companies
Utility companies are some of the dirtiest and most dangerous polluters in the country. According to a 2019 benchmarking report backed by several utility companies, the 100 largest utilities accounted for 80% of measurable air emissions in the United States. Another 2019 study found that Black communities disproportionately suffer health issues, including respiratory and cardiovascular damage, and face a higher risk of death from the fine particulate emissions that come from power plants.
Utilities nationwide are prominent players in local power structures, which means they often also hold roles in local police foundations as board members and donors. Here are some other major utility companies that back police foundations:
Detroit Edison (DTE) is an electric utility company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. DTE’s Director of Corporate and Government Affairs sits on the board of the Detroit Public Safety Foundation, the city’s police foundation. DTE sponsors the foundation’s events such as the Above & Beyond Awards and donates directly through its own DTE Energy Foundation, giving $138,000 between 2014 and 2018. Around 65% of the energy produced at DTE comes from coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel to burn. In May 2020 DTE was forced to pay a $1.8 million civil penalty and agree to spend $5.5 million on air quality mitigation projects as part of a settlement with the EPA over violations of the Clean Air Act.
Exelon is a publicly-traded energy company headquartered in Chicago and the largest utility in the country with eight subsidiaries. Exelon is a major political player and a prolific donor to police foundations where it and its subsidiaries operate, giving to foundations in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Washington D.C. For example, in Baltimore County, BGE, a subsidiary of Exelon, has a seat on the police foundation board and is a gold level sponsor. Exelon is currently embroiled in a major lobbying scandal in its home state of Illinois for allegedly hiring in exchange for political favors. It has been charged with bribery and has agreed to pay a $200 million fine. In 2019 the company agreed to pay $200 million over 50 years to settle a lawsuit over pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.
Entergy is a publicly-traded, Fortune 500 company headquartered in Louisiana that also services parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy is arguably the most powerful corporate force in Louisiana, with presences on prominent chambers, business associations, philanthropic organizations, and even charter school advocacy groups across the state. Entergy is a “Featured Partner” of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation with top billing on the foundation’s sponsors page. In 2018 Entergy made headlines after it paid actors $60-200 dollars to pose as grassroots supporters at a City Council meeting that was considering the company’s proposed gas-fired power plant in New Orleans East, home to a large Vietnamese community. The resulting scandal, lawsuit, and city council investigation prompted the Entergy New Orleans CEO to step down.
Thank You for Another Amazing Stake Out for Justice Luncheon presented by Entergy – https://t.co/CDsbzCisfH pic.twitter.com/dMVYrGSIje — NOPJF (@nopjf) October 8, 2019
Duke Energy is a publicly-traded electric power company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and is a bronze level sponsor of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Foundation. Duke was ranked the number one polluting power company in the county by the Los Angeles Times in 2019. In 2015 Duke was sued over a major coal ash leak in North Carolina and in 2020 was forced to agree to the largest environmental cleanup in US history. Duke still owns the coal-fired Gallagher plant in West Louisville, Kentucky where over 30% of nearby residents suffer from environment-related illnesses. Duke was the second largest owner of the recently abandoned Atlantic Coast Pipeline project.
Other utilities also back police foundations. For example, mega-utility and top owner of the now-cancelled Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Dominion Energy, has a seat on the board of the Richmond Police Foundation and is a donor to the Salt Lake City Police Foundation, while NV Energy has a board seat on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Foundation and sponsors its fundraising events.
Financial Institutions
Fossil fuel companies depend on major financial institutions — such as banks, asset managers, and insurance companies — to prop up their oil, gas, and coal operations. Many of these same firms that are financing our climate crisis and environmental racism are also helping to bankroll and support police foundations across the US. Demands to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in a just transition, and to defund the police and reinvest in Black and Brown communities, have some common targets: big banks and financial institutions. Some of the largest fossil fuel financiers that donate to these private foundations include:
JPMorgan Chase is the top global financier of fossil fuels, funneling over a quarter-trillion dollars towards oil, gas, and coal between 2016 and 2019, according to the 2020 Banking on Fossil Fuels report. Former ExxonMobil CEO and chairman Lee Raymond, who has a long record of climate denialism, has served on the board of JPMorganChase and its predecessor for over three decades. Climate organizers have been campaigning to fully remove Raymond from the board. JPMorgan Chase serves as a sponsor — a “Corporate Partner of Police,” officially — of the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation, which uses corporate donations to fund things like surveillance technology and the recruitment and training of police. JPMorgan also occupies the Secretary/Treasurer position on the foundation’s board. The bank’s donor relationship to police foundations also goes far back: nearly a decade ago, JPMorgan garnered scrutiny for its huge $4.6 million donation to the NYC Police Foundation for “security upgrades, including new patrol car laptops and security monitoring software for the department’s main data center,” according to Police Magazine. Organizers have recently staged protests against JPMorgan Chase in Chicago, demanding reparations after a new report revealed egregious racial disparities in the bank’s mortgage lending practices in the city.
Wells Fargo is the second biggest global banker behind fossil fuels, with nearly $198 billion in financing between 2016 and 2019. The scandal-ridden bank has a slew of ties to police foundations. It is a platinum sponsor and has two board seats with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Foundation. It is also a partner and donor to the Seattle Police Foundation, a director and sponsor of the Atlanta Police Foundation, and a donor to the Salt Lake City Police Foundation. Moreover, when it comes to financial ties to racist practices and institutions, Wells Fargo coziness with the police is just one example: the bank has been involved in discriminatory lending, propping up private prisons, and much more (for more information, check out the ACRE’s Forego Wells campaign).
We are proud to have @WellsFargo as a Major Sponsor for A Night in Blue! We will see you at @ParkTavern in just two weeks! pic.twitter.com/HlY825Dfv6 — Atlanta Police Fdn (@atlpolicefdn) March 29, 2019
Bank of America is the fourth biggest global financier of fossil fuels, with nearly $157 billion between 2016 and 2019 channeled toward oil, gas, and coal. Along with being a lender to some of the most controversial US pipeline projects, Bank of America also played a key advising role in Occidental’s acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum last year, the biggest oil merger in years. Bank of America also had the biggest increase in financing fossil fuels from 2018 to 2019 — $13.1 billion — of any bank globally, according to the 2020 Banking on Climate Change report. Bank of America is a sponsor of the Philadelphia Police Foundation and has seats on the Chicago, NYC, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police foundation boards. Its charitable arm has given $200,000 to the NYC Police Foundation, $51,250 to the Atlanta Police Foundation, $25,000 to the Boston Police Foundation, $10,000 to the Los Angeles Police Foundation, and smaller donations to police foundations in Sarasota, Duluth, Sacramento, and elsewhere. Bank of America’s ties to racist practices go beyond its donations to policing — just last year it agreed to pay a $4.2 million “in back wages and interest to resolve alleged hiring discrimination violations found at several of the bank’s facilities,” according to the US Department of Labor.
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager and remains one of the biggest global investors in oil, gas, and coal. According to a 2019 Guardian report, BlackRock has $87.3 billion invested in fossil fuel companies through its listed portfolio funds. The Guardian report also notes that BlackRock has “routinely opposed motions at fossil fuel companies that would have forced directors to take more action on climate change, the analysis reveals.” And even as BlackRock has gestured towards more climate accountability with companies BlackRock invests in, some have criticized the limited extent of these measures and the firm’s overall credibility on climate issues. BlackRock’s Larry Fink is a big supporter of the one of the most powerful police foundations in the US, the NYC Police Foundation. Not only is Fink a donor to the foundation, but he has also co-chaired its annual gala from 2016 to 2019. Color of Change, which calls itself “the nation’s largest online racial justice organization,” is currently demanding that Fink and BlackRock stop supporting the foundation.
Morgan Stanley, the 11th biggest global financier of fossil fuels from 2016 to 2018, has close ties to police foundations. Two of its executives togetherchaired the 2019 NYC Police Foundation Gala, which honored its chairman and CEO, James Gorman. Morgan Stanley is represented on the board of the Atlanta Police Foundation and numerous other police foundation boards (from Jupiter, Florida, to Long Beach, California), and is a Bronze Sponsor of the Charlotte Police Foundation. Morgan Stanley also has a seat on the Greenville (South Carolina) Police Foundation board. A former Morgan Stanley executive who served 16 years as the bank’s global head of diversity is now suing the firm, “alleging racial bias for silencing and retaliating against employees who sought to make it more inclusive,” with her lawsuit claiming that the company had a “toxic workplace culture for employees of color,” according to the Washington Post.
A host of other financial institutions also support police foundations. For example Goldman Sachs, the 14th biggest financier of fossil fuels from 2016 to 2018, is a big backer of police foundations. It gave $250,000 to the Los Angeles Police Foundation and $15,000 to the NYC Police Foundation in 2018, co-chaired the NYC Police Foundation’s 2019 Gala, and is a donor to the Salt Lake City Police Foundation.
In sum, many of the most powerful oil and gas companies, private utilities, and financial institutions that drive environmental injustice are also backers of the same police departments — through their funding, sponsoring, and governing of police foundations — that tyrannize the very communities these corporate actors pollute. As demands continue to rise to defund the police and reinvest in Black and Brown communities, as well as to divest from the fossil fuel industry and reinvest in environmental justice and a just transition, the fossil fuel industry power structure presents a common foe for these interconnected fights.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-08-06--201 Trump Judges Are Busy Defining the Political Landscape for the Decades Ahead

After Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate in early 2015 , they set out to pack the federal courts with radical right-wing judges .
Mitch McConnell said , “ My goal is to do everything we can for as long as we can to transform the federal judiciary , because everything else we do is transitory.
” Under Article III of the Constitution , federal judges serve for life , so a 50-year-old appointed today could serve 30 years or even longer .
McConnell and his sidekick , Sen. Lindsey Graham , started by refusing to confirm President Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they wouldn ’ t even consider Obama ’ s appointment of moderate Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court .
When President Trump took office , there were more than 100 empty federal judgeships waiting to be filled with Trumpian favorites .
In today ’ s hardball politics , the federal courts are especially important .
Even if progressives were to win the House , the Senate and the White House , every law and regulation could still be challenged in court .
Republicans have spent decades preparing to fill the federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favor of what the radical right espouses — the idea that government is the enemy of freedom , corporations need more freedom from regulation , and both corporations and billionaires should exercise their freedom to use their money to determine who can run for office and who can win .
In Civics 101 , we all learned that courts and judges are nonpartisan , impartial and independent .
However , that view of the judiciary began to change radically , along with the rest of the nation ’ s politics , after Newt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Representatives in 1979 .
As Princeton historian Julian Zelizer has written , “ Gingrich promoted a style of smashmouth combat aimed at delegitimizing his opponents by whatever means possible .
Politics , as he saw it , was like warfare .
The only way to win a battle , he decided , was to unleash the full fury of one ’ s firepower on the foe.
” Zelizer credits Gingrich with creating the “ unorthodox , nativist populist campaign ” that Donald Trump mounted in 2016 , “ which aimed to tear down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to destabilize the entire U.S. political system.
” In this new political environment , federal courts ( especially the U.S. Supreme Court ) are not impartial — they have become partisans in ideological warfare .
The change did not happen by accident .
In 1982 , a small group of lawyers formed the Federalist Society as an idea factory where libertarians and ultraconservatives could meet to strategize ways to transform the courts from impartial and nonpartisan to conservative and libertarian .
The Federalist Society promotes a conservative view of the Constitution , called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interpreted exactly as they imagine the framers would have interpreted it in 1787 , as if the world has not changed since then .
Because the Constitution was written by wealthy white property-owning men who saw women as inferior , Black people as less than human and democracy as dangerous , an “ originalist ” interpretation of the Constitution thus tends toward a society dominated by wealthy white property-owning men who adhere to racist and sexist ideas and view democracy as dangerous .
A few years after it was founded , the Federalist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brothers and other radical-right billionaires who envisioned a feeder system to identify right-thinking law students and groom them for eventual positions on the federal lower courts , then on to the Supreme Court .
“ The funders all got the idea right away — that you can win elections , you can have mass mobilizations , but unless you can change élites and the institutions that are by and large controlled by the élites , like the courts , there are limits to what you can do , ” says Amanda Hollis-Brusky , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the author of Ideas with Consequences , a study of the Federalist Society .
“ The idea was to train , credential , and socialize a generation of alternative élites , ” she says .
It ’ s working .
Today , five of the nine justices on the Supreme Court have close ties to the Federalist Society — Roberts , Thomas and Kavanaugh as members or former members , and Gorsuch and Alito as frequent speakers at Society gatherings .
One of the best-known members of the Federalist Society is its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Periodically , Leo takes time off from his Society duties to orchestrate campaigns to persuade the Senate to confirm judges appointed by the president .
Leo says modern confirmation campaigns are very similar to election campaigns .
He should know ; between 2014 and 2017 he raised $ 250 million for campaigns to get federal judges confirmed .
He personally led confirmation campaigns for Justices Roberts , Alito , Gorsuch and Kavanaugh .
So far , President Trump has appointed 53 judges to the federal appeals courts , many of them recommended by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the former Republican senator from Utah , said in 2018 , “ Some have accused President Trump of outsourcing his judicial selection process to the Federalist Society .
I say , ‘ Damn right !
’ ” The appeals courts are especially important because that ’ s “ where policy is made , ” as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor once said .
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse ( D-Rhode Island ) charges that the courts are supposed to referee disputes , but now the referees have been captured by corporate money .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court has become just another branch of the GOP , ” Whitehouse writes , “ From 2005 through the fall term of 2018 , the Roberts court issued 73 5-to-4 partisan decisions benefiting big Republican donor interests : allowing corporations to spend unlimited money in elections ; hobbling pollution regulations ; enabling attacks on minority voting rights ; curtailing labor ’ s right to organize ; denying workers the ability to challenge employers in court ; and , of course , expanding the NRA ’ s gun rights ‘ project.
’ It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Whitehouse and four other U.S. senators filed a brief with the Supreme Court warning the justices that , “ The Supreme Court is not well .
And the people know it.
” The federal courts are facing a crisis of legitimacy .
For example , Trump lost the popular election by 2.8 million votes , yet he has installed 201 federal judges who he appointed to serve for their remaining lifetimes , in accordance with Article III of the Constitution .
In a very real sense , those 201 judges are serving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Radical-right Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch , appointed by Trump , was confirmed by 54 senators who represented 19.8 million fewer people than the 45 senators who opposed his confirmation .
Brett Kavanaugh ’ s tenure on the court is even less legitimate than Gorsuch ’ s .
Appointed by Trump , Kavanaugh was confirmed by 50 senators representing only 143 million people , versus the 48 senators opposing him , who represented 181 million people .
Likewise , Clarence Thomas was confirmed by 52 senators who represented 2.9 million fewer votes than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Samuel Alito was also confirmed by 58 senators who represented 1.8 million fewer voters than the 42 senators who opposed his confirmation .
In sum , whenever the present Court delivers a 5-4 majority vote in favor of some radical-right legal proposition , the U.S. populace has not given its consent .
For almost two decades , many liberals and progressives tended to ignore the legal earthquakes being engineered by Federalist Society members .
After the Supreme Court put George W. Bush in the White House even though he had received 547,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and liberals realized they ’ d been snookered by the right .
They then created the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy ( ACS ) to identify and groom progressive lawyers who might one day become federal judges .
Measured by its annual budget of $ 6 million , ACS is still only one-third the size of the Federalist Society , which has 70,000 members and a budget of $ 20 million .
Caroline Fredrickson , who served as president of ACS from 2009 to 2019 , told a reporter in 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to recognize that the courts are one of the most important battlegrounds for public policy.
” Now , however , progressives have developed new energy around judicial appointments .
Brian Fallon and Christopher Kang , founders of the judicial advocacy group Demand Justice , have organized a campaign calling on Democrats to stop appointing corporate lawyers to the federal bench .
They say Democrats appoint the most progressive lawyers they can without provoking a fight .
But , they argue , Republicans have shown they will oppose all progressive nominees ; therefore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , selecting lawyers who have worked for ordinary people — public interest lawyers , public defenders and plaintiffs ’ lawyers .
The brazen politicization of the federal courts has spurred a deep and persistent backlash against the Supreme Court itself .
Even mainstream groups like the Brookings Institution are now discussing ways to reform the Court , such as adding more justices or setting time limits on their tenure .
Still , reform will be difficult , if not impossible , until Democrats win a large majority in the Senate , where filibuster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ block any regulatory legislation .

After Republicans took control of the U.S. Senate in early 2015, they set out to pack the federal courts with radical right-wing judges. Mitch McConnell said, “My goal is to do everything we can for as long as we can to transform the federal judiciary, because everything else we do is transitory.” Under Article III of the Constitution, federal judges serve for life, so a 50-year-old appointed today could serve 30 years or even longer.
McConnell and his sidekick, Sen. Lindsey Graham, started by refusing to confirm President Obama’s judicial appointments. Most notably, they wouldn’t even consider Obama’s appointment of moderate Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court. When President Trump took office, there were more than 100 empty federal judgeships waiting to be filled with Trumpian favorites.
In today’s hardball politics, the federal courts are especially important. Even if progressives were to win the House, the Senate and the White House, every law and regulation could still be challenged in court. Republicans have spent decades preparing to fill the federal courts with judges who will rule in favor of what the radical right espouses — the idea that government is the enemy of freedom, corporations need more freedom from regulation, and both corporations and billionaires should exercise their freedom to use their money to determine who can run for office and who can win.
In Civics 101, we all learned that courts and judges are nonpartisan, impartial and independent. However, that view of the judiciary began to change radically, along with the rest of the nation’s politics, after Newt Gingrich was elected to the House of Representatives in 1979. As Princeton historian Julian Zelizer has written, “Gingrich promoted a style of smashmouth combat aimed at delegitimizing his opponents by whatever means possible. Politics, as he saw it, was like warfare. The only way to win a battle, he decided, was to unleash the full fury of one’s firepower on the foe.” Zelizer credits Gingrich with creating the “unorthodox, nativist populist campaign” that Donald Trump mounted in 2016, “which aimed to tear down the political leaders of both parties and to destabilize the entire U.S. political system.”
In this new political environment, federal courts (especially the U.S. Supreme Court) are not impartial — they have become partisans in ideological warfare. The change did not happen by accident. In 1982, a small group of lawyers formed the Federalist Society as an idea factory where libertarians and ultraconservatives could meet to strategize ways to transform the courts from impartial and nonpartisan to conservative and libertarian.
The Federalist Society promotes a conservative view of the Constitution, called “originalism.” Originalists want the Constitution interpreted exactly as they imagine the framers would have interpreted it in 1787, as if the world has not changed since then. Because the Constitution was written by wealthy white property-owning men who saw women as inferior, Black people as less than human and democracy as dangerous, an “originalist” interpretation of the Constitution thus tends toward a society dominated by wealthy white property-owning men who adhere to racist and sexist ideas and view democracy as dangerous.
An “originalist” interpretation of the Constitution tends toward a society dominated by wealthy white property-owning men who adhere to racist and sexist ideas and view democracy as dangerous.
A few years after it was founded, the Federalist Society started receiving funds from the Koch brothers and other radical-right billionaires who envisioned a feeder system to identify right-thinking law students and groom them for eventual positions on the federal lower courts, then on to the Supreme Court. “The funders all got the idea right away — that you can win elections, you can have mass mobilizations, but unless you can change élites and the institutions that are by and large controlled by the élites, like the courts, there are limits to what you can do,” says Amanda Hollis-Brusky, a professor of politics at Pomona College and the author of Ideas with Consequences, a study of the Federalist Society. “The idea was to train, credential, and socialize a generation of alternative élites,” she says.
It’s working. Today, five of the nine justices on the Supreme Court have close ties to the Federalist Society — Roberts, Thomas and Kavanaugh as members or former members, and Gorsuch and Alito as frequent speakers at Society gatherings.
One of the best-known members of the Federalist Society is its executive vice president, Leonard Leo. Periodically, Leo takes time off from his Society duties to orchestrate campaigns to persuade the Senate to confirm judges appointed by the president. Leo says modern confirmation campaigns are very similar to election campaigns. He should know; between 2014 and 2017 he raised $250 million for campaigns to get federal judges confirmed. He personally led confirmation campaigns for Justices Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.
So far, President Trump has appointed 53 judges to the federal appeals courts, many of them recommended by the Federalist Society. Orrin Hatch, the former Republican senator from Utah, said in 2018, “Some have accused President Trump of outsourcing his judicial selection process to the Federalist Society. I say, ‘Damn right!’” The appeals courts are especially important because that’s “where policy is made,” as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor once said.
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) charges that the courts are supposed to referee disputes, but now the referees have been captured by corporate money. In an op-ed titled, “The Supreme Court has become just another branch of the GOP,” Whitehouse writes, “From 2005 through the fall term of 2018, the Roberts court issued 73 5-to-4 partisan decisions benefiting big Republican donor interests: allowing corporations to spend unlimited money in elections; hobbling pollution regulations; enabling attacks on minority voting rights; curtailing labor’s right to organize; denying workers the ability to challenge employers in court; and, of course, expanding the NRA’s gun rights ‘project.’ It’s a pattern.”
Trump lost the popular election by 2.8 million votes, yet he has installed 201 federal judges appointed to serve for their remaining lifetimes.
In August 2019, Whitehouse and four other U.S. senators filed a brief with the Supreme Court warning the justices that, “The Supreme Court is not well. And the people know it.” The federal courts are facing a crisis of legitimacy. For example, Trump lost the popular election by 2.8 million votes, yet he has installed 201 federal judges who he appointed to serve for their remaining lifetimes, in accordance with Article III of the Constitution. In a very real sense, those 201 judges are serving without the consent of the governed.
Radical-right Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, appointed by Trump, was confirmed by 54 senators who represented 19.8 million fewer people than the 45 senators who opposed his confirmation. Brett Kavanaugh’s tenure on the court is even less legitimate than Gorsuch’s. Appointed by Trump, Kavanaugh was confirmed by 50 senators representing only 143 million people, versus the 48 senators opposing him, who represented 181 million people.
Likewise, Clarence Thomas was confirmed by 52 senators who represented 2.9 million fewer votes than the 48 senators who opposed his confirmation. Samuel Alito was also confirmed by 58 senators who represented 1.8 million fewer voters than the 42 senators who opposed his confirmation.
In sum, whenever the present Court delivers a 5-4 majority vote in favor of some radical-right legal proposition, the U.S. populace has not given its consent.
For almost two decades, many liberals and progressives tended to ignore the legal earthquakes being engineered by Federalist Society members. After the Supreme Court put George W. Bush in the White House even though he had received 547,000 fewer votes than Al Gore, progressives and liberals realized they’d been snookered by the right. They then created the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) to identify and groom progressive lawyers who might one day become federal judges. Measured by its annual budget of $6 million, ACS is still only one-third the size of the Federalist Society, which has 70,000 members and a budget of $20 million.
Caroline Fredrickson, who served as president of ACS from 2009 to 2019, told a reporter in 2019, “We still struggle to get people to recognize that the courts are one of the most important battlegrounds for public policy.”
Now, however, progressives have developed new energy around judicial appointments. Brian Fallon and Christopher Kang, founders of the judicial advocacy group Demand Justice, have organized a campaign calling on Democrats to stop appointing corporate lawyers to the federal bench. They say Democrats appoint the most progressive lawyers they can without provoking a fight. But, they argue, Republicans have shown they will oppose all progressive nominees; therefore, Democrats should just engage in battle, selecting lawyers who have worked for ordinary people — public interest lawyers, public defenders and plaintiffs’ lawyers.
The brazen politicization of the federal courts has spurred a deep and persistent backlash against the Supreme Court itself. Even mainstream groups like the Brookings Institution are now discussing ways to reform the Court, such as adding more justices or setting time limits on their tenure. Still, reform will be difficult, if not impossible, until Democrats win a large majority in the Senate, where filibuster rules allow just 41 Republican Senators to block any regulatory legislation.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.