- Action #1: Seriously. What the hell?
- Action #2: Extra Credit – “Dear Joe…” Write to Biden to pardon Steven Donziger and withdraw his support of Rearden.
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Action #1: Seriously. What the hell?
Truly, we have not missed writing negative reviews for fascist Federalist judical nominations. So we’re disappointed that this handmaiden for the oligarchy, originally nominated by Trump for the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, is a nominee now. Rearden has personally litigated cases defending housing discrimination, overturning worker protections, and challenging improved access to transportation for wheelchair users. She fought for Chevron to criminalize the lawyer who won a $9.5 billion suit against them for Ecuadoran farmers.
Her equally toxic firm, Gibson Dunn, has defended corporations for lying about climate science, obstructed measures to address systemic racism, opposed vital protections for workers, and violated human rights both here and abroad. In no way does she “represent the best of America” that Biden promised for his judicial nominees.
Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to ask Senator [Feinstein, Padilla], as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to stop Jennifer Rearden from advancing further. It’s obvious why Trump nominated her – she’s worked against the interests of workers, the disabled, and the environment. Her law firm represents Big Oil and Gas, and has a history of suing environmental nonprofits and engaging in “legal thuggery.” It’s disappointing that Biden hasn’t removed her.
Action #2: Extra Credit – “Dear Joe…” Write to Biden to pardon Steven Donziger and withdraw his support of Rearden.
Sample letter: (FYI: this one is close to maximum length)
Dear Joe,
I’m writing to ask you to pardon human rights lawyer Steven Donziger. I don’t need to detail what happened after he had the effrontery to sue Chevron on behalf of Ecuadorans for deliberately dumping more than 16 billion gallons of toxic oil waste into the Amazon jungle. His Kafkaesque nightmare, which was aided and abetted by one of your judicial nominees, Jennifer Rearden, is a modern tragedy of corporate greed and corruption at the highest levels.
Annie Leonard, of Greenpeace USA stated “Chevron’s legal attack on Donziger is not the first, nor will it be the last case of its kind. Right now, the right to dissent is being repressed by both our government and corporations. While the severity of Donziger’s fate may seem unprecedented, it is emblematic of the larger trend of silencing activists, many of whom are fighting for the solutions desperately needed to combat the global climate crisis exacerbated by multinational fossil fuel companies. Donziger’s fate could have lasting effects on environmental and corporate accountability activists, against whom threats and legal harassment already loom large and are escalating.”
Over a hundred environmental and human rights organizations are asking you to pardon Donziger, in keeping with your promise to “stand in solidarity with, and continue to work tirelessly in support of, the activists, human rights defenders, and peaceful protestors on the front lines of the struggle between freedom and tyranny.” (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/03/organizations-call-biden-pardon-steven-donziger/)
Please pardon Donziger, Joe. The stink of injustice reached even the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who ruled his pre-trial detention illegal and called for his release. And rescind the ill-advised judicial nomination for Jennifer Rearden as well, whose role in this mess makes clear why Trump wanted her on the bench.
Contact: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 