In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, after a campaign in which Trump threatened the press, the left and “the enemy within,” 204 Republicans and 15 Democrats in the House of Representatives decided to hand a gift to his incoming administration — one that could be used to squash any kind of dissent.
The dangerous gift, HR 9495, is known as the “nonprofit killer bill” because it would unilaterally give the Treasury secretary the power to strip the tax-exempt status from any nonprofit they decide is a “terrorist-supporting organization,” all without due process for the organization in question.
Truthout has been covering this legislation in its many iterations since last spring, when its predecessor, HR 6408, passed the House with overwhelming support but stalled in the Senate. We’ve also covered the landscape from which this bill emerged. While the threat of its use under a Donald Trump presidency is particularly alarming for a broad range of groups, this bill has to be understood as part of […]
What a wonderfully perfect illustration of how some Democrats collude with Republicans to subvert the constitution and destroy organizations seeking to represent the public. Neither party will tolerate competition as they seek to devour each other and what is left of civil society.
As the article states: “We already know what will come next: we can expect to see more racketeering charges, otherwise known as RICO charges, thrown at organizers — charges historically used to attack fraudulent money-making schemes from groups like the Mafia. ”
Note well that the power structure will not use RICO to prosecute rapacious insurance companies, “defense” contractors, exploitative banks, technocrats running big tech, and many other parasitic rent seeking corporations. Instead they will target grass roots movements seeking to articulate viewpoints excluded from the mainstream. This type of legislation will do nothing but accelerate our decline as a culture. Think outside the box.