Today’s midterm elections are extremely important. I urge everyone to get out to vote and make your voice heard – the survival of our democracy depends on it.
But voting is just one way you can make a difference today. I’m going to give you another.
In just nine days, Attorney General Merrick Garland must respond to a stunning order from the US Supreme Court demanding the DOJ explain how it allowed Chevron to directly prosecute and detain me for almost one thousand days after I helped Indigenous Amazon communities win a historic $9.5 billion pollution judgment against the company.
You probably know by now that I was targeted by a Chevron lawyer with the nation’s first corporate prosecution. The fact Garland did not intervene – despite thousands of prominent people demanding the DOJ take over the case – speaks very poorly of his commitment to the rule of law.
This is especially infuriating given that Garland's inaction led to being shoved into a federal prison for six weeks during the COVID outbreak when I really thought my life was in danger.
We must get louder. We must ensure that both Garland and President Biden actually hear us so they will address this easily solvable problem.
Demanding that AG Garland join forces with my legal team to nullify my Chevron prosecution will have a lasting and permanent impact on a critical issue: ensuring that private corporate prosecutions targeting climate lawyers and activists never happen again.
This is a vital component of any smart strategy to protect the planet. If we are unable to confront the fossil fuel industry face to face like I did without being jailed, humanity and all of life’s ecosystems will stand little chance of long-term survival.
Our goal is to raise $50,000 by November 16 to fund our campaign to pressure AG Garland and to continue our work to enforce the pollution judgment. One person already committed $10,000 on the condition we match that amount by Thursday – an excellent start. That means anything you give today (or up to midnight on November 10) is likely to be worth double.
Regardless of what happens tonight, the fight for climate justice and human rights does not end on Election Day. In fact, given the existential stakes and the insatiable greed of Chevron and the fossil fuel industry, we have no choice but to keep battling on every front available.
For the sake of our planet and our democracy, let’s make this happen. Help us honor the important values so dear to all by making sure AG Garland hears us loud and clear and that he never again looks away.
Please contribute today.
Thank you,
Steven
P.S. Last week, we launched a petition to demand that Attorney General Merrick Garland join my request that the Supreme Court reverse my contempt conviction in a case filed by a pro-Chevron judge and prosecuted privately by a Chevron law firm. Please help us by adding your name to the petition today. |
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Steven Donziger is a U.S. human rights attorney who helped communities in Ecuador’s Amazon win a historic multibillion-dollar pollution judgment against Chevron for the dumping of billions of gallons of cancer-causing oil waste onto Indigenous ancestral lands. Since the judgment issued in 2013, Chevron has used dozens of law firms and 2000 lawyers to carry out a demonization campaign targeting Steven to send a message of intimidation to all environmental advocates. Steven served 993 days of detention at home and in prison after being prosecuted directly by a Chevron law firm in the nation's first corporate prosecution; he still faces the threat of additional jail time after he appealed an order to turn over confidential information held by his Indigenous clients.
Donate NOW to help support Steven as he and the Ecuadorian communities continue their fight for corporate accountability, environmental justice, Indigenous rights, and Free Speech.
All funds are administered by the Friedman Rubin law firm in Seattle. DONATE NOW |
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