Coalition of civil society, advocacy, and nonpartisan groups issues joint statement defending First Amendment rights amid legal attack on the Center for American Progress

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 150 organizations led by Nonprofits Together issued a joint public statement of support for the Center for American Progress (CAP), a nonpartisan think tank, in response to a recent legal attack against the organization by the Trump administration. The coalition of civil rights groups, policy organizations, and civic institutions warned that the action represents a broader effort to suppress independent analysis and silence organizations that challenge government policy.

The 150 organizations stated that every organization has a right to publish evidence-based, independent analysis of government policy and how that is the cornerstone of American democracy, regardless of which party holds power and who sits in the Oval Office. The full text of the statement is below:

PUBLIC STATEMENT OF SUPPORT OF THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS

Since our nation’s founding, the rights to free speech, association, and the press have been the bedrock on which American democracy has thrived. We reaffirm, as has each generation before us, our unqualified commitment to the First Amendment and its foundational protections. In so doing, we stand in strong solidarity with the Center for American Progress (CAP), a nonpartisan think tank, and its right to publish expert analysis on the impact of the Trump administration’s—or any administration’s—policies. The free exchange of ideas—including ideas that are inconvenient to those in power—is critical for Americans to understand the nature and impact of the actions of their government.

President Trump’s recent legal attack on CAP takes aim at the heart of these foundational rights, and is the latest salvo in the Administration’s ongoing efforts to suppress the speech of organizations that challenge their policies, defend the rule of law and protect civil rights and vulnerable communities. Independent sources of expert analysis allow Americans to better understand government policy and how it’s affecting them. Experts across or even within think tanks often disagree; it is the right of every American to freely access their findings and form their own opinions. Attempting to silence any of these sources of information degrades our free exchange of ideas, and risks leaving only distortions in the public square.

This is infinitely more damaging to our democratic ideals when done for purely political purposes. There are few issues more fundamental to the First Amendment than the right of an independent organization to publish evidence-based analysis of a government policy and how it is or is not working.

This is not about ideology or partisanship. In a recent editorial, the Washington Post rightly noted that “Think tanks are as American as baseball, jazz and apple pie. They perform an unsung role in holding governments accountable at all levels…Such organizations and their supporters should not fear legal harassment when elected officials dislike their work.” This is true regardless of who is in power, and who is issuing public critiques of that power.

We stand with the Center for American Progress, not in agreement with every view they hold, but in steadfast support for their rights to voice those views freely and without political retribution.

SIGNATORIES

Acacia Center for Justice
Advancement Project
All Voting is Local
Alliance for Justice
America’s Voice
American Civil Liberties Union
American Constitution Society
American Federation of Teachers
American Oversight
Americans Against Government Censorship
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund
Americans for Tax Fairness
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Asian Law Caucus
Brennan Center for Justice
Campaign for Southern Equality
Campaign Legal Center
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Democracy & Technology
Center for International Environmental Law
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Responsible Lending
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Center on Faith and Justice
CenterLink
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Coalition on Human Needs
Common Cause
CommonDefense.us
Community Change
Constitutional Accountability Center
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Court Accountability
Defend the Vote Action Fund
Demand Progress Education Fund
Democracy 21
Democracy Defenders Fund
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Drug Policy Alliance
Dwight C. Jones Center for Civic Engagement at Virginia Union University
Earthjustice Action
Economic Policy Institute
Equal Rights Advocates
Fair and Just Prosecution
Fair Count
Fair Elections Center
Fair Fight Action
Faith in Democracy
Faith Leaders for Ending Gun Violence
Feminist Majority Foundation
Florida Council of Churches
Free DC
Free Speech For People
Freedom From Religion Foundation
Freedom of the Press Foundation
Friends Committee on National Legislation
FWD.us
GAIA – Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
GIFFORDS
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law)
GLSEN (DBA Glisten)
Greenpeace USA
Guttmacher Institute
Hands United
Hispanic Federation
Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights First
Impact Fund
Indivisible
Interfaith Alliance
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jobs With Justice
Justice Connection
Keep Our Republic
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
Lambda Legal
Lawyers for Good Government
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
LDF
League of United Latin American Citizens
League of Women Voters
Local Progress
Maine Council of Churches
Melville Charitable Trust
Movement Advancement Project
MoveOn
National Abortion Federation
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for LGBTQ Rights
National Coalition Against Censorship
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP)
National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients)
National Council of Churches USA
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Nonprofits
National Education Association
National Fair Housing Alliance
National Homelessness Law Center
National Immigration Law Center
National Legal Aid & Defender Association
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Network of Abortion Funds
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Urban League
National Women’s Law Center
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Nonprofits Together
North Carolina Council of Churches
Onyx Impact
Oxfam America
Passion2Plant Network
Pax Christi USA
People For the American Way
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE)
Popular Democracy
Progressive State Leaders Committee
Project On Government Oversight
Protect Democracy
Public Citizen
Public Justice
Public Rights Project
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
RepresentUs
Reproductive Freedom for All
Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center
Roosevelt Institute
SAGE
Secure Elections Network
SEIU
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)
Sojourners
The Fenway Institute
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The Media and Democracy Project
The Restaurant Opportunities Center of Pennsylvania (ROC PA)
The Sikh Coalition
True North Research
Union of Concerned Scientists
United Church of Christ
Vera Institute of Justice
Veterans For Peace-Chapter 113-Hawaii
Voices for Progress
Voto Latino
Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Wren Collective