Hi, MoveOn member!
It's Ben. Which Ben? The "ice cream Ben," of course—the Ben & Jerry's guy.
What a scorching-hot summer we had in Robert Mueller's Trump-Russia investigation—and it looks like we're in for a steamy fall, too! In August, and only a few minutes apart, Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was convicted of eight felonies and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pled guilty to eight more charges, stating under oath that Trump himself was his co-conspirator. And then yesterday, Manafort pled guilty to conspiring against the United States and agreed to cooperate with Mueller and provide evidence for the investigation.1
Commentators called that day in August the "worst hour of Trump's … entire life."2 I bet yesterday's news beats it.
But between Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giulliani's changing stories—and the propaganda spewed on right-wing media every day—it's hard for most Americans to grasp the seriousness of what just happened. Most of us have enough to keep track of in our own lives, without having to wade through Trump's lies.
So I'm working with MoveOn to help cut through the noise and help Americans see the impact of Mueller's work. How? By giving away ice cream!
Yep, you read that right. I'm partnering with MoveOn to launch GUILTY PLEA-SURES: a photogenic, media-attention-grabbing, mobile ice cream truck.
This will be a very special ice cream truck: one that loudly broadcasts the number of indictments and guilty pleas for Trump's cronies—and serves free ice cream along the way.
Sounds unusual? Well, we need to be. We need to be bold, loud, and creative to counter Trump, Giuliani, and Republicans' attacks on Mueller.
Right now, our plan is to launch GUILTY PLEA-SURES in Washington, D.C., where the truck will park in front of the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, and the headquarters of the Republican Party ... and will be seen and shared on social media by locals and tourists, by members of Congress, and by the national media. And if this idea catches on, we'll have even bigger impact by sending GUILTY PLEA-SURES on the road for a month before the midterms in November.
Right now, Trump is trying to confirm a Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, who could act as Trump's get-out-of-jail-free card, because he believes that a president is above the law—an especially dangerous belief at a time when the fate of the Mueller probe could come before the court.
There is NO REASON that Trump, already implicated in Cohen's crimes and actively under investigation for so much more, should be allowed to name his own judge and jury.
Republicans in the Senate, who are trying to push through Kavanaugh's nomination, need to know that Americans believe in the Mueller probe and want Trump held accountable. That's why we'll be broadcasting the number of indictments and guilty pleas from our ice cream truck and serving free ice cream flavors that bring our well-known naming pizzazz to this important issue.
The Mueller investigation—the work of which has already led to multiple sets of guilty verdicts and pleas—is working. And it has more work to do still. Yet, the sad truth is that the Trump-Giuliani spin machine has done a remarkable job undermining the investigation.
Mueller's probe has already indicted 33 people, along with Paul Manafort's and Michael Cohen's high-profile trials, even charging Russian agents with attacking our elections—and yet a recent poll showed that the majority of Americans don't know that it's uncovered any evidence of crimes!3
However, when Americans—including independents and even Republicans—are given the facts about the investigation's impact, they become more likely to support Mueller's continued efforts!4 Significant public support for the investigation is the only way to stop the threats by Trump's allies in Congress (and Trump himself) to fire Mueller.
MoveOn will keep a running count of the guilty verdicts, pleas, and indictments—in a real-time, social-media-friendly, visual, attention-grabbing way that can cut through Trump's noise. And if we do it right, Americans from all walks of life will share photos and comments about the truck wherever they see it, helping drive a strong, public narrative about the true impact of the probe.
MoveOn will launch this truck in the nation's capital as we head into the critical final weeks of the election season—and then, with your help, we will keep it running as long as it grabs attention.
But to do that, MoveOn needs your help to rent the ice cream truck, get it souped up and decked out in investigation-themed regalia, and staff it for its daily journey delivering free ice cream, latest Mueller updates, and photogenic visuals about his investigation and Trump's corruption.
Will you pitch in $3?
MoveOn, its members, and allies are fighting to defend this investigation on many fronts: They're flooding Congress with calls, producing videos with legal experts that are being seen hundreds of thousands of times, and making sure Republicans that know there will be political consequences for putting Trump above the law.
But we need to do more. GUILTY PLEAS-URES won't replace MoveOn's phone calls, in-person protests, work with the media, video production, or anything else. But it will spread the word … scoop by scoop. And to do it, MoveOn needs your help:
Thanks for all you do.
–Ben Cohen
Sources:
1. "Manafort will cooperate with Mueller as part of guilty plea, prosecutor says," The Washington Post, September 14, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/50203?t=7&akid=216317%2E10220574%2EF4ZzgL
2. "'The Worst Hour of His Entire Life': Cohen, Manafort, And The Twin Courtroom Dramas That Changed Trump's Presidency," The New Yorker, August 22, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/50204?t=9&akid=216317%2E10220574%2EF4ZzgL
3. "Poll: Majority of Americans don't know Mueller probe has uncovered crimes," The Hill, May 23, 2018
http://act.moveon.org/go/50205?t=11&akid=216317%2E10220574%2EF4ZzgL
4. "What Are They Hiding? Americans Want Answers on Mueller Investigation, Cabinet Scandals, Congressional Oversight, and #MeToo," Navigator, May 23, 218
https://act.moveon.org/go/50206?t=13&akid=216317%2E10220574%2EF4ZzgL
Want to support MoveOn's work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it MoveOn needs your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with MoveOn?
Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
This email was sent to Eddie Alfaro on September 15th, 2018. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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