George Soros’ Open Society Foundations condemned the Trump administration after reports that the DOJ urged prosecutors to draft probes into the charity.
A document providing a variety of charges to consider against the group was sent to federal prosecutors in attorney's offices in California, New York, Washington, DC, Chicago, and Detroit on Thursday by a lawyer in the deputy attorney general's office, Todd Blanche. According to the newspaper, such allegations included wire fraud, material support for terrorism, arson, and racketeering.
The push coincides with Trump's increased use of the justice department to attack his adversaries. In the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder, he has vowed to take tough measures against left-wing organizations and has frequently targeted Soros, a significant contributor to leftist organizations.
“We’re going to look into Soros, because I think it’s a Rico case against him and other people,”
Trump said on 12 September, using an acronym to refer to racketeering charges.
“Because this is more than like protests. This is real agitation.”
In a statement, the OSF described the effort as “meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with and undermine the first amendment right to free speech”.
“The Open Society Foundations unequivocally condemn terrorism and do not fund terrorism. Our activities are peaceful and lawful, and our grantees are expected to abide by human rights principles and comply with the law,”
it said in a statement.
“When power is abused to take away the rights of some people, it puts the rights of all people at risk. Our work in the United States is solely dedicated to strengthening democracy and upholding constitutional freedoms. We stand by the work we do to improve lives in the United States and across the world.”
Trump has stepped up pressure on the Justice Department to bring charges against his political enemies and has promised to bring charges against Soros. After it was decided there was not enough evidence to file criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James, Trump fired a top federal prosecutor in Virginia last week.
Prosecutors are reportedly close to charging Comey, and Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan, a White House adviser, to the position.
How has the Open Society Foundations responded beyond the statement?
OSF has joined a group of over 100 liberal philanthropic organizations in a joint open letter condemning political violence and supporting civil society organizations. The coalition supports free expression and a denial of efforts to criminalize advocacy or charitable work.
OSF has noted that humanitarian grants require and are founded on a long-term commitment to activities that are peaceful and lawful, and directed to strengthen democracy, human rights, and constitutional freedoms in the U.S. and international focus. OSF emphasizes that grantees are expected to comply with human rights and legal standards to a rigorous degree.
On different public platforms, including social media statements from OSF, there are statements that rebut allegations of funding terrorism and offer context that the organizations that are cited (al-Haq for example) are human rights organizations and OSF condemns terrorism without equivocation.