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  • From the Desk of Al Franken

For the sake of this email and my moral beliefs

I’m sure many of you are, like me, watching and reading the news each day in horror. I’ve been paying close attention to Kilmar Abrego Garcia — who still sits in a notoriously awful prison in El Salvador. His fate, it seems, is in Trump’s hands.

But I’m writing to you today about something else, something that isn’t at the top of the headlines. Trump has threatened the country’s top law firms (and their clients), and so far, nine have caved in. Together they agreed to do hundreds of millions of dollars of pro bono work in exchange for Trump calling off the dogs.

Pro Bono — to Trump that means free, but in the longer Latin it means “for the public good.” So, these firms’ pro bono work was supposed to be for noncontroversial causes like helping veterans. Now, it turns out that Trump is expecting them to do work like negotiating trade deals.

Huh. So much for the public “good.” To make matters worse, some White House officials have even suggested the firms could be used to represent Trump and his allies if they are investigated.

I suppose you could say that this is what they get for caving. But it is still yet another unprecedented and egregious move that characterizes so much of the Trump presidency. And one of many that we at Midwest Values PAC are watching closely.

And, of course, the Republicans aren’t standing up to Trump and his dangerous behavior. MVP is determined to fight them in New Jersey and Virginia this fall and as we look ahead to the ‘26 Midterms.

Al

P.S. If you’re a lawyer and your law firm agreed to do pro bono work for Trump, I kind of get it. He really put you guys in a bind. But, for the sake of this email and my moral beliefs, I don’t excuse you. Unless you donate here.

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Somehow, it’s been 20 years since I started Midwest Values PAC to help Democrats win elections — from progressive organizations to state legislatures to Congress to the White House — who share the values I grew up with in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Since 2006, Midwest Values PAC has invested more than $4 million in 341 candidates and organizations — and counting. 

Of course, none of this happens without you (or supporters like you) who care enough to pitch in.

As we mark our 20th anniversary, the work is more urgent than ever. This year, we have a big job: flip the House, take the Senate, and win up and down the ballot at the state and local level.

To mark our 20th year, we’ve set an ambitious goal: 26,000 contributions by Election Day 2026.

DONATE HERE

Thanks for being part of this fight, and for sticking with us for 20 years (or for just joining — welcome!).

Al

P.S. Over the years, okay, decades, we’ve helped Democrats win tough races all across the country by investing early, intelligently, and strategically. That’s how you flip seats. That’s how you protect democracy. And that’s how you stop the worst impulses of a president who never should have been president in the first place.

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