Dear Friends of USIP,
We are pleased to share the good news that on May 19, USIP prevailed in federal district court when Judge Beryl Howell ruled (on USIP’s Board-led case) that the Administration exceeded its authority when it purported to remove the Institute’s bipartisan board of directors, and that all of the actions that followed—including firing all but a handful of USIP staff; terminating all of the Institute’s congressionally mandated programs; seizing funds in its endowment; and transferring USIP’s privately owned headquarters to the General Services Administration (GSA)—were “invalid and therefore null, void, and without legal effect.” Your generous support was key to this major victory.
Legally, this places the Institute where it was on March 14th, but without full control of its rightful resources. It was very heartening that acting USIP President, Ambassador George Moose and a small team of USIP colleagues were able to enter and secure the USIP building on May 20. The USIP leadership team is now in the process of securing USIP’s resources and taking other key administrative steps in order to allow staff to return to the Institute’s critical work.
As expected, on May 22, the federal government filed a notice of appeal to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and submitted a motion to Judge Howell requesting a stay of her order pending the outcome of that appeal. Our legal team anticipated this step and have already developed a comprehensive strategy to respond to these filings.
Your support has been key to the Institute’s success this week. The employee-led lawsuit allowed USIP to get key important legal arguments in front of Judge Howell to deepen her understanding of the Institute’s work and unique status. The collaboration between the employee case and the board-led case also sharpened both legal teams’ arguments. The Howell ruling on Monday provides a comprehensive victory for USIP's interests which, if upheld on appeal, would make the employee-led lawsuit unnecessary. Since this case has a different cause of action, however, it can be pursued if the government is successful in either staying Judge Howell's ruling pending appeal or winning on appeal. In other words, your donation helped us to strengthen the legal foundation that will secure USIP’s future.
For now, as the USIP Board, leadership, and staff celebrate this victory, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our friends who contributed to the legal fund. Your contributions and steadfast belief in USIP’s mission have been instrumental in helping the Institute reach this milestone. We look forward to resuming USIP’s vital peacebuilding work around the world, on behalf of the American people. We ask that you continue to highlight USIP’s mission to your friends, family, colleagues, and elected officials. USIP's website should be restored soon, but in the meantime, we invite everyone to visit friendsofusip.org to learn more about the Institute’s mission and work.
With deep gratitude,
Your Friends at USIP