Ep. 215: Kafka in America. It Can’t Happen Here? (w/ Steven Donziger)

Steven Donziger has spent the last 800 days under house arrest with a government tracking device around his ankle.

His crime?

Well, Donziger is the lawyer who successfully sued the oil giant Chevron on behalf of the people of Ecuador for deliberately discharging 16 billion gallons of toxic waste in the Ecuadorian Amazon between 1964 and 1992. Donziger and his colleagues succeeded and won a $9.5 billion judgment on behalf of the indigenous and poor communities of Ecuador in 2011. Chevron has yet to pay a dime on this judgement and instead, have brought this case to the friendly confines of the United States and turned Donziger, the person who successfully prosecuted them, into the one doing time.

Mike is joined by Steven Donziger, live from his house arrest, to explain the Kafka-esque/Twilight Zone case in which Donziger is serving as the punching bag of corporate America, with the American people footing the bill. They discuss this bizarre and unprecedented case, his condition, and what we all must do to fight back.

Episode Notes:

Announcement on U.N. Human Rights body ruling that the U.S. government must release Donziger from “arbitrary” detention and compensate him for legal violations:
https://www.makechevroncleanup.com/press-releases/2021/9/29/breaking-highest-un-human-rights-body-rules-us-government-must-release-steven-donziger-from-arbitrary-detention-and-compensate-him-for-legal-violations

Slate’s piece on the horrific facts of this case:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/08/chevron-judge-loretta-preska-steven-donziger.html

Donate to Donziger’s legal fund and sign the petition for his release here: https://www.freedonziger.com

Call Attorney General Merrick Garland’s office to demand the federal government take on this case and pursue justice for Donziger: 202-514-2000

Or email AG Garland here:
https://www.justice.gov/doj/webform/your-message-department-justice

And make sure to call your respective Congressperson to pressure them on this issue: (202) 224-3121

Music in the episode:

“I Fought The Law” - The Clash
https://youtu.be/yhcreVY_qLI

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A full transcript of this episode can be found here:
https://rumble.media/category/podcast/transcripts/

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