Dear MoveOn member,
MoveOn has raised almost enough to launch our ambitious plan to take over the front page of The Washington Post with hard-hitting ads calling on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from a case that could determine whether Donald Trump can be criminally prosecuted for his crimes.
This takeover is critical—and very timely—because on April 25, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in one of the most consequential cases in American history.1 The court will decide whether Trump—who is facing dozens of felony charges—is immune from criminal prosecution.2 And Thomas has a clear conflict of interest in this case.3
To take over all of the ads on the front page of The Washington Post and call on Thomas to recuse himself, MoveOn needs to raise $25,000 by this Friday—just 72 hours away. With oral arguments in the Trump case set to begin at the Supreme Court on April 25, time is running out.
As special counsel Jack Smith argues in his papers before the Supreme Court, "A bedrock principle of our constitutional order is that no person is above the law including the president."4
If the Supreme Court rules the wrong way, it'll become an important legal precedent. That means other courts will make decisions in cases involving similar issues based on how the Supreme Court has ruled. Precedents can last decades—even hundreds of years. And what will happen if the Supreme Court issues a decision declaring that Trump is immune from prosecution? Our country will be at risk of future dictators, authoritarians, and strongman presidents.
We already know that Trump has fascist tendencies. He will be further emboldened if the Supreme Court rules that he was above the law while in office.
What could a Supreme Court decision in Trump's favor bring?
- More threats of violence to gain power. As former Labor Secretary Robert Reich recently wrote, "Hitler and Mussolini relied on their vigilante militias to intimidate voters and local officials. We watched Trump try to do the same in 2020. Even before he incited the attack on the U.S. Capitol, he said on national television: 'Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.' Now, Trump is vilifying his political opponents as 'vermin' who needed to be 'rooted out.' He shows an image of Biden hog-tied."5 All of this happened without a ruling stating Trump is above the law. But if this goes the wrong way, it could be far, far worse.
- Credible threats of jailing the opposition. As Trump recently said, "If I happen to be president and I see somebody who's doing well and beating me very badly, I say, 'Go down and indict them.' They'd be out of business."6
- Extralegal attempts to take over institutions. Trump's Project 2025 would gut the civil service, replacing career government workers with MAGA loyalists.7 That's without a ruling that Trump can violate the law whenever he wants for personal gain. If he prevails, he will bend the government to his personal ends. He will violate the law with no consequences if he manages to either win the election or lose a close election and steal his way back into office by refusing to accept the result.8
We've got to stop Trump's fascist takeover of American institutions. We must do everything possible to prevent a Supreme Court ruling that Trump is above the law.
Let's be absolutely clear: Thomas is unfit to rule in this case. He has an obvious conflict of interest because his wife, Ginni Thomas, actively participated in the effort to overturn the 2020 election, and it is specifically Trump's charges related to election interference that are at the center of this Supreme Court case.9
If Thomas and the Trump-packed Supreme Court declare that Trump is immune from criminal prosecution, it will effectively insulate Ginni Thomas from scrutiny of her role in Trump's election interference efforts.10
If enough MoveOn members pitch in, we'll take over the ads on the front page of The Washington Post to demand that Thomas recuse himself. We've almost reached our fundraising goal, but not quite. Because MoveOn isn't backed by billionaire funders as Thomas and Trump are, we need you with us, Andra.
Click here to pitch in $9 and help launch MoveOn's Washington Post front-page takeover.
Time is running out, and this will be our last email about this takeover campaign. That's why your support in this moment is so crucial.
With your help, we will ensure that millions of people see our ads in The Washington Post calling on Thomas to recuse himself from the Trump case.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mohammad, Alexis, Isbah, Eric, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "US Supreme Court sets April 25 Trump criminal immunity argument," Reuters, March 6, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189511?t=5&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
2. "Clarence Thomas's conflict is clear — he must recuse himself from the Trump immunity case," The Hill, March 4, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189238?t=7&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
3. "Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show," The Washington Post, March 24, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/161382?t=9&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
4. "Trump 'not above the law': Special Counsel to SCOTUS," Reuters, April 9, 2024, emphasis added
https://act.moveon.org/go/189534?t=11&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
5. "Trump's 5-Step Fascist Plan," Substack post by Robert Reich, April 1, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189535?t=13&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
6. "Trump says on Univision he could weaponize FBI, DOJ against his enemies," The Washington Post, November 10, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/189536?t=15&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
7. "A guide to Project 2025, the extreme right-wing agenda for the next Republican administration," Media Matters for America, March 20, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189537?t=17&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
8. "Trump won't commit to accepting 2024 election results," The Hill, May 10, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/189538?t=19&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
9. "Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show," The Washington Post, March 24, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/161382?t=21&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
10. "Clarence Thomas's conflict is clear — he must recuse himself from the Trump immunity case," The Hill, March 4, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189238?t=23&akid=380707%2E53570607%2ED5OAk9
Want to support MoveOn's work? The MAGA movement's book bans have forced teachers and librarians across the country to remove books from their shelves and censor what young people can learn. MoveOn is fighting back, including by filling a "Banned Bookmobile" with books that the far right has banned and driving it to key cities and towns to raise the visibility of book bans, hand out banned books for free, and bring people together to stop censorship. To keep up the fight against book bans and the MAGA politicians who support them, we need your help.
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