Dear MoveOn member,
On Monday, the MAGA Supreme Court issued a decision paving the way for a future president to take bribes, engage in a military coup, and politically prosecute his political rivals with impunity—or even outright order their assassination.1
Before this decision had even come down, Trump was ALREADY threatening to prosecute his political opponents. In fact, he spent this past weekend threatening his enemies on his social media platform, Truth Social. One of his posts called for former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who participated in the January 6 investigations, to be prosecuted by a military court reserved for enemy combatants and war criminals. "Elizabeth Lynne Cheney is guilty of treason," the post said. "Retruth if you want televised military tribunals."2
Another post included photos of 15 former and current elected officials—including President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, former Vice President Mike Pence—and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The post said "they should be going to jail on Monday not Steve Bannon!"3
Now, thanks to this horrific decision, Trump is emboldened to make good on his threats if he ever returns to the White House. Because now, he knows he will not be prosecuted for doing so.
To show our outrage and build momentum for the fight ahead—keeping Trump far away from the White House—we've printed a huge batch of "With Fear for Our Democracy, I Dissent" stickers and are giving them away for free, while supplies last!
As we warned, in Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court just set the stage for Donald Trump to be elected president one last time and then become a dictator. Which includes, in Trump's own words, putting his enemies—such as members of Congress who participated in the January 6 investigations—on trial.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who served in the Department of Justice soon after Richard Nixon sought to use the department to go after the people on his "enemies list," has also sounded the alarm about political prosecutions that we can expect under Trump. He warns that the language in this decision "would immunize Trump from criminal prosecution, were he to become president again and seek to use the Justice Department to prosecute his enemies—exactly what dictators do."4
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her blistering dissenting opinion, the Supreme Court majority just made the president "a king above the law." She wrote, "[W]hen [the president] uses his official powers in any way, under the majority's reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution. Orders the Navy's Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune."5
"With fear for our democracy, I dissent."6
Donald Trump has been laying the groundwork for seizing power since he took office in 2016. He has stacked the federal judiciary with 226 judges ready to do his bidding, strip away our freedoms and rights, and help the ultra-wealthy and big corporations get even richer.7 Now he could even shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, as he gloated about years ago now, with total impunity.
Monday's seismic Supreme Court decision is being called "a blueprint for dictatorship."8
In fact, less than 24 hours after Justice John Roberts declared the president to be above the law, Manhattan prosecutors announced they would be delaying Trump's sentencing for the 34 counts of election interference fraud a jury convicted him of, because it's quite possible part or all of the conviction will be thrown out under the Supreme Court ruling.9
We cannot count on the justice system to hold Trump accountable—we must do that ourselves, by speaking out against the MAGA Supreme Court, and dissenting where we can, which is at the ballot box.
We are just a little more than 100 days out from what could possibly be the last free and fair election stopping Trump from taking power once again. We can't leave anything to chance, which is why:
- We're launching a major sustained campaign to combat Trump's lies and propaganda, and now, responding to them on TikTok, where, according to the Pew Research Center, one-third of people under 30 are getting their news.
- We're fighting to expose Project 2025—the right's nearly 1,000-page blueprint for turning America into a fascist police state, by executive order and without an act of Congress, if Trump is reelected.
- We're running a massive effort to connect with 1.5 million "surge" voters—Democratic-leaning voters who don't regularly vote—in battleground states, who will make the difference between winning and losing this November. We're contacting these surge voters through postcards, targeted ads, text messages, phone-banking, and more to connect with them about the terrible policies that Trump plans to implement, hear their concerns, and turn them out to vote.
Andra, the Supreme Court has just put the future of American democracy in grave danger. It's up to us to fight back.
Thanks for all you do.
–Alexis, Elizabeth, David, Melissa, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "TRUMP v. UNITED STATES," U.S. Supreme Court, July 1, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/194359?t=7&akid=396680%2E53570607%2Embh0lu
2. "Trump Amplifies Calls to Jail Top Elected Officials, Invokes Military Tribunals," The New York Times, July 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/194381?t=9&akid=396680%2E53570607%2Embh0lu
3. Ibid.
4. "Fearmongering?" Substack by Robert Reich, July 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/194382?t=11&akid=396680%2E53570607%2Embh0lu
5. "TRUMP v. UNITED STATES," U.S. Supreme Court, July 1, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/194359?t=13&akid=396680%2E53570607%2Embh0lu
6. Ibid.
7. "How Trump compares with other recent presidents in appointing federal judges," Pew Research Center, January 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/194383?t=15&akid=396680%2E53570607%2Embh0lu
8. "The Supreme Court's disastrous Trump immunity decision, explained," Vox, July 1, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/194361?t=17&akid=396680%2E53570607%2Embh0lu
9. "Judge Delays Trump's Sentencing Until Sept. 18 After Immunity Claim," The New York Times, July 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/194379?t=19&akid=396680%2E53570607%2Embh0lu
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