As @ianbassin said on #inners there was a hearing yesterday which, "was the first time that Trump lawyers stood up in open court to answer questions about the #Russia conspiracy and amazingly the Trump legal team didn't push back very hard on the idea of a conspiracy." 1/
Yesterday in court #Trump lawyers, "..were essentially arguing that even if we did work with #Russia to dump these emails which were hacked, well that's just political activity and our First Amendment right to do so." #inners
on #Trump White House Counsel, "Trump may not care about tearing down the norms of our democracy, but surely some of these people do...Have these people no decency left? We're talking about Trump trying to out an informant that could endanger lives." #inners
After consulting with experts, we found, "If you want to know if American democracy is in danger, look for a couple of things 1) are they trying to politicize independent institutions like law enforcement, 2) are they trying put out disinformation to confuse the public... #inners
"3) are they trying to eliminate checks that could hold the executive accountable, 4) are they trying to corrupt elections." #inners
As @ianbassin said, "In this story alone, you're looking at all four of those things! So this is not just a danger to this investigation alone, it's a danger to the very foundation of the republic." #inners
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The President and the Special Counsel may be heading for a showdown over whether the President’s testimony can be subpoenaed in the Russia investigation. 1/
Today, a group of law professors, legal experts and former DOJ officials wrote a letter to the President’s legal team urging them to advise President Trump to answer the Special Counsel’s questions, since a subpoena fight won’t succeed. protectdemocracy.org/legal-scholar-… 2/
As they wrote, the President is not above the law. His position does not immunize him from the Special Counsel’s obstruction of justice investigation — or from a subpoena soliciting information relating to this investigation. 3/
Today, President Trump called for the end of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. We believe this is unconstitutional interference by the President into specific cases at the DOJ because he is trying to use the power of his office to protect himself and his allies.
On January 20th, the President raised his hand and swore an oath to the Constitution. The Constitution requires that he “take care that the laws of the United States are faithfully executed”. The Constitution is not a buffet, he doesn’t get to pick and choose what to follow.
Calling for the end of the investigation is consistent with a pattern of behavior where Trump has demonstrated that he thinks he is above the law. #NobodyIsAbovetheLaw It is also consistent with his belief that he can interfere or threaten the Department of Justice.
BRAND NEW: To mark July 4th, we are releasing here a Roadmap for Renewal: A Legislative Blueprint for Protecting Our Democracy. We propose 21 actions that a new Congress can take to renew American democracy. #RoadmapForRenewal Read, comment and share: protectdemocracy.org/roadmap-for-re… /1
The Declaration of Independence includes over 20 “grievances” against the King’s abuses of executive power. We could do the same today. But rather than focus on grievances, our #RoadmapForRenewal lays out how a new Congress can renew our democracy. protectdemocracy.org/roadmap-for-re… /2
These reforms do not fall along traditional partisan lines. They draw on smart ideas from others across the political spectrum. This is just a starting point. Visit protectdemocracy.org/roadmap-for-re… to read more and offer your ideas and suggestions. /3
Throughout history, tyrannical rulers have dehumanized minority groups to justify denying them basic rights. Referring to classes of human beings as “not people,” but “animals” is the language of Nazis, white supremacists, American slaveholders, and Jim Crow lawmakers.
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Our own history teaches that true democracy depends on protecting the rights of minorities. The language POTUS used today has no place in a discussion of immigration policy or law enforcement in our democracy.
Well. @realDonaldTrump just announced missile strikes against Syria for the chemical weapons attacks against its own citizens.
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First, Bashar al-Assad has committed grave crimes against humanity. The world must come together to confront his horrific butchering of children and civilians. Bashar al-Assad also attacked his people a year ago.
The @realdonaldtrump administration never gave the American people its account for the legal basis for its attacks on Syria. So we filed a FOIA to find the document. And then we sued. We found that a document exists. protectdemocracy.org/syria-lawsuit/
The report is misleading, biased, methodologically unsound, and often just wrong. Worse, it is being used as part of a misinformation campaign targeted at the American public to justify and support the Administration’s preferred immigration policies.
The President himself communicated these misleading and unsound claims.
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