📩 Supreme Court ruling on Trump v United States; Statement by Norm Eisen and Michael Podhorzer

🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.

People Power United is a proud member of the Not Above the Law coalition. In response to the Supreme Court ruling on Trump v United States, a few of our fellow coalition members, Norm Eisen and Michael Podhorzer, released this statement:

July 1, 2024

"Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, and their Trump-appointed Federalist Society colleagues, have guaranteed a national crisis of unprecedented proportions in the fall. The choice to wait until after the first presidential debate to announce their immunity decision is yet another inexcusable instance of the SCOTUS MAGA majority intervening in this election. A decision before the debate would have justly forced Trump to defend his conduct on January 6 and discuss the fact that he is being federally prosecuted for encouraging an insurrection against the United States. However, the pro-Trump justices placed their thumb upon the scale by obviously delaying their decision until after the debate concluded. 

"While they have denied the American people a full trial of Trump before the election, the case now returns to the trial court. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan can and should move quickly to hold an evidentiary hearing — a kind of mini-trial — that will thoroughly explore the facts in this case. Trump is alleged to have led a criminal conspiracy to overthrow an election he knew he lost. This conspiracy led to a violent attack against our country on January 6. Voters deserve to know whether someone running in this election is guilty of attempting to overthrow the last one. As for the jury trial we should have had, the Court has made that impossible because the immunity decision will be subject to appeal. 

"Finally, given their outrageous conflict, Justices Alito and Thomas should have recused themselves from the beginning, when cert was first sought in December. At the very least, Chief Justice Roberts must provide the American people with a full disclosure about the roles that Justices Alito and Thomas are playing on this court. This is about our freedoms, our families, and our futures. Nothing could or should be more important or urgent."

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People Power United is a group of community members that champions progressive values and power for the people. The 2024 election depends on us, and we are attempting to persuade people to vote for Freedom over Fascism. If you wish to support our efforts, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Ambassador Norman Eisen (ret.) served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee majority during the first impeachment and trial of President Trump. Eisen has been recognized as one of the leading legal analysts on the Trump trials. From 2009 to 2011, Eisen worked in the White House as special counsel and special assistant to the President for ethics and government reform.
 

Michael Podhorzer is the chair of the Defend Democracy Project, a former political director of the AFL-CIO, and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is a founder of the Analyst Institute and Research Collaborative (RC), and a co-founder of Working America and Catalist.