A thought exercise:

Think of a leader of a country who is infamous for using military force to
suppress opposition and even execute political rivals.

* Maybe you’re thinking of an ancient Roman emperor who operated with almost
godlike power.

* Maybe you’re thinking of Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler.

* Maybe you’re thinking of more recent figures like Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge
in Cambodia, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, or Vladimir Putin of Russia.

I’m guessing your first thought was not that a U.S. president would assert a
right to kill his political opponent.

But, while it may sound extreme, that is in fact exactly where we are.

Last week — in court over Donald Trump’s illegal attempts to remain in
power despite losing the 2020 election — his lawyers argued (with a straight
face) that the former president would be immune from criminal prosecution even
if he ordered one of our nation’s most elite military units to assassinate his
leading political rival.

I’m not making this up. If you haven’t seen it in the news already, look it up
online.

Now, I know that words like “unprecedented” and “shocking” start to lose their
meaning when it comes to Donald Trump. There is a strong temptation to tune it
all out, to move on, to hope he just goes away somehow.

But if we don’t want to succumb to authoritarian forces, we simply must not
allow ourselves to become numb or indifferent.

So, today, I’m asking you to join me in a statement that should be unnecessary
but is actually essential: [[link removed]]

The Constitution of the United States does NOT give the president — not Donald
Trump, not anyone — absolute criminal immunity for murder. The fact that Donald
Trump thinks it does, and that he had a lawyer say that on his behalf on the
record in a court of law, is all the more evidence that he must be held
accountable for his crimes against the American people and our democracy.
[[link removed]]

Click to add your name now if you agree.
[[link removed]]

Thanks for taking action.

For justice and democracy,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen


Public Citizen | 1600 20th Street NW | Washington DC 20009 | Unsubscribe
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