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Dear Friend,
In the span of four days, Donald Trump has fired both the inspector general of the intelligence community and the inspector general in charge of the $2 trillion stimulus package.1
Trump is removing people from overseeing his actions just as Attorney General William Barr is pressuring the Senate to reauthorize warrantless wiretapping—and is pushing for emergency powers to imprison Americans indefinitely.
Trump and his lawless administration are using the pandemic as a cover to destroy our most basic constitutional rights, and we need a massive public backlash to stop it.
Inspectors general are constitutionally bound, nonpartisan officials in charge of making sure that government officials, no matter who they are, comply with the law and policy.
They are often the last line of accountability—it was the intelligence community’s inspector general Michael Atkinson who alerted Congress to the whistleblower’s complaint about Trump’s call with Ukraine. Now Trump has fired him.
Trump has also removed the person meant to oversee the coronavirus stimulus package, including the $500 billion slush fund that can go to Trump’s billionaire cronies.2 Trump’s administration is removing anyone who dissents against him, including a decorated Navy captain who blew the whistle about a coronavirus outbreak on his ship.3
Just last week, it was revealed that William Barr is asking Congress to be allowed to hold people in prison indefinitely without a trial, attacking one of the most basic freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. He’s asking for an extension of the Patriot Act. And now Trump is firing those responsible for making sure he follows the law.
We have to stand up to this attack on our constitutional rights and rein in Trump’s power grab. We’re gathering signatures to send to Congress and making our backlash public.
Thanks for standing with us.
Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress
Sources:
1. The Washington Post, "Trump removes inspector general who was to oversee $2 trillion stimulus spending," April 7, 2020
2. Ibid
3. The New York Times, "He Led a Top Navy Ship. Now He Sits in Quarantine, Fired and Infected.," April 7, 2020
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