John, I'm nothing short of amazed by how Common Cause members like are responding to this note I sent Monday:
John, the Supreme Court just ruled 6-3 that Donald Trump IS above the law for many of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election – setting a startling precedent for future presidents to break the law at will.
Our legal team is still reading and digesting the complexities of this decision, but one thing I can tell you right now is that we must immediately unite in defense of the rule of law.
That’s because this ruling declares that a president can get away with committing crimes as long as they are considered “official” acts. And by waiting until the last possible minute to issue their decision, the Court has all but guaranteed that there will not be a trial in Trump’s federal January 6th case before the election.
This decision is fraught with dangerous potential. As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson highlighted in her dissent, “Presidents alone are now free to commit crimes when they are on the job, while all other Americans must follow the law in all aspects of their lives, whether personal or professional." [1]
Today is a turning point in our nation’s history. I’m writing to you because I hope it will mark the beginning of an unprecedented mobilization for the values we share – with Common Cause members like you at the forefront.
Frankly, we can’t respond with anything less. That’s why, in response to today’s decision, I am directing the Common Cause team to immediately scale up our plans to protect voters and defend our democracy in 2024.
The Supreme Court has effectively ignored a central pillar of the American system of justice – that no one in this country is above the law. Instead, they’ve gravely damaged their reputation to shield Trump from accountability – and in doing so, newly emboldened the forces behind January 6th to conspire against any future election that doesn’t go their way.
But all isn’t lost. Despite Trump’s efforts to engineer doubt in our elections and stoke a violent overthrow in 2020, the People’s voice still won out. And John, Common Cause’s Protect The Vote efforts in 2020 were absolutely critical to that outcome.
Together, we fielded tens of thousands of trained, nonpartisan volunteers at high-risk polling sites across the country – helping hundreds of thousands of voters make their voices heard.
That’s an impact you can measure – voters who, were it not for our hard-working volunteers, would have been denied their rights due to last-minute polling place closures, vote-suppressing online disinformation, or even intimidation at polling places.
For the Common Cause team, protecting the 2020 election against those threats – and ensuring the will of the people was ultimately respected – is one of our proudest memories as an organization. But John, today’s irresponsible ruling means we’ll need to do it all again and go even bigger this time.
This isn’t the end – it’s just the beginning of our HISTORIC effort to protect every voter's rights in 2024. Please show us we can count on you by chipping in $50 (or whatever you can spare) to sponsor a volunteer today >>
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This won’t be easy, but I hope we can all agree that it is nothing less than a necessity if we want to leave a democracy for the next generation.
Thank you,
Virginia Kase Solomón, President and CEO
and the team at Common Cause
[1] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf
