On July 1, the Supreme Court issued its profoundly misguided ruling in Donald Trump’s immunity case, in effect giving U.S. presidents sweeping power to break the law with impunity — the kind of power heretofore associated with foreign despots, dictators, and kings.

On July 25, Public Citizen announced a bold new initiative to win a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court’s absurd immunity ruling and restore the foundational principle that no one — not Donald Trump, not any president — is above the law.

On July 29, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both called for substantive reform regarding the Supreme Court, including an amendment.

We’re already seeing extensive media coverage of the campaign for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s dangerous immunity ruling, in major outlets like:
ABC News
CBS News
CNN
Forbes
Fox News
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
NBC News
The New York Times
Newsweek
NPR
PBS
Politico
Time Magazine
USA Today
The Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post

The American people have a choice to make — a choice that could not be more critical.

Do we consent to be subjects of a de facto king?

Or do we fight to overturn the Supreme Court’s absurd immunity ruling and to restore the foundational principle that no one — not Donald Trump, not any president — is above the law?

It’s obvious: We have to overturn this ruling.

And the most surefire way to do that is with a constitutional amendment.

Now, winning a constitutional amendment will not be easy.

It is not supposed to be easy.

But does that mean we should just roll over and let our country devolve into a dictatorship?

Hell.

No.

We know something about “not easy” here at Public Citizen. Just to give you one example we’re sort of famous for: Today, nobody would buy — and no company would try to sell — a new car without airbags. That was us. We battled Detroit for decades. And we didn’t stop until we won.

These are the initial steps in our just-launched campaign for a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme’s Court’s disastrous ruling in Donald Trump’s immunity case:

• Through our unparalleled lobbying expertise and by mobilizing Public Citizen’s 500,000 supporters, we will keep the pressure on members of Congress — in the House and Senate alike — to push the amendment through the legislative process.

• We will work with our allies in the Not Above the Law coalition to support an amendment and to activate their supporters. (Public Citizen helped found the Not Above the Law coalition — a diverse, nationwide group of over 100 partner organizations — back in 2017 in recognition that holding Trump accountable would require a coordinated, sustained movement.)

• Calling on our 50-plus years of success engaging the media in vital causes, we will continue generating press focus — across traditional print and broadcast journalism as well as leading social media platforms — on how extreme the ruling is and how an amendment is key to counteracting it.

We said above that winning a constitutional amendment will not be, and is not supposed to be, easy.

One way that plays out comes down to this: democracy can’t be saved with good ideas, hard work, and a never-give-up attitude alone.

There are unavoidable, real-world financial costs to a campaign this big and this important.

And that’s where we need help right now, at the outset of such a major undertaking.

So, if you can, please donate today. Anything you can chip in — $5 or $25, $50 or $100, $500 or even more — will make a difference.

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If donating today is not a good fit, that’s okay. Either way, we hope you appreciate knowing a little more about the work we’re doing together. And thank you for being part of this shared project called Public Citizen.

For democracy,

- Robert Weissman & Lisa Gilbert, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
 
 
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