John,

The country chose a leader yesterday, but I do not believe the American people chose to turn their backs on democracy.

A resilient democracy depends on real checks on executive power. Since America’s founding, that has been a cornerstone of our political system.

Donald Trump’s victory is making the importance of checks on the presidency clearer than ever before.

There is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety about where our country goes from here. But here’s one thing I know: The only things that will help hold the line against Trump’s worst impulses are the law and public accountability.

CREW will not hesitate to bring both to bear against him—as we have in the past. We may not be able to count on our government to police itself these next few years, so ensuring the continued viability of democracy and the rule of law may come down to groups like CREW and people like you.

We are not strangers to taking on big fights: We took Trump to the Supreme Court this past February to enforce his disqualification from office under the 14th Amendment. We sued him on his first full day in the Oval Office in 2017 over his corrupt acceptance of illegal emoluments. We’ve filed a bribery complaint against him to the Department of Justice. We fought tooth and nail for transparency during his first presidency, exposing some of his biggest scandals.

We’re going to stand up and do whatever it takes to demand accountability and protect against creeping authoritarianism during the next Trump presidency just as we did during the first.

You will hear a lot more from CREW in the coming days about how we can continue pursuing those aims.

This is a tough day, but knowing that millions of Americans are with us in the fight to defend our democracy is a bright light in the darkness.

Thank you very much for your support—we will be depending on it as we embark on the next four years of hard work.

In solidarity,

Noah Bookbinder
President
CREW