Real Patriots Speak Out — Even When It’s Risky

Let’s get something out of the way: This isn’t normal.

A sitting president of the United States — whose oath is to protect the Constitution — just signed executive orders directing the federal government to investigate two private citizens, by name, because they criticized him.

Let that sink in.

Chris Krebs, the former top cybersecurity official who defended our elections from foreign interference, and Miles Taylor, the former DHS official who blew the whistle on presidential misconduct in Trump 1.0, are now targets of official retaliation. Not because they broke the law. Not because there’s any credible allegation against them. But because they spoke out.

This is not a drill. This is not a disagreement. This is presidential power being weaponized to punish dissent. It’s retribution—plain and simple. And if it goes unchecked, it’s the beginning of something darker.

We’ve already written about Trump’s anti-constitutional abuse of executive orders, and how Bright America is fueling high stakes legal challenges through our strategic partner Campaign Legal Center.

The Constitution called, it wants its crown back Austin Weatherford · Apr 15 Read full story

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This is the stuff of despots.

Think about the kind of country where a leader uses state power to settle personal scores.

Now imagine that country is America.

Because that’s where we are — unless we say no.

Authoritarianism doesn’t arrive in one fell swoop. It creeps in. One line crossed. One norm broken. One enemy targeted. And if the public doesn’t push back, it becomes precedent.

Remember Nixon’s enemies list? J. Edgar Hoover’s surveillance of civil rights leaders? These moments are now taught in classrooms as cautionary tales. What we’re witnessing today may be worse: a president publicly directing federal agencies to go after named individuals in full view of the American people.

It’s not covert. It’s not subtle. It’s brazen.

The stakes are bigger than Krebs and Taylor.

This isn't just about two people. It's about whether we still live in a country where criticizing your government doesn’t put a target on your back.

When dissent becomes dangerous, democracy becomes endangered.

That’s why more than 200 national leaders — Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike — signed a powerful open letter last week calling this out for what it is: “an appalling rejection of bedrock democratic values.”

The signers include governors, judges, national security officials, public servants, and civic leaders from both parties. Some served in Republican administrations. Others served in Democratic ones. Many have never agreed on a single issue — until now.

They are united by one belief: that no president — no matter how aggrieved or self-interested — can use federal law enforcement as a tool of political vengeance.

This is the moment to draw the line.

We can’t look away.

Because if this becomes the new normal, it won’t stop here. The next critics will be journalists. Then activists. Then everyday Americans who post the wrong thing on social media or attend the wrong rally.

We’ve seen this movie before — in other countries. Let’s not let it run here.

If you believe in the rule of law, in the First Amendment, in basic decency — now is the time to speak out. Share this story on your social media. Add your name to the open letter. Call your elected officials and demand they publicly oppose these abuses of power. History doesn’t look kindly on silence. And it’s watching right now.

Bright America stands with the patriots who put country over ego. We’re building a coalition of principled Americans — right, left, and center — who still believe in the Constitution. Join us.

We’re proud to have collected many of the signatures for this important open letter, and hope you’ll take a moment to read it, share it, and stay ready. Because this won’t be the last test of our democracy. But if we pass it — together — it won’t be our last chapter either.

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You can read the letter in it’s entirety here:

An Open Letter Opposing White House Retaliatory Investigations

We write with grave concern about the two presidential memoranda dated April 9, 2025, targeting Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor, respectively — two former national security officials who served the people of the United States. These executive actions represent a dangerous escalation in the abuse of presidential power: weaponizing federal agencies to carry out personalized retribution against named individuals.

Presidents of both parties have long respected the independence of federal law enforcement and refrained from using the power at their disposal to punish perceived enemies. Indeed, presidents have gone out of their way to avoid even the appearance of impropriety or influence. President Trump’s statements are a profoundly unconstitutional break with this tradition. He is explicitly targeting two Americans because they exercised their First Amendment rights and criticized him. That is a miscarriage of justice which these individuals, and other people and institutions vindictively singled out by him, will be unfairly forced to endure. The president of the United States must not direct federal authorities to investigate people with whom he disagrees.

This is not democratic governance. It is baseless retaliation — and it has no place in the United States of America. Across our history, there have been dark chapters where state power has been weaponized and dissent suppressed, including the crackdown during and after World War I, the Red Scare of the 1950s, and President Richard Nixon’s “enemies list.” These episodes are now seen as shameful deviations from the fundamental American principles of free expression and impartial justice. The April 9 presidential memoranda are an appalling rejection of those bedrock democratic values.

Indeed, the President’s actions not only evoke some of the worst moments in our history; they go even further. For a president to personally and publicly direct the levers of the federal government against publicly named citizens for political reasons sets a new and perilous precedent in our republic. It brings to mind the abuses of power that characterize authoritarian nations, not the United States. No matter one’s party or politics, every American should reject the notion that the awesome power of the presidency can be used to pursue individual vendettas. Behavior of this kind is more to be expected from a royal despot than the elected leader of a constitutional republic. This is the path of autocracy, not democracy.

For these reasons, we urge that the President immediately rescind these memoranda and that agency heads repudiate any order that undermines their oaths, politicizes their missions, or betrays the constitutional principles they are sworn to uphold.

These actions, if carried out, will leave a permanent stain on our institutions and erode our democracy. History will not forget who stood silent. We will not stand silent.

List of Signatories:

• Amb. Norman Eisen (ret.), Executive Chair, State Democracy Defenders Fund

• Christine Todd Whitman, Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 (R); Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the George W. Bush Administration from 2001 to 2003

• Jeffrey Amestoy, Chief Justice (ret.) Vermont

• Caroline Anderson

• Alex Aronson

• Les AuCoin, Representative of the 1st Congressional District of Oregon from 1975 to 1993 (D)

• Chiraag Bains, Former Deputy Assistant to the President, Domestic Policy Council

• Brian Baird, Representative of the 3rd Congressional District of Washington from 1999 to 2011 (D)

• Marge Baker

• Daniel Barkhuff, MD

• Lavora Barnes

• Ian Bassin, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Protect Democracy

• Joseph Bean

• Paul E. Begala, Counselor to the President from 1997 to 1999

• Mark Begich, U.S. Senator for the State of Alaska from 2009 to 2015 (D)

• Michael L. Belitzky, Alliance for American Leadership

• Nate Bell, Representative of the 20th Arkansas House District from 2013 to 2017 (I)

• John B. Bellinger III, Former Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the National Security Council

• Matt Bennett, Co-Founder, Third Way

• James Blanchard, Governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991, Representative of the 18th Congressional District of Michigan from 1975 to 1983 (D)

• Sidney Blumenthal

• Reverend Glynden Bode

• Roger Bolton, Formal Reagan and George H. W. Bush Administration Official

• John Bonifaz, President, Free Speech For People

• Kathy Boockvar, President, Athena Strategies; Former Pennsylvania Secretary of State

• Noah Bookbinder, President, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

• Spencer P. Boyer, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy

• Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator for the State of California from 1993 to 2017 (D)

• Shellie Bressler, Senior Professional Staff Member for Global Health, Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2007 to 2013; House Foreign Affairs Committee from 2015 to 2019

• William Brodhead, Representative of the 17th Congressional District of Michigan from 1975 to 1983 (D)

• Rosa Brooks, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law, Georgetown University; Former Counselor to the Under Secretary of Defense

• Steve Bullock, Former Governor of Montana (D)

• Steve Bunnell, Former General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• Lucy Caldwell, Political Strategist Arne Carlson, Former Governor of Minnesota (R)

• Davy Carter

• Rod Chandler, Representative of the 8th Congressional District of Washington from 1983 to 1993 (R)

• Linda Chavez

• Jeff Chester, Executive Director, Center for Digital Democracy

• Ty Cobb, Special Counsel to the President in the Trump Administration from 2017 to 2018; Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland from 1981 to 1986

• Barbara Comstock, Representative of the 10th Congressional District of Virginia from 2015 to 2019 (R)

• George Conway, Board President, Society for the Rule of Law

• Sam Coppersmith, Representative of the 1st Congressional District of Arizona from 1993 to 1995 (D)

• Susan Corke, Executive Director, State Democracy Defenders Fund

• Geoffrey Cowan

• Eugene Craig III, Former Vice-Chair, Maryland Republican Party

• Tom Daschle, Senator from South Dakota from 1987-2005 (D), Senate Majority and Minority

• Leader Glyn Davies, U.S. Ambassador (ret.)

• Mark de la Iglesia

• Charles W. Dent, Representative of the 15th Congressional District of Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2018 (R)

• Laura Dickinson, Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law, The George Washington University

• Murray Dickman, Primary Assistant to U.S. Attorney General from 1988 to 1991

• Renee DiResta

• Charles K. Djou, Representative of the 1st Congressional District of Hawaii from 2010 to 2011 (R)

• Donna F. Edwards, Representative of the 4th Congressional District of Maryland from 2008 to 2017 (D)

• Mickey Edwards, Representative of the 5th Congressional District of Oklahoma from 1977 to 1993 (R)

• Marc Elias

• Uriel Epshtein

• Janice Feather

• Praveen Fernandes, Vice President, Constitutional Accountability Center

• Claire Finkelstein, Algernon Biddle Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania

• Don Fox, Former General Counsel and Acting Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics

• Emil H. Frankel, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, 2002-2005

• Hannah Fried, Executive Director, All Voting is Local

• Brian Frosh, Former Attorney General of Maryland

• Mark Gallagher

• Hon. Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (ret.)

• David Gee

• Jennifer Gee, Elder, Presbyterian Church (USA)

• Richard Gephardt, Former Democratic Leader, U.S. House of Representatives

• Stuart Gerson

• Hon. Nancy Gertner (ret.)

• Lisa Gilbert, Co-President, Public Citizen John Giruado, Attorney Advisor, Office of Legal Counsel, Associate Deputy Secretary in the Reagan Administration

• Michelle Glogovac, Founder & CEO, The MLG Collective, Podcast Publicist & Author

• Jerry Goldfeder, Director of Fordham Law School Voting Rights & Democracy Project

• Brianne J. Gorod, Chief Counsel, Constitutional Accountability Center

• Hon. Joshua Gotman, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense & Treasury

• James Greenwood, Representative from the 8th Congressional District of Pennsylvania from 1993 to 2005 (R)

• Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO, Fair Fight Action

• Ânne Gruner

• Vanita Gupta, Former U.S. Department of Justice Official

• Bill Hafker

• Kathleen Hamill, Attorney Kenneth Harbaugh, President, VALOR Media Network

• Mark Harvey, Former Special Assistant to the President, National Security Council Staff

• Jeff Hauser, Executive Director, Revolving Door Project

• Michael Hayden, Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

• Jeremy M. Helfgot, Principal, J.M. Helfgot Communications; Co-founder, West Coast Women Forward; Co-founder, Blazing Desert Indivisible

• Paul Hodes, Representative of the 2nd Congressional District of New Hampshire from 2007 to 2011 (D)

• Joe Hoeffel, Representative of the 13th Congressional District of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2005 (D)

• Kate Helfrich

• Jerry Huckaby, Representative of the 5th District of Louisiana from 1977 to 1993 (D)

• Daniel Hunter, Choose Democracy

• Joe Hunter, Former Congressional Chief of Staff

• Bob Inglis, Representative of the 4th Congressional District of South Carolina from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2011 (R)

• Steve Israel, Representative of the 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts of New York from 2001 to 2013 and 2013 to 2017 (D)

• David Jolly, Representative of the 13th Congressional District of Florida from 2014 to 2017 (R)

• Virginia Kase Solomón, President & CEO, Common Cause

• Gary Kasparov

• Peter Keisler, Acting Attorney General in the George W. Bush Administration in 2007

• James Kelly, Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Trade Administration, 1984-1988

• Bob Kerrey, Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and Senator from 1989 to 2001 (D)

• John Kingston, Former U.S. Senate Candidate; Candidate and Coalitions Chair, Forward Party

• Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

• Peter H. Kostmayer, Representative of the 8th Congressional District of Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1981 and 1983 to 1993 (D)

• William Kristol, Chief of Staff to the Vice President in the George H.W. Bush Administration from 1989 to 1993

• James R. Kunder, Former Deputy Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development

• Philip Lacovara, Counsel to the Special Prosecutor, Watergate Special Prosecutor’s Office in the Nixon Administration from 1973 to 1974

• Leonard Lance, Representative of the 7th Congressional District of New Jersey from 2009 to 2019 (R)

• David Lapan, Former Spokesman for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security

• John LeBoutiller, Representative of the 6th Congressional District of New York from 1981 to 1983 (R)

• James M. LeMunyon, Member, Virginia House of Delegates, 2010-2018

• Marty Linsky, Former Assistant Republican Floor Leader, Massachusetts House of Representatives

• Harry Litman, Former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney

• General Mike Lofgren

• Sheree Lopez

• Linda Lorelle, Co-Founder, Civil Dialogues

• Charles D. Luckey

• Sally Lyall

• Joanna Lydgate, CEO, States United

• R.J. Lyman, Citizen of the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

• Mairin Macaluso, Senior Advisor, Leadership Now Project

• Tom Malinowski, Representative of the 7th Congressional District of New Jersey from 2019 to 2023 (D)

• Debrianna Mansini, Activist

• Marjorie Margolies, Representative of the 13th Congressional District of Pennsylvania from 1993 to 1995 (D)

• Rabbi Bonnie Margulis

• Andrew G. McCabe, Former Deputy Director, FBI

• Mary B. McCord, Former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security

• John McCormick

• Maria McFarland Sanchez-Moreno, CEO, RepresentUs

• Lt. Col. Amy McGrath, United States Marine Corps (ret.)

• John McKay, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington appointed by George W. Bush from 2001 to 2007

• Brian P. McKeon, Former Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources

• Hon. Donna McLean

• Barbara McQuade, United States Attorney, Eastern District of Michigan, 2010-2017

• John M. Mitnick, Former Associate Counsel to the President

• Jeff Modisett, Former Indiana Attorney General; Former Assistant U.S. Attorney

• Toby Moffett, Representative of the 6th Congressional District of Connecticut from 1975 to 1983 (D)

• Larry Moore, Substack Creator, Democracy Forge

• Mike Moore, Former Attorney General of Mississippi

• Alberto Mora, Former General Counsel, Department of the Navy

• Seth Moulton, Representative of the 6th Congressional District of Massachusetts from 2015 to present (D)

• Virginia A. Mulberger, Former National Security Council Senior Director and Special Assistant to President George H. W. Bush

• Tiffany Muller, President, End Citizens United

• Lissa Muscatine, Presidential Speechwriter, Clinton Administration; Director of Speechwriting for the Secretary of State, Obama Administration

• Elizabeth Neumann, Former DHS Assistant Secretary of Counterterrorism

• Mario Nicolais, General Counsel, The Lincoln Project

• Cheryl Niro, Past President, Illinois State Bar Association

• Joseph Nye, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense

• Sean O'Keefe, Professor, Syracuse University

• Ted O'Meara, Former Chair, Maine Republican Party

• Robert F. Orr, Former Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court (ret.)

• Jan Peter Ozga Richard Painter, Former Associate Counsel to the President and Chief White House Ethics Lawyer for President George W. Bush

• Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015 (D)

• Jed Pauker, Co-Founding Board Member, Venice Resistance

• Tony Payne, Former Executive Director, Maine GOP

• Valerie Plame

• John D. Podesta, Former White House Chief of Staff and Former Senior Advisor to the President

• Michael Podhorzer

• Jen Porter

• Trevor Potter, Chairman and Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission from 1991 to 1995; General Counsel to John McCain’s Presidential Campaign from 2000 to 2008; President, Campaign Legal Center

• Edward A Powell, Former Assistant Secretary for Management and Deputy Secretary (Acting) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; CEO, USO World HQ; Defense Business Board

• Kristopher Purcell, Former White House Aide in the George W. Bush Administration

• Marc Racicot

• Alan Charles Raul, Associate Counsel to the President in the Reagan Administration from 1986 to 1988

• Reid Ribble, Representative of the 8th Congressional District of Wisconsin from 2015 to 2017 (R)

• Kathleen Rice, Representative of the 4th Congressional District of New York from 2015 to 2023 (D)

• Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Recorder from 2021 to 2025 (R)

• Hon. Denver Riggleman, Representative of the 5th Congressional District of Virginia from 2019 to 2021 (R)

• Robert Riley

• Amb. John Ritch, Former U.S. Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency

• Bill Ritter, Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011 (D)

• Miriam Rocah, Former Federal Prosecutor SDNY 2001-2017

• Anthony Romero, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union

• Theodore Roosevelt IV

• Paul Rosenzweig, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security in the George W. Bush Administration from 2005 to 2009

• Steve Russell, Representative of the 5th Congressional District of Oklahoma from 2015 to 2019 (R)

• Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011; Representative of the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019 (R)

• Anthony Scaramucci

• Steven M. Schneebaum

• Claudine Schneider, Representative of the 2nd Congressional District of Rhode Island from 1981-1991 (R)

• Nancy Schulte

• Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009 (D)

• Ricki Seidman, Former Senior Counselor to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

• James M. Seif

• Joe Sestak, Former Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy and U.S. Congressman (PA-07)

• Tara Setmayer, Co-Founder, The Seneca Project Rina Shah, Geopolitical Adviser & Former RNC Delegate

• Robert B. Shanks, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, 1981-1985

• Hon. Phil Sharp, Representative of the 10th and 2nd District of Indiana from 1975-1983 and 1983-1995 (D)

• Kate Shaw

• Christopher Shays, Representative of the 4th Congressional District of Connecticut from 1987 to 2009 (R)

• Donald Sherman, Executive Director and Chief Counsel, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

• Steve Silverman

• David Skaggs, Representative of the 2nd Congressional District of Colorado from 1987 to 1999 (D)

• Anne-Marie Slaughter, Professor Emerita, Princeton University

• Fern Smith, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California appointed by President Reagan from 1988 to 2005

• Mary Smith, Immediate past President of the American Bar Association, Former Associate White House Counsel for Clinton Administration

• Hon. Peter Smith

• Craig Snyder, Former Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter

• Ilya Somin, Law Professor at George Mason University

• Julia Spiegel, Founder and CEO of Governors Action Alliance

• Richard Stengel, Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy

• Stuart Stevens

• Robin Tallon, Representative of the 6th District of South Carolina from 1983 to 1993 (D)

• Neera Tanden, President and CEO, Center for American Progress

• Michael Teter, Attorney & Managing Director, The 65 Project

• Jennifer Thomas & Emma Addams, Co-Executive Directors, Mormon Women for Ethical Government

• James Tierney, Former Attorney General of Maine

• Jeff Timmer, The Lincoln Project

• Ann Toback, CEO, The Workers Circle

• Carmen Torres

• Laurence H. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Constitutional Law Emeritus at Harvard University

• David Trott, Representative of the 11th Congressional District of Michigan from 2015 to 2019 (R)

• Olivia Troye, Special Advisor, Homeland Security and Counterterrorism to Vice President Mike Pence, 2018-2020

• F. Andrew Turley, Major General, USAF (ret.)

• Susan W. Turnbull

• Chris Vance, Former Chairman, Washington State Republican Party

• Josh Venable, Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Education

• Alexander S. Vindman, Lt. Col., U.S. Army (ret.)

• Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center for Justice

• Liz Wally

• Joe Walsh

• Matt Walton, 2015 Republican Nominee, 74th District of the Virginia House of Delegates

• Austin Weatherford

• Judge William H. Webster

• Randi Weingarten

• Ellen L. Weintraub, Commissioner, Federal Election Commission, 2002-2025

• Wendy Weiser, Vice President for Democracy, Brennan Center for Justice

• Robert Weissman, Co-President, Public Citizen

• Lawrence B. Wilkerson, Colonel, USA (ret.)

• Gregory P. Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1986-1989

• Rick Wilson, The Lincoln Project

• Jonathan M Winer, Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Special Envoy for Libya

• Timothy Wirth, U.S. Senator for the State of Colorado from 1987 to 1993; Representative of the 8th Congressional District of Colorado from 1975 to 1987 (D)

• Ann S. Womble

• John Yarmuth, Former Chairman of the House Budget Committee, 3rd District of Kentucky from 2007-2023 (D)