Tell the courts: Stop delaying Trump’s criminal trials!
Dear MoveOn member,
Today, the Supreme Court set a shocking precedent, awarding disgraced former president Donald Trump absolute immunity from prosecution for crimes he committed as part of any “official acts” of his presidency.1 Not only does this shield Trump (and future presidents) from accountability, it also further delays his criminal trial by kicking it back to the lower court.2 Nobody is above the law. Period. And we’re going to keep working to hold Trump accountable for crimes he committed against the American people, our government, and our democracy.
SCOTUS refused to rule specifically on whether Trump’s attempts to overthrow the 2020 election results are immune or not. Now Judge Tanya Chutkan, who oversees the federal case against Trump in Washington, D.C., has to review the charges against Trump and decide which should remain and which are now void due to SCOTUS’s terrifying ruling. The setback makes ensuring a trial occurs before November difficult—but not impossible.3 We have to demand that Judge Chutkan move forward with Trump’s criminal trial immediately!
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said it best in her dissent, “When [Trump] uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution. Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune.”4 Today’s ruling was not just founded on an absurd legal argument—it is incredibly dangerous.
This MAGA-stacked court is giving Trump exactly what he wants—allowing him to delay his criminal trials with hopes that he can secure a win in November, be granted absolute immunity, and uphold his promise to be a “dictator on day one.”5 We must come together to stop him.
Thanks for all you do.
–Aliya, Kelsey, Alyssa, Evelyn, and the rest of the team
P.S. See our email from earlier this year below on Trump’s strategy to delay, win, and pardon himself—and how the Supreme Court is enabling him.
Sources:
1. “Supreme Court says Trump has absolute immunity for core acts only,” NPR, July 1, 2024
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/01/nx-s1-5002157/supreme-court-trump-immunity
2. “Supreme Court: Trump’s immunity case goes back to lower court,” PBS News, July 1, 2024
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/supreme-court-trumps-immunity-case-goes-back-to-lower-court
3. “Will Trump stand trial in DC before the election? Experts say it’s unlikely, but not impossible,” ABC News, June 30, 2024
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/will-trump-stand-trial-dc-before-election-experts-unlikely-not-impossible/story?id=111561162
4. “‘The President Is Now a King’: The Most Blistering Lines From Dissents in the Trump Immunity Case,” Mother Jones, July 1, 2024
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/07/sotomayor-jackson-blistering-dissents-trump-immunity-case/
5. “Donald Trump: Don’t Worry, I’ll Only Be a Dictator for One Day,” Vanity Fair, December 6, 2023
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/202311donald-trump-dictator-on-day-one
The Supreme Court is preventing a speedy trial to hold Trump accountable for his January 6 crimes. Demand the court stop the delays NOW!
Dear MoveOn member,
Last night, a jury of everyday Americans affirmed that Donald Trump is not above the law. He was found GUILTY on all 34 charges for falsifying documents to cover up a conspiracy to deceive voters ahead of the 2016 election.6 This makes the de facto leader of the Republican party and the party’s presidential candidate—which has touted its “tough on crime” platform and enforced harsh policies against ordinary Americans—a felon.
But frustratingly, Trump’s three other trials have been stalled and delayed, a tactic that Trump is intentionally weaponizing in order to block accountability and avoid going to trial before November’s election. Judges across the country, from the Supreme Court—including two justices with clear and outrageous conflicts of interest—to state courts, are working to help Trump evade accountability.
Justice delayed is justice denied! Demand that the judges involved with Trump’s criminal trials and appeals STOP delaying and move forward swiftly before the November presidential elections
The MAGA-stacked Supreme Court continues to drag its feet in announcing a ruling on Trump’s bogus “absolute immunity” claim, which they never should have accepted in the first place.7 And in the midst of the case, news broke that Justice Samuel Alito flew not one but two flags in solidarity with the January 6 insurrection. This corrupt court is stalling in order to prevent the Department of Justice from starting its trial against Trump for his January 6 crimes. They must STOP the delays and issue a ruling immediately.
Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the classified documents case, recently announced that she is delaying the trial indefinitely.8 For months she’s shown nothing but favoritism toward Trump, using her power to shield him. The trial was originally to take place in May 2024.
And finally, Trump’s crusade to disqualify the prosecutor in his Georgia case, also related to overturning the 2020 election results, has indefinitely delayed the trial as the Georgia Court of Appeals debates whether to allow Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis to oversee the charges brought against Trump and 14 co-conspirators.9
For far too long, there have been different versions of justice in our legal system—one for the wealthy and powerful, and another for the rest of us. And this hypocrisy has burdened Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian American communities disproportionately. And now, this double standard is on full display, as someone who should be held to the highest ethical and legal standards in our country manipulates our legal system to evade accountability and hide information from the public.
Thanks for all you do.
–Aliya, Kelsey, Alyssa, Evelyn, and the rest of the team
Sources:
6. “Guilty: Trump becomes first former US president convicted of felony crimes,” AP News, May 31, 2024
https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-deliberations-jury-testimony-verdict-85558c6d08efb434d05b694364470aa0
7. “Supreme Court signals further delay in Trump election interference case as it weighs immunity claims,” NBC News, April 25, 2024
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-hears-trump-immunity-claim-election-interference-case-rcna149182
8. “Federal judge indefinitely postpones Trump classified documents trial,” CNN, May 7, 2024
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/07/politics/judge-postpones-trump-classified-documents-trial/index.html
9. “Where Trump’s 3 other criminal cases stand after his conviction in New York,” CBS News, May 31, 2024
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-convicted-new-york-other-criminal-cases/
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