Reflections About the Fourth of July
On July 1, the Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump has immunity for “official” crimes, I mean acts, committed while in office. This was a staggering blow to Americans with common sense only three days before America celebrated her so-called Independence Day.
As reported by NPR —
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6–3 decision along ideological lines, ruled that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers — and is entitled to a presumption of immunity for his official acts, but lacks immunity for unofficial acts. But at the same time, the court sent the case back to the trial judge to determine which, if any of former President Donald Trump’s actions, were part of his official duties and thus were protected from prosecution.
This shouldn’t be a problem because inciting an insurrection, trying to get your VP hanged, and preventing the peaceful transfer of power between presidents should not qualify as “official acts” of the president of the United States.
Let’s look back at Trump’s indictments for his involvement in January 6.
one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States applies to Trump’s repeated and widespread efforts to spread false claims about the November 2020 election while knowing they were not true and for allegedly attempting to illegally discount legitimate votes all with the goal of overturning the 2020 election, prosecutors claim in the indictment.
one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding was brought due to the alleged organized planning by Trump and his allies to disrupt the electoral vote’s certification in January 2021.
one count of obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding is tied to Trump and his co-conspirators’ alleged efforts after the November 2020 election until Jan. 7, 2021, to block the official certification proceeding in Congress.
one count of conspiracy against rights refers to Trump and his co-conspirators alleged attempts to “oppress, threaten and intimidate” people in their right to vote in an election.
The SCOTUS did not elaborate, or list, what crimes, or official acts, Trump should have immunity for. Instead, they sent the case back down to the lower court for Judge Tanya Chutkan to decide.
As reported by Reuters —
The court delegated to Chutkan, a judge on the U.S. district court in Washington, the complex task of determining how to apply that immunity in the four-count criminal indictment obtained last year by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Chutkan will have to conduct a detailed examination of the indictment to determine which of Trump’s actions were official and must be stricken from the case and which were private acts that can proceed to trial.
That process will make it nearly impossible for a jury to decide Trump’s guilt or innocence before the Nov. 5 presidential election in which he is the Republican candidate challenging Biden, a Democrat. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
When President Obama was elected in 2008, I had an older family member who was sure he would be murdered by racists.
He was wrong about that. Obama, almost twenty years later, is both alive and well.
They didn’t kill him, after all, but they did decide to kill democracy instead.
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, the recent rulings by the SCOTUS, and the rhetoric coming from the radical right lets you know that the Republicans don’t want a democracy anymore. They want authoritarian leadership as it’s the only way they can impose their minority rule & will over the country. These white nationalists will implement policy that criminalize, or discriminate against, nonChristians, nonwhites, and non straight people.
60% of the country is white, and by 2050, it’s predicted the USA will be a majority nonwhite country.
This estimation is at the crux of the The Heritage Foundation’s plans — especially the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.
The president of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin D. Roberts, made some alarming comments recently. He basically threatened everyone who isn’t white and on the Project 2025 hate train with violence and civil unrest.
As reported by The Hill —
Roberts made his original comment Tuesday on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast — hosted that day by former Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), since Bannon reported to prison for his contempt of Congress sentence the day before — when discussing the Supreme Court’s ruling that presidents have presumptive immunity for official actions. The decision handed a win to Trump as he fights indictments over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
“The left has taken over our institutions. The reason that they are apoplectic right now, the reason so many anchors on MSNBC, for example, are losing their minds daily, is because our side is winning,” Roberts said. “And so I come full circle on this response, and just want to encourage you with some substance. That we are in the process of the second American revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
Really???
Guess what? I’m not scared. The American people who stand for democracy are not scared.
The far right thinks they can bring back slavery, draconian work conditions, and whatever else they want.
Them and who’s army? The neo-Nazis??? The U.S. army if Trump is elected again and makes himself a dictator???
Trump was defeated in 2020 and he must be defeated again in 2024.
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