June, 11 2021, 02:13pm EDT
Progressives Support Rep. Omar Against Bad Faith Attacks
50+ national progressive organizations and leaders released the following statement regarding bad faith attacks against Rep. Ilhan Omar for comments earlier this week:
"Representative Ilhan Omar is facing a smear campaign for daring to name what few will: that all victims of war crimes deserve justice, regardless of who commits the crimes. As national progressive organizations and leaders devoted to upholding human rights everywhere and ensuring our democracy can flourish through freedom of speech, we support Rep. Omar and condemn these bad faith attacks.
WASHINGTON
50+ national progressive organizations and leaders released the following statement regarding bad faith attacks against Rep. Ilhan Omar for comments earlier this week:
"Representative Ilhan Omar is facing a smear campaign for daring to name what few will: that all victims of war crimes deserve justice, regardless of who commits the crimes. As national progressive organizations and leaders devoted to upholding human rights everywhere and ensuring our democracy can flourish through freedom of speech, we support Rep. Omar and condemn these bad faith attacks.
"For too long, the United States and its allies have acted with impunity for the atrocities that they commit across the globe. Those who dare to violate Washington taboos and name this simple fact should be commended for their bravery. Instead, they are censored.
"Make no mistake: these attacks and intentional twisting of her words are designed not only to silence criticism of U.S. foreign policy, but to silence an outspoken woman of color. That this latest round of vilification is once again about Rep. Omar in particular is not a coincidence: the repeated targeting of Rep. Omar is rooted in sexism, racism, and anti-Muslim bigotry.
"It is no surprise that Rep. Omar's opponents would seize on any opportunity to once again attack one of Congress's leading progressive voices. The true shame is that many in her own party would buy in to such bad faith attacks.
"We join in solidarity with Rep. Omar and all who are willing to name the simple truth that the United States and its allies should be held accountable for their human rights violations. We urge all members of Congress, and Democratic leadership in particular, to stop falling for manufactured controversy. Fearless leadership for human rights everywhere should be commended, not condemned."
Organizations
Action Center on Race and the Economy
Adalah Justice Project
American Muslim Empowerment Network (AMEN)
Arab American Civic Council
Armenian-American Action Network
Ayada Leads
Center for International Policy
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
Fellow Travelers
Freedom Forward
Friends of Human Rights
IfNotNow
Indivisible
Institute for Policy Studies - New Internationalism Project
Jetpac Resource Center
Jewish Voice for Peace Action
Jews for Racial & Economic Justice
Justice Democrats
MADRE
Masa Fund
MoveOn
MPower Change
National Iranian American Council
Reviving the Islamic Sisterhood for Empowerment
Revolving Door Project
Social Security Works
South Asian Americans Leading Together
The Feminist Front
UltraViolet
Win Without War
Working Families Party Individuals (Affiliations listed for identification purposes only)
Aneelah Afzali - Executive Director, American Muslim Empowerment Network (AMEN)
Iram Ali - Campaign Strategist
Sophia Armen - Co-Chair, The Feminist Front
Zahra Billoo - CAIR San Francisco Bay Area
Pam Campos-Palma - Director of Peace & Security, Working Families Party
John Cavanagh - Senior Advisor, Institute for Policy Studies
Joseph Cirincione - Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Hassan El-Tayyab - Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
Richard (RJ) Eskow - The Zero Hour With RJ Eskow
Colin Hicks - Center for Popular Democracy / CPD Action
Marwa Janini - Arab American Association of New York
Wardah Khalid
Sana Qutubuddin - Indian American Muslim Council
Linda Sarsour - Co-founder, MPower Change, Until Freedom, Women's March
Azadeh Shahshahani - Legal & Advocacy Director, Project South. Past president, National Lawyers Guild.
Ilya Sheyman - Former Executive Director, MoveOn Political Action
Yasmine Taeb - Human rights lawyer and progressive strategist
Murshed Zaheed - Progressive Leader, Changemaker
Simone Zimmerman
Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and organizations working for a more peaceful, progressive U.S. foreign policy. We believe that by democratizing U.S. foreign policy and providing progressive alternatives, we can achieve more peaceful, just, and common sense policies that ensure that all people--regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion, or economic status--can find and take advantage of opportunity equally and feel secure.
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Supreme Court Urged to 'Rule Quickly' After Trump Immunity Arguments
"It'd be a travesty for justices to delay matters further," said one legal expert.
Apr 25, 2024
After about three hours of oral arguments Thursday on former President Donald Trump's immunity claims, legal experts and democracy defenders urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule swiftly, with just over six months until the November election.
Trump—the presumptive Republican candidate to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, despite his 88 felony charges in four ongoing criminal cases—is arguing that presidential immunity should protect him from federal charges for trying to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden, which culminated in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Justices across the ideological spectrum didn't seem inclined to support Trump's broad immunity claims—which critics have said "reflect a misreading of constitutional text and history as well as this court's precedent." However, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) shared examples of what it would mean if they did.
"Trump could sell pardons, ambassadorships, and other official benefits to his wealthy donors, members of his clubs, or cronies who helped him commit other crimes," CREW warned. "Trump could sell nuclear codes and government secrets to help pay back crippling debts."
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After warning that a president could also order the occupation or closure of the Capitol or high court to prevent actions against him, CREW concluded that "the Supreme Court never should have taken this appeal up in the first place. They should rule quickly and shut these ludicrous claims down for good."
The organization was far from alone in demanding a quick decision from the nation's highest court.
"In the name of accountability, the court must not delay its decision," the Brennan Center for Justice said Thursday evening. "The Supreme Court's time is up. It needs to let the prosecution move forward. The court decided Bush v. Gore in three days—it should act with similar alacrity in deciding Trump v. U.S."
In Bush v. Gore, the case that decided the 2000 election, the high court issued a related stay on December 9, heard oral arguments on December 11, and issued a final decision on December 12.
On Thursday, the arguments "got away from the central question: Is a former president immune from criminal prosecution if he tried to overthrow a presidential election, using private means and the power of his office to do so?" the Brennan Center noted. "The answer is simple: No."
"It is not an 'official act' to try to overthrow the peaceful transfer of power or the Constitution, even if you conspire with other government officials to do it or use the Oval Office phone," the center said. "Trump's attorney was pushing the court to come up with a sea change in the law. That's unnecessary and a delay tactic that will hurt the pursuit of justice in this case."
In a departure from previous claims, Trump's attorney, D. John Sauer, "appeared to agree with Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, that there are some allegations in the indictment that do not involve 'official acts' of the president," NBC Newsreported, noting questions from liberal Justice Elena Kagan and conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee.
Barrett summarized various allegations from the indictment and in three cases—involving dishonest election claims, false allegations of fraud, and fake electors—Sauer conceded that Trump's alleged conduct sounded private, suggesting that a more narrow case against the ex-president that excluded any potential official acts could proceed.
Due to Trump attorney's concessions in Supreme Court oral argument, there's now a very clear path for DOJ's case to go forward.\n\nIt'd be a travesty for Justices to delay matters further.\n\nJustice Amy Coney Barrett got Trump attorney to concede core allegations are private acts.\u2b07\ufe0f— (@)
According to NBC:
Matthew Seligman, a lawyer and a fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School who filed a brief backing prosecutors, said Sauer's concessions highlight that Trump is "not immune for the vast majority of the conduct alleged in the indictment."
Ultimately, he said, the case will go to trial "absent some external intervention—like Trump ordering [the Justice Department] to drop the charges" after having won the election.
At the same time, Sauer's backtracking might have little consequence from an electoral perspective. Further delay in a trial, which Sauer is close to achieving, is a form of victory in itself.
Slate's Mark Joseph Stern pointed out that when Barrett similarly questioned Michael Dreeben, the U.S. Department of Justice lawyer arguing the case for Smith, it seemed like they "were trying to work out some compromise wherein the trial court could distinguish between official and unofficial acts, then instruct the jury not to impose criminal liability on the former."
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Stern and other experts signaled that the decision likely comes down to Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts, with the three liberals seemingly supporting the prosecution of Trump and the other four conservatives suggesting it is unconstitutional.
People for the American Way president Svante Myrick said in a statement that "today's argument brought both good and bad news. It was chilling to hear Donald Trump's lawyer say that staging a military coup could be considered part of a president's official duties."
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