New No Dictators Declaration Seeks to Protect Freedoms by Blocking Future Abuse of Presidential Powers
Cross Partisan Support Demonstrates Urgency of Threat
WASHINGTON鈥� U.S House Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) and a coalition of groups from across the ideological spectrum today launched the , a national effort focused on protecting American freedoms by closing loopholes that could allow a president to use vast executive powers to violate constitutional rights.
鈥淲e鈥檙e organizing to protect freedom in America by closing loopholes that a president could use to violate our constitutional rights,鈥� explained Rep. Raskin. 鈥淭he Supreme Court鈥檚 decision granting sweeping legal immunity to presidents who commit crimes under the cloak of their official powers makes it essential for us now to define what the official powers of the presidency are and what they are not.鈥�
Rep. Raskin continued: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e mobilizing on a bipartisan basis to remove any opportunities for the president to assume dictatorial powers, impose a state of siege, force workers to take political loyalty tests, subject the federal civil service to mass ideological purges and weaponize government to pursue political vendettas. It is critical that we join together to safeguard American democracy and freedom.鈥�
The coalition calls on every member of Congress to sign the declaration and, in doing so, commit to safeguards and reforms that keep our freedoms free.
鈥淣o president - regardless of party - should be able to operate above the law,鈥� said former Rep. Joe Walsh. 鈥淲e need to get back to basics鈥攖he Constitution and the rule of law -- and the limited government that our Founding Fathers envisioned that helps protect the separation of powers that keeps our republic strong and free.鈥�
The pillars of the include:
- Limiting the president鈥檚 ability to declare bogus domestic and foreign emergencies to seize power and bypass Congressional legislative authority.
- Restricting the president鈥檚 ability to use the Insurrection Act to deploy the military on American soil.
- Preventing the adoption of partisan, personal, and ideological loyalty tests, loyalty oaths, and similar authoritarian measures designed to purge the professional civil service and replace qualified workers with unqualified loyalists.
- Ensuring that presidents who abuse their powers to commit crimes can be prosecuted like all other people.
- Constraining the president鈥檚 ability to use investigative and prosecutorial decisions and resources to pursue vendettas against disfavored people and groups.
鈥淭he safeguards that protect our freedoms are in peril and with the courts under attack and trust in other institutions at an all time low, we need to take proactive steps now,鈥� said Ambassador Norman Eisen (ret.), co-founder of . 鈥淐ongress must use their power and these common-sense options to close loopholes that could allow a president to use their vast executive powers to clamp down on our constitutional rights and freedoms.鈥�
The campaign also seeks to mobilize everyday Americans concerned about the growing threat to our democracy and freedoms to contact their members of Congress and urge them to sign the declaration here: .
鈥淚n the United States, we elect presidents, not kings,鈥� said Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer for the 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淩elying on unwritten norms to safeguard our civil liberties from executive overreach is grossly insufficient. We need action from Congress 鈥� and commitments from candidates 鈥� that they will protect our freedoms and hold current and future presidents accountable if they abuse that power."
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 and shouldn鈥檛 be seen as a partisan issue -- everyone should be in favor of closing vulnerabilities in our laws that could be exploited by any president to take away our rights and freedoms,鈥� said Heath Mayo, founder of conservative group . 鈥淭his declaration is about creating a government that works for the people and limiting how the government would restrict our freedoms.鈥�
The coalition of groups includes the 老澳门开奖结果, State Democracy Defenders Action and Principles First.
More information on the declaration and these efforts to safeguard our democracy and American freedoms can be found here: .
Learn More 老澳门开奖结果 the Issues in This Press Release
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News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More 老澳门开奖结果 State Supreme Court Cases
State Supreme Courts interpret laws that impact some of the most intimate parts of our lives. Communities have a right to know what鈥檚 on the docket. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New 老澳门开奖结果 Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew 老澳门开奖结果 Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
NEW YORK 鈥� Nearly half of all state supreme courts across the country fail to regularly post new cases they are considering, with only six meeting four key transparency measures already implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new report published today by the 老澳门开奖结果. The report identifies significant steps that state supreme courts should take to inform the public about their cases, which have only grown in importance as the federal judiciary has become more hostile to protecting core rights and advocates have turned to state protections and state court litigation in response. Based on an analysis of the practices and policies of the highest courts in each state, including D.C., the report 鈥淪corecard for State Supreme Court Transparency: How Does Your State Stack Up?鈥� ranks each state supreme court in five tiers based on compliance with four key transparency measures. These measures include posting new cases online in a timely manner, providing timely information about legal issues presented by cases, making dockets accessible and free for the public, and making merits briefing accessible and free for the public. 鈥淪tate courts regularly hear 鈥� and are the final word on 鈥� cases affecting abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Yet, in many instances, the highest state courts do not provide meaningful public access to information about cases affecting the rights and liberties of millions of people. We urge state supreme courts to bring more transparency to the critical work they do,鈥� said Julie Murray, co-director of the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 State Supreme Court Initiative. 鈥淚n the face of a federal judiciary increasingly unwilling to protect core rights and an incoming administration that threatens to exacerbate that problem, state courts are an important defense for our liberty. They should be leaders in transparency, too,鈥� said Bridget Lavender, Skadden Fellow with the Initiative. The report emphasizes that state courts 鈥減lay an outsized role鈥� in many parts of the law, but their ability to 鈥済uard our liberties depends in significant part on whether those courts adopt transparent processes.鈥� It further highlights that state supreme courts have led the way on enormously consequential decisions in recent years. In particular, some state supreme courts have recognized the right of same sex couples to marry, and did so long before federal courts. They have also declared the death penalty unconstitutional under state law despite contrary federal law, protected access to reproductive health care as a right even as that right was being stripped away at the federal level, and provided more robust protection to people subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. The report urges state supreme courts to take action to improve their transparency practices, taking notes from the courts that have already implemented these measures. It notes that regularly posting new cases and the issues they represent, and providing timely access to dockets and merits briefing allows the public, the press, and the legal community to track cases as they unfold, identify cases with statewide consequences, and understand what鈥檚 at stake. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
老澳门开奖结果 Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies老澳门开奖结果 Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization 鈥� including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups 鈥� by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. 鈥淧assing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,鈥� said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淭he freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it鈥檚 too late.鈥� While there is a 90-day 鈥渃ure鈥� period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the 老澳门开奖结果 and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations 鈥� including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants鈥� rights groups 鈥� wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The 老澳门开奖结果 is Ready.Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The 老澳门开奖结果 is Ready.
Starting in 2016, the 老澳门开奖结果 filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his administration. As Trump returns to the White House, we鈥檙e ready to return to the courts and Congress to fight for our civil liberties.