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Joshua A. Geltzer Profile picture
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17 Oct, 6 tweets, 3 min read
THREAD

How to ensure accountability for the Trump era is a hard, important, & hopefully urgent question.

@PostOutlook just published a great set of essays diving deep into the topic.

Here’s a quick look: /1
Historian Sam Tanenhaus explains why post-Trump accountability is essential for the country to move forward. /2 washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/1…
Historian Jill Lepore urges forgoing a truth commission in favor of leaving the judgment to future historians. /3 washingtonpost.com/outlook/truth-…
Former US Attorneys @BarbMcQuade & @JoyceWhiteVance lay out what post-presidency criminal investigations of Trump might involve. /4 washingtonpost.com/outlook/rap-sh…
Whatever form post-Trump accountability takes, @tribelaw & I argue that it’s essential to depoliticize it—by keeping the next White House out of it. /5 washingtonpost.com/outlook/biden-…
And @Amy_Siskind lays out in powerful detail the norms that Trump has shredded & offers a roadmap back to normalcy & propriety. /END washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/…

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More from @jgeltzer

Joshua A. Geltzer Profile picture
12 Oct
THREAD

This 👇 was 3 years ago today.

My @GeorgetownICAP colleagues & I, alongside @MikeSigner & more, sued the unlawful militias that had contributed to violence in Charlottesville exactly 2 months earlier.

And it began a journey that continues. /1 cnn.com/2017/10/12/pol…
A few months after filing our Charlottesville suit, we at @GeorgetownICAP published a catalogue of state laws that prevent unlawful, unsanctioned private armies.

Here's the current version of that report, updated to reflect today's state laws: /2 law.georgetown.edu/icap/wp-conten…
We've continued to sue unlawful militias that endanger public safety & chill the exercise of 1st Amendment free expression.

For example, we at @GeorgetownICAP teamed up with @BerncoDa to prevent the unlawful activity of the "New Mexico Civil Guard": /3 cnn.com/2020/07/14/us/…
Read 7 tweets
Joshua A. Geltzer Profile picture
30 Sep
THREAD

There's a very short law that's causing a lot of angst right now.

With @bartongellman @FareedZakaria & more talking about 3 USC 2, let's take a look at why an attempt to use it simply to override voters' will would be unlawful. /1
Here's the whole law:

"Whenever any State has held an election for the purpose of choosing electors, and has failed to make a choice on the day prescribed by law, the electors may be appointed on a subsequent day in such a manner as the legislature of such State may direct." /2
The worry is that "Trump can pressure Republican-controlled legislatures to ignore the popular vote in their Democratic-leaning swing state & instead select an Electoral College slate that supports him," as @tribelaw @jentaub & I said in @TheAtlantic. /3 theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
Read 7 tweets
Joshua A. Geltzer Profile picture
25 Sep
THREAD:

Friday marks exactly 1 year since Americans read the 5 words that will forever define the Trump presidency:

"Do us a favor though."

Here's a quick look at how Trump's quid-pro-quo presidency remains alive & (un)well today. /1 nytimes.com/2019/09/25/us/…
"A president who abused the public trust for his personal benefit" defined what got Trump impeached, as @neal_katyal & I said.

"For a president to exploit for private political gain the tools of national power placed in his or her hands" was appalling. /2 nytimes.com/2020/02/05/opi…
But Trump didn't stop there.

Faced with a deadly pandemic, Trump played "states off 1 another for his affection, rewarding the generally Republican (or swing) states whose governors grovel at Trump’s feet."

Trump's quid-pro-quo presidency cost lives. /3 washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/0…
Read 5 tweets
Joshua A. Geltzer Profile picture
24 Sep
THREAD:

There's a lot of concern right now about Trump & how he might handle an election loss after @bartongellman's article & the terrible answer Trump gave to @BrianKarem.

But we're not powerless to ensure a peaceful transfer if Trump loses.

Here's what can be done now. /1
1st, Electoral College reps, Members of Congress, governors, & Defense Department leadership can pledge to abide by election results regardless of any single candidate's claims otherwise.

I called for this in Feb. 2019 via @CNNOpinion. /2 cnn.com/2019/02/23/opi…
2nd, Trump can't resist an election loss alone--he'd need enablers.

And there are laws that stop others from using executive branch authorities for anyone but the legitimate president.

@tribelaw, Chris Fonzone & I explained via @PostEverything. /3 washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/0…
Read 6 tweets
Joshua A. Geltzer Profile picture
8 Sep
THREAD

Wednesday marks 1 year since 9/9/19, when the Intelligence Community's Inspector General notified Congress he'd received an "urgent concern" from a whistleblower & deemed it credible.

That set in motion Trump's impeachment.

Would it today? /1 lawfareblog.com/inspector-gene…
The Intelligence Community's Inspector General who took seriously the whistleblower's complaint, persevered when Trump's White House & Justice Department tried to bury it, & ensured Congress learned of it has been forced out by Trump. /2 nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/…
The Acting Director of National Intelligence who initially blocked his Inspector General from sharing with Congress the whistleblower complaint but then allowed it to be shared also has been forced out by Trump--replaced by a Trump loyalist. /3 independent.co.uk/news/world/ame…
Read 6 tweets
Joshua A. Geltzer Profile picture
28 Aug
THREAD

There are steps that state & local officials can take, right now, relying on laws already on the books, to protect Americans from the threat posed by unlawful private militias.

Here's a quick guide based on work led by Mary McCord & our @GeorgetownICAP colleagues. /1
1st, there's litigation: faced with unlawful private militia activity, officials can file civil suits seeking court orders preventing such activity from reoccurring.

That's what @GeorgetownICAP did in Charlottesville alongside @MikeSigner & more. /2 washingtonpost.com/outlook/this-l…
Litigation is also the approach @GeorgetownICAP is using now alongside @BerncoDa to address the threat posed by the New Mexico Civil Guard.

Here's recent coverage by @joshscampbell: /3 cnn.com/2020/07/14/us/…
Read 6 tweets

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