Today 19 retired 4-star officers & service secretaries urged #SCOTUS to reject Trump’s immunity claim, citing the disastrous impact presidential criminal immunity would wreak on the chain of command, civilian control of the military, & national security. protdem.org/NatSecAmicus4_… The Constitution enshrines rule of law & civilian control of the military, “bedrock features of our democracy & are deeply rooted in our nation’s history,” and…[Trump’s] theory of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution is an assault on these foundational commitments.”

WATCH: @AmandaCarpenter joined @FiringLineShow to explain what Trump has promised for his second term. ⬇️

https://twitter.com/FiringLineShow/status/1768955379604766872

Here are the six major threats that we can expect from an authoritarian president occupying the White House in 2025
(plus, threaded below for more ⬇️🧵)

Trump, the likely R nominee for POTUS, has promised to enact policies threatening core democratic institutions.

In a new report, our experts analyze whether & how those promises might override the checks designed to constrain POTUS abuses of power.
authoritarianplaybook2025.org The report, written by a cross-ideological team of experts, thoroughly compiles Trump’s stated plans and tackles the question: Is our system of checks & balances robust enough to constrain an autocrat in the White House?

It focuses on 6 threat areas 🧵⬇️

BREAKING: The city of San Marcos and its police dept have agreed to settle our case alleging they turned a blind eye to the so-called “Trump Train” engaging in political violence against passengers on the Biden-Harris bus in lead-up to the 2020 election. protectdemocracy.org/work/san-marco… In settling this case, the City on behalf of the police department has admitted to falling short of its policing standards and has agreed to institute mandatory training for all its officers and to compensate the victims they failed to protect.
🔗 ➡️ protdem.org/4054mJN

NEW: @JessicaDenson07's victory to free herself from the 2016 Trump Campaign's illegal NDA now holds the force of law & applies to *all* signers.

This means no candidate for public office may hide critical info from the public behind overly broad NDAs. protectdemocracy.org/work/victory-j… Our client @JessicaDenson07:

“From what began as one woman’s fight, the excuses for silence have been lifted, and this illegal barrier between truth and the American people is forever removed. Democracy dies in fear and silence, but only if we let it. We refused, and we won.”

NEW: “For a Better Democracy: Proportional Representation” from @DemJournal assembles insights from over a dozen leading scholars, examining how a more proportional electoral system could address some of the most enduring issues undermining our democracy. democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/fo… Our winner-take-all electoral system is “dangerously warping our politics,” write our own @g_tudor & @btremitiere. Proportional representation is “one way out.” democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/wh…

Our own @edgarlin_WI writes in @journalsentinel that serious threats exist in Wisconsin’s election ecosystem because – facing harassment and burnout – our election workers are at risk of leaving in droves. jsonline.com/story/opinion/… But there is hope, @edgarlin_WI continues. The Wisconsin legislature’s Campaign & Election Committee under @RepKrug’s leadership has taken the first step by holding a hearing and signaling that it would address the issue.

Trump’s indictment for leading the Jan 6 insurrection means that our democracy has passed a critical test. @KPNatsFan, @ianbassin, @g_tudor, & @ericanewland explain. protectdemocracy.org/work/trump-con… This indictment is a product of independent law enforcement, a willingness to impose accountability on high-ranking political actors, and a defense of free and fair elections–all critical components of a democracy.

We built a tool for answering if a gov investigation of a political leader furthers the rule of law or is an abuse of power. Discerning the diff matters given mounting investigations in NY & GA, @TheJusticeDept & on the HIll. protectdemocracy.org/work/investiga… In a democracy, no one is above the law. A healthy democracy must be able and willing to hold high-ranking political actors – even the president – accountable when warranted by the facts & the law.
protectdemocracy.org/work/towards-n…

NEW REPORT: “Towards Proportional Representation for the U.S. House: Amending the Uniform Congressional District Act” by Protect Democracy and @uniteamerica 🧵protectdemocracy.org/work/proportio… “Every two years, Americans vote for a single official to alone represent their district in the U.S. House. This reality is so familiar to most that it perhaps appears self-evident: how else would elections work? Globally, though, this is unusual among democracies.”

Major victory for accountability & religious freedom—a federal court ruled that DHS violated Pastor @KajiDousa’s First Amendment rights by retaliating against her for ministering to migrants and refugees: protectdemocracy.org/work/in-a-win-… “CBP unlawfully retaliated against [Pastor Douša] for her protected First Amendment activity, violated her Free Exercise right to minister to migrants in Mexico, and violated the [Religious Freedom & Restoration Act] when [CBP official] Oliveri emailed Mexican authorities.”

It’s critical the coverage about Trump indictments focus on the right Qs. On the prosecution, examine whether the DA appears to be considering facts & law, treating like cases alike, & not appearing to consider political repercussions or the political status of the defendant. 1/6 Q’s asked about the defendant should examine whether he’s defending himself against the charges by using the legal process; and/or assess whether he is attacking the process itself or asking supporters to attack+intimidate participants in the process. 2/6

ALL of the illegal NDAs the Trump Campaign forced on @JessicaDenson07 & its ‘16 workers would be NULL + VOID, with today’s proposed settlement. W/Jessica leading the charge, it’d be a victory for freedom of speech & the public’s right to know about their elected leaders. 🧵⬇️ The victories in @JessicaDenson07’s case establish a bright line making clear no candidates or campaigns can use unlimited NDAs to forever silence staff & prevent them from ever disclosing anything the candidate dislikes. Read the proposed settlement here: protectdemocracy.org/work/jessica-d…

Today more than 1000 alumni of @TheJusticeDept, who collectively served administrations from Eisenhower to Trump, released a statement explaining why DOJ’s rules demand that Trump’s candidacy have no effect on the ongoing investigations of him. /1 medium.com/@DOJ.Alumni/do… According to the statement, “[N]o law, Departmental rule, or policy … precludes investigating or prosecuting a political candidate whose conduct is potentially criminal, or … counsels treating such a person differently” from others. /2

NEW: We filed a lawsuit on behalf of the @lwvaz in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona against organizations and individuals who have conspired to intimidate voters in the 2022 election. (1/7) protectdemocracy.org/update/lawsuit… Suit targets those who have planned, coordinated, and recruited for a voter intimidation campaign where vigilantes—sometimes in military gear/armed—are engaged in a campaign to monitor drop boxes in Yavapai and Maricopa and baselessly accuse them of committing voter fraud. (2/7)

NEW: Our own @g_tudor discusses the connection between escalating antidemocratic extremism and the U.S. electoral system, and the ameliorating potential of proportional representation, on @wcbs880's IN DEPTH podcast. omny.fm/shows/wcbs-880… "We have governments whose compositions and behaviors are really not a reflection of the people they ostensibly represent—and in some cases, not even a remotely close approximation. It's a chief reason we're struggling to halt our slide toward authoritarianism," said @g_tudor.

BREAKING: Today, a fed judge suspended enforcement of FL’s #HB7, the Stop WOKE Act, as it clearly violates the Constitution by infringing on the free speech of biz owners in FL like plaintiffs in our case against HB7. 1/5 s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2214… From the decision: “Florida’s Legislators may well find Plaintiffs’ speech repugnant. But under our constitutional scheme, the ‘remedy’ for repugnant speech is more speech, not enforced silence.” 2/5

NEW: How Congress can better ensure the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next by addressing five critical weaknesses in the #ElectoralCountAct (ECA).

by @lawfareblog authors @GCNadeau and @Thomas_A_Berry. [1/5] 🧵

lawfareblog.com/heres-what-ele… Here are the five critical issues that legislation updating the #ECA should address: [2/5]

NEW: @TheJusticeDept alumni, served in both R & D admins, applaud AG Garland's commitment to holding accountable anyone "at any level" who was "criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy" on #Jan6 — whether in the Capitol or not. 1/4 medium.com/@DOJ.Alumni/st… The investigation "should extend to any actions of administration officials & others to overturn the will of the voters that preceded and followed the insurrection," says their letter, incl. “attempts to pressure federal & state officials to violate their responsibilities." 2/4

Since January 6th, Republican-led state legislatures have introduced over 262 election subversion bills in 41 states with 32 becoming law across 17 states. (1/4) protectdemocracy.org/project/democr… The #FreedomToVoteAct would create a statutory right to vote and includes critical provisions against interference with election administration to help prevent election results from being manipulated or overturned by partisan state actors. (2/4)

BREAKING: 66 former R & D members of Congress today urged the courts to refuse Trump’s request to block the release of #Jan6 records: because a violent attack to stop a transfer of power, not a transfer of documents, is the real threat to democracy. 1/5 protectdemocracy.org/update/sixty-s… Their amicus brief comes in support of the @January6thCmte investigation: one “critical for Congress to be able to ‘legislate wisely [and] effectively’ in order to preserve, protect, and defend the peaceful transition of power. Read it here: 2/5 protectdemocracy.org/resource-libra…