Jamie Raskin, Joe Walsh Team Up For ‘No Dictators Declaration’ | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) joined former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh on Monday to advertise a “no dictators declaration” in response to the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency.

The symbolic pledge is an election season ploy to spotlight Trump’s authoritarian tendencies with out explicitly mentioning the previous president.

“This declaration is about protecting the freedoms of the people by closing statutory loopholes that could allow a president to exploit the executive power to trample constitutional freedom and liberty,” Raskin mentioned Monday exterior the White House.

Walsh’s presence at Monday’s press convention, organized by the American Civil Liberties Union, State Democracy Defenders and Principles Firsthighlighted the bipartisan opposition to Trump. Several outstanding Republicans, together with Trump’s personal former vice chairman, have spoken out in opposition to his bid for a second time period.

“We’re at a point where the American people need to be protected against a president who would be a king, who would be a dictator,” mentioned Walsh, a former tea occasion Republican from Illinois identified for his previous inflammatory rhetoric.

As for his fellow Republicans, who principally again Trump, Walsh mentioned, “It’s easier to get them to come out and speak against the notion of a dictatorship.”

The five-point “no dictators declaration” says Congress ought to curtail presidential energy to declare emergencies, to deploy the army on U.S. soil, to require loyalty pledges from civil servants and to wield legislation enforcement in opposition to political opponents. It additionally says that former presidents ought to be capable to be prosecuted.

“To reduce the threat of dictatorship, Congress should ensure that presidents who abuse their powers to commit crimes can be prosecuted like all other people,” the pledge says.

The Supreme Court mentioned in July that the federal government can’t prosecute a former president for any “official acts” undertaken whereas in workplace. The ruling principally embraced Trump’s authorized argument that he’s immune from prosecution for his numerous efforts to undo his loss within the 2020 election, which included pressuring state officers to undo the outcomes, attempting to put in a lackey within the Justice Department and inciting a riot on the U.S. Capitol.

Prosecutors have pressed ahead with a narrower model of their case in opposition to Trump, however the ruling was a significant setback that additionally delayed the proceedings, and the case stands little probability of a decision earlier than November’s election. If Trump wins, he’s extensively anticipated to instruct the Justice Department to drop the matter.

In response to the case, President Joe Biden known as for a constitutional modification stating that former presidents aren’t immune from prosecution. Such an modification would want approval not solely from Congress but additionally three-fourths of state legislatures.

Raskin mentioned a constitutional modification wouldn’t tackle all of the authoritarian issues offered by Trump, pointing to his potential use of emergency powers to bypass Congress. During his first time period, Trump used an emergency declaration to divert army funds to pay for wall building alongside the southern U.S. border, an motion later declared illegal.

“We’ve got to respond to each of the different problems that we’re dealing with right now, and that’s why it’s a declaration of principles that we don’t want to have dictators and Congress must rein in a runaway presidency,” Raskin mentioned.