From Trump To Tennessee — Democracy Under Attack

Fred Wertheimer’s Weekly Note | April 6, 2023

Our democracy is under attack and seriously threatened.

These attacks crystallized in 2020 when then-President Donald Trump attempted to steal the election he had lost, the first attempted presidential coup in our nation’s history, and the lead role he played in unleashing the January 6 insurrectionist attack on the Capitol.

Trump triggered, and continues to incite, the election deniers’ movement with his persistent refusal to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump’s false claims have caused millions of Americans to lose confidence in the honesty of our elections.

Election deniers around the country, following Trump’s lead, have worked to prevent election results they don’t like, regardless of evidence and facts. Fortunately, most of their efforts were unsuccessful in 2022, but they are already proceeding full speed ahead with their eyes on 2024.

On Thursday, yet another attack on our democracy took place. Two Tennessee state legislators — both Black men — were expelled from the state legislature because they stood up for their constituents’ desire to address the gun control problem in the wake of last week’s tragic school shooting in Nashville that killed three nine-year-old children and three adults. (A third state Representative — a woman — avoided expulsion by a single vote.)

This is one of the most anti-democratic and majoritarian abuses of power ever seen by a legislative body. The issue of racism by the white Republican majority loomed front and center in the two expulsions. The Tennessee legislature is a national disgrace and may well pay a price for their indefensible actions in the long run.

Meanwhile, Trump, currently the leading candidate to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has continued to attack our democracy and constitutional system of government.

Two weeks ago, Trump threatened “death and destruction” if he was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in connection with Trump’s hush money payments. His “death and destruction” language was dangerously similar to the violence-provoking language he used that incited the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump’s goal was obvious – to threaten, intimidate, and obstruct the public officials involved in his criminal investigations, and to serve as a “dog whistle” to engage and enrage his most dangerous followers.

This week’s arraignment of the former President was a somber day in our nation’s history. Thankfully, it spurred no violence. But, our democracy continues to be under attack.

Trump has called for the termination of the Constitution and just yesterday called for defunding the Justice Department and FBI.

The January 6 Capitol attack shows that this dangerous rhetoric must not be ignored.

His supporters take him seriously. And, so do the extremist Republican House Members who have become Trump’s lackeys.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan immediately said Congress would pursue defunding the agencies investigating Trump.

Jordan has also taken the lead in making ridiculous demands that would interfere with and obstruct legal proceedings. Last month, Jordan and two other Republican Committee Chairs improperly demanded the Manhattan DA turn over documents and materials dealing with the Trump indictment in the hush money case. Congress has no jurisdiction or basis for involvement.

In addition to the criminal indictment in Manhattan, Trump faces potential criminal indictments in Georgia and two by the Justice Department.

Trump’s response is to threaten the prosecutors and judges involved in the cases, as well as their families.

Andrew Weissmann, a former FBI general counsel and federal prosecutor, called Trump’s performance “appalling. […] You do not have this behavior from a mob boss.”

At his arraignment on Tuesday, Trump was warned by Judge Juan Merchan to “refrain from making statements likely to incite violence or create civil unrest.”

Not six hours later, Trump was back at it at Mar-a-Lago, verbally attacking the judge, the judge’s wife and his daughter, and calling Manhattan DA Bragg a “criminal.” Judge Merchan and his family received multiple threats in the 24 hours following Trump’s arraignment and Bragg and his aides have also received threats.

At the same Mar-a-Lago speech, Trump also attacked the Justice Department Special Counsel calling him “a radical-left lunatic known as a bomb thrower,” and calling the Fulton County, Georgia DA “a racist Democrat.”

Trump’s attacks on our law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judges are dangerous attacks on our democracy.

Judge Merchan may well have to impose a gag order to stop Trump from obstructing the Manhattan trial.

No one – not even a former President – is above the law. Former President Trump must not be allowed to obstruct the sanctity of our democracy and our nation’s rule of law.

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Fred’s Weekly Note appears each Thursday in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter. Read this week’s and other recent newsletters here. And, subscribe for free here and receive your copy each week via email.