<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/03/supreme-court-trump-coup-attempt>
"The violent attack on Congress on 6 January 2021, and all the ancillary
attempts to steal the 2020 election, were a coup attempt led from the executive
branch of the federal government with support from Republicans in the
legislative branch. 1 July 2024 – this Thursday – was a more successful coup
attempt orchestrated by six judges of the judicial branch.
“With fear for our democracy, I dissent,” wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor in an
opinion joined by justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan, after the US
supreme court’s conservative majority ruled that Donald Trump holds “absolute
immunity” for “official acts” done while president. Part of what’s shocking
about the state of the union right now is that an entire party and the US
supreme court’s conservative majority have abandoned almost everything – the
truth, the rule of law, their own legitimacy, their place in history and the
fate of the nation – to serve one man.
They could not have picked a more outrageous man to throw their weight and
reputations behind – a psychotic clown who’s also an indicted felon found
liable in civil court for sexual assault, barred from doing business in New
York, a stealer of state secrets, a would-be thief of an election and the
instigator of a violent attack on the legislative branch of government and the
constitutionally mandated transition of power after an election. A grifter who
in 2016 won a minority victory in a corrupted election – his conviction earlier
this year was on charges for one small part of that corruption. A man who has
gloated about seizing dictatorial powers and never letting go and a worshiper
of tyrants denounced by dozens of his former cabinet members and senior
staffers.
January 6 was an attack on the constitution and so was 1 July. That no one is
above the law has been a pillar of this nation and a cherished value since the
18th century; to knock it down in the 21st destabilizes structures and values
that have stood these two centuries and more. A president with total immunity
poses obvious threats to the rule of law, the balance of powers and democracy
itself, and if that president is the vindictive criminal on the Republican
ticket the dangers are immediate and obvious.
The day before this ruling Trump approvingly shared a post on his own social
media platform calling for Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman, to
be tried in a televised military tribunal – for boldly opposing his coup
attempt and being one of the few members of their party to support his
impeachment. She committed no crimes and the military has no jurisdiction over
her, but under Trumpism there are no laws, just opportunities.
The people I talked to and saw on social media were stunned, horrified,
uncertain of what we do next. When the agency that is supposed to be the final
authority on the rule of law becomes lawless, what do you do? There is much we
can do, and much of it will be new kinds of campaigns with new goals, because
we are in unprecedented territory."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
