J Street is deeply alarmed by the decision from 6 conservative justices on the Supreme Court to attempt to grant Donald Trump a “get out of jail free” card – in the words of the US district trial judge – for his conduct leading up to the January 6 insurrection.
This decision removes a vital check on presidential power, granting presidents near absolute immunity from prosecution for broadly defined official conduct. In so doing, the justices have fractured a core principle of American democracy: That the laws of our nation apply to all of us equally, and that every leader is accountable to the people. “In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law,” wrote Justice Sotomayor in her dissent.
We share the fears of millions of Americans that by obstructing the prosecution’s case against Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection, yesterday’s decision makes a second Trump presidency not only more likely, but more terrifying. If attempts to tamper with election results and incite a coup now lie beyond accountability, there is no telling how unbound, untethered and undemocratic a second Trump administration would be.
There can be no greater priority for all pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Americans than defeating Donald Trump at the ballot box on November 5.
J Street is committed to raising over $11 million for the Biden campaign and pro-democracy candidates up and down the ballot. Within our communities, on college campuses, and in battleground states across the country, we’re partnering with allies to rally the broadest possible coalition of voters to defend our democracy, defeat Trump and fix the ongoing damage the MAGA movement has wrought.