Trump Administration/Executive Ethics

Former president Donald Trump and his allies targeted the judiciary in the days, weeks and months leading up to the January 6th attack, and their continued attacks on our courts and government institutions could lead to significant threats in the future, according a new report published today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and Common Cause.

Common Cause Georgia executive director Aunna Dennis added that "we know today's indictment is just the beginning of what might be a long process in the courts, and that an indictment is not a conviction." Nevertheless, Dennis said, "today's indictment of Trump and his co-conspirators highlights Georgia voters' steadfast insistence that anyone who attempts to steal our most sacred of rights must be held accountable." "The people of Georgia can now take a moment to reflect on what type of government we want moving forward," said Dennis. "Do we want a democracy in the hands of a wealthy few, or in the hands of the people?"

"Donald Trump was told repeatedly he lost the 2020 election, including by those inside his circle."

Marilyn Carpinteyro, Common Cause interim co-president "No American is above the law – not even former presidents. The charges that a federal grand jury leveled today against former President Donald Trump are profoundly serious and must go to trial. The charges themselves are unprecedented, but so are the events that led to them.”

Aunna Dennis, executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause Georgia, said Trump’s expected indictment in Fulton county “validates the concerns of folks who don’t want the elections to be interfered with”. “Even if you are in the highest seat in the country, that does not mean you can trample or mislead or manipulate the voices of voters and the voices of communities,” Dennis said. “We are not a fascist society. We are not an authoritarian society here. That’s not how our democracy works.”

No American is above the law, not even the President. But we learned during the Trump administration that existing laws are not sufficient to prevent abuses of the Office of the President. We need strong guardrails in the form of laws. We need the Protecting Our Democracy Act to provide greater checks and balances to the powers of the presidency while creating new mechanisms for transparency and accountability.