On the heels of the recent US Supreme Court decision concluding that a president has “substantial prosecutorial immunity” for official acts while in office, Democrat Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced plans to draft legislation allowing former President Trump to be charged for alleged crimes following the 2020 election.
Schumer made claims that "Donald Trump and the MAGA right will plunge our country into an abyss of extremism the vast majority of Americans oppose and which America has really never seen."
Schumer, enraged after the Supreme Court decision handed down in early July, believes the Court ruled incorrectly. "We were all taught in grade school that there are no kings here in America, but what the conservative justices have done is effectively place a crown on Donald Trump’s head.
His proposed bill would classify Trump’s actions related to challenging the results and process of the 2020 election as "unofficial," thereby removing the immunity protections granted under the Supreme Court ruling.
"American democracy stands today at a perilous crossroads," Schumer said in recent remarks on the Senate floor. He referred to Trump's challenges to the election process as "election subversion acts."
Gerry Kassar, New York State Conservative Party Chair said, “Schumer sounds like a minority leader trying to make points into the wind rather than a majority leader trying to lead”.
“Schumer’s bill will go nowhere. He should spend his time righting the presidency and focus on getting Biden to either resign or step down from his campaign. Schumer knows as much as anyone that Biden may not be able to get through tomorrow let alone until November and four more years after that,” says Kassar in conversation with South Shore Press.
From the Senate floor, Schumer said, "The Constitution makes plain that Congress has the authority to check the judiciary through appropriate legislation."
“He should be more respectful of the US Supreme Court. This was a thoughtful ruling that is a ruling for all presidents. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Biden found himself thankful for this ruling at some point,” Kassar added.
Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to Trump's campaign, ripped Schumer's announcement, saying he, like all "Biden Democrats," will do whatever it takes to "weaponize" the legal system against the Republican nominee.
"Working against the Constitution to undermine the independence of the Supreme Court is simply the latest proposal that demonstrates this corrupt and deranged fact," Hughes said.
Schumer and other Democrats continue to claim that any presidential challenge or questioning of the 2020 elections, and possibly any future elections, is equivalent to election subversion and may be subject to criminal prosecution. Democrats have maintained this position despite the fact that many Democrats have themselves challenged election certification of state’s electoral college votes over the years.