Open Letter to Senators John McCain and Ben Sasse

Dear Senators:

In the last several months, Donald Trump -- a white supremacist, misogynist, racist bigot -- has taken over the Republican party. As the primaries stretched on, it became clear that the Republican party is no longer the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Reagan. It is no longer the party to which you dedicated your careers. Trump is a fascist demagogue who has promised to use the Presidency to break the law, disregard the Constitution, persecute minorities, and harass his critics. He is a narcissist, a sociopath, and a pathological liar. He threatens our country, our democracy, and our republican form of government.

• Trump pledged to order the assassination of terrorists' family members, even if they are themselves innocent. It goes without saying that murder is illegal. Assassinating civilians is unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment, as no one may be deprived of life without due process of law.
• Trump promised to order torture. This is illegal under the War Crimes Act, the Torture Victim Prevention Act, the Detainee Treatment Act, and the Geneva Conventions. It also violates the Eighth Amendment, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment.
• Trump vowed to deport eleven million people living in the United States. This is unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment, as it will be impossible to serve due process on so many individuals.
• Trump wants to deport children born to illegal immigrants even if those children are themselves citizens. This violates the Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing equal protection to everyone born in the United States. It may also be illegal under the Eighth Amendment, as deporting innocent American children to countries they've never visited and where they don't speak the language could be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
• Trump said he will send American citizens to Guantanamo Bay prison to be tried by military commissions. This is illegal under current law.
• Trump wants to reinstate racist "stop and frisk" laws. These have been struck down as unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment (protection from unreasonable searches and seizures) and the Fourteenth Amendment (guaranteeing due process and equal protection.)
• Trump pledged to create a database of all American Muslims, and vowed to prevent Muslim Americans traveling abroad from returning home. These promises violate the First Amendment, guaranteeing freedom of religion. He also pledged not to allow any foreign Muslims – including ambassadors and diplomats -- to enter the country. This would violate treaties with those nations, and would also be illegal. If Trump can do this to Muslims, he can do it to anyone – including minority Christian and Jewish groups.
• In October, Trump said we should cancel the Presidential election and make him President right away. This would violate Article Two of the Constitution, which guarantees a Presidential election every four years. Since candidate Trump wanted to cancel the 2016 election, President Trump may cancel future elections and refuse to leave office. If this sounds impossible, remember: in 1851, the democratically elected President of France refused to leave office at the end of his term. Instead, he seized power and ruled dictatorially for the next twenty years.
• Trump said he will order the IRS to harass the Washington Post. This violates the First Amendment, guaranteeing freedom of the press.
• During his run for President, Trump violated campaign finance laws by soliciting contributions from foreigners. He also violated the Logan Act by calling on Russian hackers to break American laws.
• Trump has extensive ties to the Russian government and has often praised Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The NSA, CIA, FBI and the other American intelligence agencies have unanimously concluded that Russia used cyberwarfare to help Trump win the 2016 election. Putin may well have directed these efforts himself.
• Since the November election, Trump announced he would continue to run his business and act as President at the same time. This will mean a violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause starting from his first day in office. Since becoming President-Elect, Trump has already used a meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan to promote his business. The only reason this is not an impeachable offense is that Trump has not been sworn in yet.
• Trump is a serial adulterer and cheated on all three of his wives -- and continued to pursue women, including married women, while married. Though this is not itself illegal, Trump bragged that he'd tried to force himself on women, including married women. Sexual battery is a felony in the jurisdictions where that took place. Seventeen women have accused him of harassment.

If Trump has a Congressional majority, Congress will spend the next four years condoning his behavior. Congress will look the other way as Trump uses the Presidency to promote his business. Congress will do nothing as Trump abuses the power of his office to torture people and oppress innocent Americans. Congress will turn a blind eye as Trump lets Vladimir Putin decide American foreign policy. Congress will be indifferent as Trump mocks the disabled and bullies protesters and journalists.

Ronald Reagan once said: "I didn’t leave the Democratic party, the Democratic Party left me." Only with a coalition of Democrats and moderate conservatives willing to check Trump's power -- instead of rubber-stamp his abuses -- can we hope to preserve our nation.

Yours Sincerely,

C. Colvin

San Francisco

January, 2017