

They specifically seek to remove the president from office. The ACLU believes a president can be impeached for speech that a private citizen could not be prosecuted for.įirst, proceedings to impeach and remove a president are not criminal proceedings. 6 inciting a mob, but rather identifies it as part of a pattern of “efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification results of the 2020 presidential election,” including the improper pressure placed on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger “to ‘find’ enough votes to overturn the Georgia presidential election results and threatened Mr. It does not single out Trump’s speech on Jan. The House impeachment resolution reflects this. 6, as part of that pattern, does not run afoul of the First Amendment. Holding the president accountable for his words on Jan.

If a president’s repeated lies, illegal political pressure, and the stoking of a mob to subvert the democratic process are not an abuse of power warranting impeachment, it is difficult to know what would be. 6 can be considered part of a pattern of efforts to upend an election he lost. We concluded that President Trump’s remarks on Jan.
HOLD THE LINE TRUMP FREE
We discussed at length the free speech implications of this impeachment process. After meetings on both Saturday and Sunday, the ACLU board unanimously passed a resolution again calling for President Trump’s impeachment, which can be found here. Our board - comprised of leading lawyers and activists from every state and the District of Columbia - is a thoughtful, deliberative body of committed civil libertarians. These critics maintain that our commitment to the First Amendment should solely trigger a defense of the president’s “free speech.” But freedom of speech poses no bar to holding a president responsible for his unfounded, bad-faith effort to subvert the results of a free and fair election. It was not the only controversy surrounding music at the rally: A planned concert featuring Don McLean, Lee Greenwood and others was cancelled after every artist but one pulled out.Some dyed in the wool civil libertarians have criticized the ACLU for supporting Donald Trump’s impeachment. Trump famously avoided serving in Vietnam for reasons that remain unclear. Those musicians have included the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Tom Petty and, perhaps most pointedly of all, John Fogerty, whose song “Fortunate Son” criticized young men of privilege who managed to avoid the draft during the 1960s. Over the years he has received many angry requests from musicians who do not want to be associated with him, asking him to stop using his songs at his rallies. Trump cynically announced the names of the victims at the rally - mispronouncing several - and then went on to criticize gun control and concluded his speech by dancing to the song. Hell to the No! I did Not and would NOT approve of them using the song for any of his purposes! I also know Isaac’s estate wouldn’t approve as well! #Memphis #Music #Grammy Someone shared with me Donald Trump used the song “Hold On I’m Coming” for a speaking appearance of his. Porter tweeted, “Hell to the NO! I did not and would NOT approve” of Trump using the song “for any of his purposes! I also know Isaac’s estate wouldn’t approve as well!”
