Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
A letter @POTUS just received from 4000 lawyers:
[img]
[/img]
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-jnY6gQhlDbVUrS4Et69l3SAKb1H4znwniKl7fPe4js/mobilebasic
December 13, 2016
Dear Leaders:
We are a group of attorneys throughout the United States. Like our elected officials, each of us has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. We are deeply concerned that recent revelations regarding the 2016 election could undermine confidence in the outcome of the 2016 election.
The public has recently learned that a bipartisan group of United States elected officials was provided a briefing by U.S. intelligence agencies in September. This briefing contained credible evidence that Russia was not only carrying out a campaign of disinformation against United States citizens, but was in the opinion of U.S. intelligence agencies, likely doing so with the goal of ensuring a specific outcome in the U.S. election. Despite this red flag, this bipartisan group chose not to alert the public or to issue a bipartisan statement urging state and local officials to take federal help in protecting their voting-registration and balloting machines from Russian cyber-intrusions. There is therefore now a question as to whether such interference did occur, which in combination with the Russian disinformation campaign and likely hacking of political parties' emails, threatens to delegitimize the results of the 2016 election.
Like the bipartisan group of Senators (Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.)) who issued a statement on Sunday, December 11, we believe that potential Russian interference in the election should alarm every American and that Congress must investigate further without allowing it to become a partisan issue.
We further believe that this series of events represents an unprecedented threat to the United States and to the integrity of the 2016 election. Therefore, we need to allow for a thorough and proper investigation of these issues, and to ensure the integrity of the remaining steps of our election process as well as future elections.
The Constitution provides for a safeguard to help us to ensure that no one can take the office of President if there is reason to believe that the election was compromised by outside forces: the Electoral College. Like a growing bipartisan group of Electors who have called for an intelligence report to be provided to them prior to their vote, we believe it is necessary for the members of the Electoral College to have as much information as possible about the nature of the possible intrusions into the United States' democratic process by the Russian government prior to voting, so that they may make an informed decision as to who should become our next President.
We therefore request the following actions be taken immediately:
1) As much information as possible regarding the potential Russian interference with our election must be declassified with sufficient time for the Electors to receive it prior to December 19 so that the Electors may have sufficient information to make an informed decision prior to voting.
2) The Electors must receive an intelligence report detailing what senior intelligence officials know and suspect at this time, prior to voting. This information should include a briefing by the Director of National Intelligence.
3) If it is not possible to declassify this information in time, the date of the Electoral College vote must be delayed until such time as it is possible to provide the Electors with sufficient information for them to make an informed decision prior to voting.
Furthermore, we support a Congressional bipartisan commission to investigate the actions, intent, and results of the likely Russian interference with the 2016 election; and to determine the vulnerabilities in our system that allowed these possible intrusions to occur. This commission must recommend steps to prevent such an intrusion from occurring in the future.
This is not a partisan issue. This may be a fundamental threat to our democracy from a foreign nation with a real effect on the outcome of this election, the extent of which is not yet known. As Americans who are loyal first and foremost to our Constitutional democracy, we must work together to overcome any such threat.
1. Ryan Sullivan (TX)
2. Ricki Goodstein (PA)
3. Andrea Likwornik Weiss (NY)
4. Francey (PA)
5. Shari Gribbin (PA)
6. Jaunita Flessas (DC)
7. Amanda Glickman (VA)
8. Carol Meltzer (NY)
9. Mary Ellen Halloran (NJ)
10. Cheryl D. Harris (NY, GA)
11. Ethan Mann (GA)
12. Alexandra Haas (CO)
13. Ingrid Leverett (CA)
14. Elizabeth Inglehart (IL, NY)
15. Veronica Rodriguez ( TX)
...
...
3999. Chris Barnett (CA)
4000. Eun-Hee Chang (CA)
29 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Great post.
Such a relief to know there are intelligent people out there who value of our democracy and willing to make a stand for it.
