In a surprising move, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump and conservative legal leader broke with the president in a scathing letter to The New York Times.
And he didn’t pull any punches. Trump’s formerly reliable ally, who had previously called the Democrat-led 2019 impeachment “unconstitutional” and a horror story, went all-in.
Steven Calabresi, a co-founder of the powerful conservative law organization The Federalist Society, wrote Thursday that Trump’s suggestion that the election could be delayed would be a “fascist” and unacceptable move.
He even went so far as to suggest that Trump could be immediately impeached for even suggesting it.
Trump cited concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and the integrity of mail-in voting when he floated the idea of an election delay on Thursday.
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
Trump later defended his tweet and said “universal mail-in ballots” could cause a disaster in November.
“You’re sending out hundreds of millions of universal mail-in ballots. Hundreds of millions,” Trump said at a White House press briefing. “Where are they going? Who are they being sent to? You don’t have to know anything about politics.”
“I want an election, and a result, much more than you,” Trump said. “I think we’re doing very well. … I don’t want to see a rigged election.”
Calabresi, a Northwestern University law professor and leader of the 70,000-strong conservative legal foundation, said he was “appalled” and even went so far as say Trump should be impeached unless the president relented.
“I have voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980, including voting for Donald Trump in 2016. I wrote op-eds and a law review article protesting what I believe was an unconstitutional investigation by Robert Mueller. I also wrote an op-ed opposing President Trump’s impeachment,” Calabresi wrote to The Times.
“But I am frankly appalled by the president’s recent tweet seeking to postpone the November election. Until recently, I had taken as political hyperbole the Democrats’ assertion that President Trump is a fascist,” he continued. “But this latest tweet is fascistic and is itself grounds for the president’s immediate impeachment again by the House of Representatives and his removal from office by the Senate.”
Calabresi concluded that he wanted every Republican in Congress to inform Trump that the election cannot possibly be delayed.
“Anyone who says otherwise should never be elected to Congress again.”
The Federalist Society has enjoyed a huge amount of influence in the Trump administration’s judicial nomination process since the 2016 election. Notable members include current Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Justice Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh and Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young.
Trump responded to the criticism on social media —
Glad I was able to get the very dishonest LameStream Media to finally start talking about the RISKS to our Democracy from dangerous Universal Mail-In-Voting (not Absentee Voting, which I totally support!).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
READ MORE: Trump suggests postponing the presidential election