“Not Above the Law” on Constitution Day or Any Other!

WASHINGTON (09-18) – Constitution Day should be a day celebrating the guarantee of the freedoms and rights we all enjoy as Americans and the civic responsibility each of us has in our democracy. But on this, the 238th anniversary of its signing on September 17 with the numerous assaults on our Constitution and the rule of law by Donald Trump and his administration, we are being called to action by standing in defiance of those attacks and in defending our rights.

At a morning press conference the “Not Above the Law Coalition,” Public Citizen, MoveOn.org and The Workers Circle, along with U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) and Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen each spoke at the introduction of H.R.5048 nicknamed the “Don’t Steal Act,” a newly revised version of Schiff’s 2021 legislation that failed to pass.

As numerous Capitol Police officers guarded the immediate area around the speakers and the press, several protesters held signs in the background bringing attention to the country heading into fascism and for the release of the Epstein papers as another was ejected for calling attention to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

In introducing the bill, Schiff began by declaring that “Democracy at its core is an act of faith. Faith in the improbable experiments in self-governance that we call America. Faith that our people possess sufficient wisdom and virtue that we can govern ourselves and we don’t need to be ruled by a despot. A belief that elections belong to the people and not to the highest bidder. A conviction that government should serve all of us not just the most powerful. Not just the most well connected.”

He went on to say that this year and during this last decade “trust and faith has been battered. Battered by corruption, battered by the dominance of mega corporations. Battered by a president who treats the rule of law as an inconvenience and self-enrichment, as an animating purpose. But battered does not mean broken. And today we take a step toward rebuilding faith and resiliency in rebuilding our democracy brick by brick, one safeguard after another.”

The bill’s intent is “to protect our democracy by preventing abuses of presidential power, restoring checks and balances and accountability and transparency in government, and defending elections against foreign interference, and for other purposes.” He went further in saying that the bill would make sure its safeguards would ensure “that no president can exist above the law and that whistleblowers are protected not punished.” The bill also would be a check that “no government employee would be immune from conflict-of-interest laws” by putting personal gain and profit over the good of the country. The bill also would include language aimed at preventing the abuse of the Pardon Power as well.

On the issue of election and “the flood of dark money unleashed by Citizens United” in which the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that unlimited money could be spent on political campaigns by corporations and unions, he said the decision “told Americans that their voices could be drowned out by a billionaire’s checkbook. It turned elections into auctions.”

In closing, Schiff reflected that the bill’s measures are not partisan but that in his view “they were patriotic ones.” All his efforts and those of his colleagues were aimed, he said, “so that future generations inherit a republic, stronger, fairer and more just than the one we have now.”

In addressing the significance of the bill, Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reflected on the Supreme Court in saying that “Today is Constitution Day and tell that to the Supreme Court who said the president is above the law and he has immunity for whatever he does. The genius of the Constitution that made us a democracy is the separation of power. We do not have a monarch.”

She further reflected that one of the Constitution’s greatest strengths is that it is amendable, “allowing us to protect the vision and values of our founders to improve the strength of our democracy. In doing so it protects us from any president abusing the awesome power of the office.” And finally, “Never before has this legislation been more necessary.”

Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) said she considered the legislation the most important issue that we are facing and that “if you care about democracy reform then money and politics…seem to be at the roots. Every single election since the Supreme Court decision, we have watched the price tag grow every year, with billions of dollars going into races,” resulting in “The voices of regular people drowned out by the weight of special interests.”

“That money poisons everything it touches…it poisons our fight in the climate crisis because it worsens everyday as oil companies are profiting. It poisons our fight for gun safety because the gun lobby has endless cash to block even the most basic protections, while children go to school with book bags and leave in body bags. And the list goes on and on.”

New York Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY) reflected that “Donald Trump has completely cowed Congress, a separate branch of government that is controlled by Republicans and has completely rolled over.” During his first term, Schiff declared that “Trump considered the office of president as his own fiefdom.” He commented on how Trump has piece by piece been degrading our democracy to “ultimately take it over as his own authoritarian rule.”

“This bill is a proposal on how we are going to reclaim our democracy. This bill is going to prevent the corruption of the presidency that Donald Trump has brought. It will codify the law so that we can enforce the emoluments clause as Trump takes billions of dollars from foreign countries. It is going to prevent presidents of abusing the pardon power for their own self interests. It will make Congressional oversight stronger, and it is going to limit the ‘so called’ emergency powers… and it will protect our criminal justice system from being politicized because, if that happens, we are nothing more than a Banana Republic!”

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini © 2025 nuzeink all rights reserved worldwide