Hollywood A-lister Kerry Washington jumped to her X account to deliver an extended rant falsely claiming that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump could “order the military to kill a political opponent with zero consequences.”
The Scandal star told her 5.3 million followers that the “conservative” Supreme Court has created a “blueprint for dictatorship,” apparently unaware that the high court did not make any move to approve criminal acts, but only reinforced what has been true of a president’s legal status at the very least sine Barack Obama’s presidency if not before.
“Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that the president is immune from criminal prosecution,” Washington said gravely in her nearly three-minute video.
“So, I’m going to say something right now that may seem extreme to you. But this is not an exaggeration. Please listen to me very carefully. This decision is a blueprint for dictatorship,” she exclaimed. “This decision leaves the groundwork for a president to do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want. And the only thing standing in the way of that happening is you. Your voice, your vote.”
Yesterday’s #SCOTUS decision explained. please please pleaseeeee listen. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 YOUR VOTE MATTERS. Now more than ever. pic.twitter.com/6G4A6fgoWc
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) July 2, 2024
Washington is, of course, wrong. The U.S. Supreme Court did not rule that presidents have license to do anything they want. Indeed, in the very decision itself, Chief Justice John Roberts said that a president is only granted immunity for performing “core constitutional powers,” and only has “presumptive immunity” otherwise. No president is immune from prosecution for taking unconstitutional and criminal acts.
But the actress was sure she had her facts straight and tried to explain further.
“So, according to the Supreme Court — the conservative court that was made possible by Trump’s first term in office — according to that court, the president of the United States is now immune from prosecution for actions he takes as a president while in office,” she said without fully explaining what acts that would entail.
“So, what does that mean?” she continued. “Well, as my sister from the Bronx Justice Sonia Sotomayor explained — and I’m paraphrasing — but she said that that decision means that Trump could order the military to kill a political opponent with zero consequences.”
This is incorrect. As Breitbart News explained, using the military in such a way in unconstitutional. And even if a president were to issue such an order, it would be up to the military commanders involved to refuse the illegal order, or they, themselves would be on the hook for perpetrating criminal acts. Nor does immunity extend to “unofficial acts.”
“So, this is how democracies in other countries have failed in recent years. It’s not by wars, it’s not by coups, it’s through elected government using methods to chip away at the power of the people, until we have no power at all to hold those governments accountable,” Washington added without citing any examples of her claim.
“So, if Donald Trump is reelected, there will be very little that we can do to stop him from using the power of the White House however he wants,” she blurted out.
“There are reasons to feel frustrated with our democracy, I get it, I feel it, we have a long fight ahead of us to have this country really live up to its ideals,” the How to Get Away with Murder star said. “But this year, I am telling you that our actual freedom is on the ballot and I am terrified that the belief that too many of us have that our votes don’t matter could mean that one day, in the very near future, they actually won’t matter at all.”
She ended her rant urging followers to get involved and to get out and vote.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
