'I beg your forgiveness,' the retired teacher wrote
A retired Seattle teacher "begged forgiveness" from his former students in an emotional letter scolding the Supreme Court and Congress for not "protecting" America from another Trump presidency.
"Dear kids, I lied to you. Every single one of you. From 1974 through 2017. And now I feel terrible about it," Michael McSweeney, 71, wrote in an op-ed for the Washington newspaper The News Tribune last week.
"I always told you no bad, dangerous person could get elected president because the Congress and the Supreme Court would get them out of office before they could do much damage," he continued.
"I was not intentionally lying to you, my dear grown-up kids. I loved you too much to do that. But now, it is clear to me I was lying to you, and I beg your forgiveness."
The Supreme Court immunity ruling granting a former president substantial immunity for official acts infuriated Democrats, who viewed the ruling as a win for former President Trump. (Getty Images)
McSweeney argued that his trust in America's checks and balances had been eroded since Trump's rise to power in 2017. He accused lawmakers and the Supreme Court of failing to protect America from the "evil and dangerous" candidate.
"I lied to you because I never could have imagined one person as evil and dangerous as Trump could ever be elected president. I never dreamed a Congress with so many frightened and ignorant members could all be elected at the same time and would band together to do whatever it took to keep Trump in office," he wrote.
"It never crossed my mind how corrupt and off-the-rails the Supreme Court could become, or how wrong their judgments would be in the time of Trump. I said these things could not happen, but I lied. And now I know I lied to you because — right here in front of you and me — these things are all happening," he continued.
"Can you ever forgive me?" McSweeney asked.
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The US Supreme Court's ruling granting former presidents substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts infuriated Democrats, who viewed it as a win for former President Trump. (Fox News)
McSweeney's letter came one week after the Supreme Court ruled that a president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office.
The decision, which infuriated Democrats, has significant implications for former President Trump, whose prosecution on charges related to Jan. 6 and alleged 2020 election interference spurred the Supreme Court to hear the case. Several Democratic leaders like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have vowed to fight back against the ruling.
The article came before Saturday's assassination attempt on the former president in Pennsylvania.
Kristine Parks is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Read more.