10 signatures reached
To: Congress, Trial Lawyers. State Attorneys General
Criminal recklessness at the White House
The White House is the primary Covid-19 hot spot in Washington, DC, and perhaps in the country. At 24%, the rate of excess mortality since the pandemic began in the US is higher than that of Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland (https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938). In February, Trump told Bob Woodward that Covid-19 was “deadly stuff”, deadlier than the flu, but that he was downplaying it. Now, the President’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows states "We are not going to control the pandemic." In other words, forget about saving lives now; where other countries have succeeded, we cannot. This is governmental reckless behavior. They don’t care how many people they kill on the road to a vaccine which, they promised, we would have by now.
We think that Trump’s reckless governance in the face of this virus constitutes criminal recklessness. Knowingly, he and his administration have exposed us to grave risk of danger that has demonstrably resulted in loss of life. THEREFORE, WE CALL ON MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, LAWYERS, AND STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL TO INSTITUTE APPROPRIATE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
We think that Trump’s reckless governance in the face of this virus constitutes criminal recklessness. Knowingly, he and his administration have exposed us to grave risk of danger that has demonstrably resulted in loss of life. THEREFORE, WE CALL ON MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, LAWYERS, AND STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL TO INSTITUTE APPROPRIATE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
Why is this important?
The election will (hopefully) establish political accountability for the administration's exceedingly negligent, stupid, reckless policies. However, for the future of responsible governance, it is important that accountability go beyond the political (electoral loss). It is pedagogically important that people see that this administration’s management of the Covid crisis is akin to that of a reckless speeder who causes accidents as he/she barrels down the road to get to someplace, no place fast. My purpose here is pedagogical: promote the idea of holding our elected officials to (at least) minimal standards of responsible behavior and governance. Would such careless, wanton sacrifice of lives on a battlefield not go unpunished by military justice?