Ever since Donald Trump returned to power, he and his regime have waged war on the norms, principles, ethics, ideals, rules, and laws that define — or are supposed to define — our nation.

Public Citizen filed the first lawsuit of Trump’s second term — literally one minute after he was sworn in. We have filed 21 more lawsuits against the regime since then (and there will be more). We have won some, we have lost some, and many are still working their way through the courts. Stay tuned for an upcoming email with updates on all 22 cases.

Today, we wanted to answer some questions we’ve gotten about these lawsuits and other ways Public Citizen is confronting the Trump regime.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH CASES TO FILE?

To file a lawsuit against the government, first we need to identify a law the government has violated. Then we need to identify a person or organization who was, or is very likely to be, harmed by that violation and is a good fit to serve as the “plaintiff” (i.e. who we represent in the case). When we see something wrong that the Trump regime is doing, that’s what we look at first: Does that wrongful action violate the law, and who is directly impacted?

Both of those things can sometimes be straightforward and sometimes be tricky. Many outrageous things aren’t actually illegal. And many people and organizations are hesitant to go up against the Trump regime in court.

In addition, the courts have set a high bar for what someone needs to show to be able to sue — what the courts refer to as “standing.” For example, we’re all taxpayers, but being a taxpayer generally does not give someone the right to sue in federal court, even when their money is being wasted — on the grounds that the harm is too generalized.

Other factors also go into deciding which cases to file: How important is a particular issue? Does the wrongful behavior involve an area of law in which Public Citizen has expertise? How are courts likely to rule, given the signals coming from the Supreme Court?

Lastly, there are real constraints on our budget and staffing. Public Citizen never has, and never will, take money from Uncle Sam or Big Business — our independence and integrity are not for sale. Our work is powered by everyday folks chipping in if and when they can. Since Trump returned to office, we have seen a marked uptick in donations. We can’t thank our supporters enough for that. We also know they are not a bottomless reserve of cash. As a nonprofit organization that has been fighting vastly better funded corporate and government entities for over half a century, we prize our ability to budget and operate efficiently and responsibly.

THE TRUMP REGIME IS DOING SO MANY OUTRAGEOUS AND DESTRUCTIVE THINGS, AND IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING AWAY WITH SO MUCH. WHY CAN’T THE COURTS STOP MORE OF IT?

Many of the cruel and damaging things the administration does are, unfortunately, legal. For example, Congress recently voted to strip Medicare benefits from 15 million people. When the administration implements that horrific policy, it will be legal — not right, but legal.

Another constraint is that with some of the unlawful things the administration has done, nobody is legally in a position to sue. For example, the Constitution’s “emoluments clause” makes it illegal for a president to accept foreign gifts without congressional authorization. But when Trump takes a foreign gift, there may not be anyone who has “standing” to sue him over it (meaning anyone who was directly harmed).

And, of course, even when we and others are able to file cases against the regime in federal court, we don’t always prevail. There are a lot of reasons for this, and every case is different, but one reason is that judges — whether appointed by Democratic or Republican presidents — tend to give the federal government the benefit of the doubt.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATION?

In normal times, lawsuits against the government tend to move slowly. We start by filing a “complaint” in court. Sixty days later, the government files its response. Then both sides file motions arguing why they should win and responses to each other’s motions. After several more months, the judge issues a ruling. Then the losing side might appeal. Some of our cases still move at that kind of pace.

But in many of the cases in Trump’s second term, we are trying to stop things that can’t be fixed after the fact or where the people we represent are experiencing harm right now. As a result — much more frequently than ever before — we are asking judges to rule on a very expedited basis, filing motions for “temporary restraining orders” (TROs) or “preliminary injunctions.” If a judge grants such a motion, the government must pause its unlawful activity while the case proceeds. To get a preliminary injunction, we have to persuade the judge that (1) we are likely to win in the end and (2) without immediate relief, the plaintiff will experience harm that cannot be repaired later. Even so, the administration appeals most preliminary injunctions.

It can all get quite jumbled, but, eventually, things do get sorted out. We do our best to keep you apprised about key developments along the way. One thing to keep in mind is that filing a lawsuit is the beginning, not the end — after we announce a case, there is tons more work for our lawyers to do.

WHAT ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT?

Public Citizen has argued more than 60 cases before the Supreme Court, during Democratic and Republican administrations. In addition, we file briefs and often provide assistance to one side or the other in a significant number of other cases that come before the Court.

The Supreme Court has issued many rulings we vigorously disagree with, including Trump v. United States, which provides broad criminal immunity to the president for almost any action taken while serving in the Oval Office.

In this second Trump term, the Supreme Court has issued quite a few rulings on its “shadow docket” (the name people have given to cases filed as emergency motions asking the Court to act quickly, such as requests to put preliminary injunctions on hold). Most of the shadow docket decisions this year have favored the Trump administration. However, we won one of the very first shadow docket decisions the Court issued on challenges to Trump actions.

Most cases that we file — or that anyone files — do not reach the Supreme Court. The government has accepted defeat in some cases that we and others have won. And the Court may decline to review some cases the administration asks it to take up.

When we lose cases at the Supreme Court (or in any court), it hurts — because the stakes are often so high. But that does not necessarily mean the fight is over. We can go to Congress and try to get laws changed. We can push for a future administration, or even the Trump administration itself, to reverse its policies. These are not pathways that will give fast results, but we don’t quit just because we got an adverse court ruling.

WHAT CAN BE DONE WHEN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEFIES COURTS?

When the administration does not follow a court’s order, we go back to the court, tell the judge what’s going on, and ask for a more specific order or a decision holding the relevant government official in contempt of court. The Trump regime has been more willing to mislead or slow-walk decisions than any we have ever encountered. It sometimes takes multiple efforts to get the administration to comply. While the regime has defied rulings on a few occasions, it is, for the most part, following court orders.

WHY AREN’T WE SUING DONALD TRUMP, OR THIS OR THAT OFFICIAL IN HIS REGIME, INDIVIDUALLY?

Longstanding legal principles make it impossible in many areas of law, and very difficult in other areas of law, to hold individual government officials personally accountable. Beyond that, the Supreme Court’s ruling last year in Trump v. United States conjured out of thin air a broad presidential immunity from criminal prosecution.

Our lawsuits can do — and are doing — a lot to block bad policy or actions. They are not, however, a way to impose personal accountability on Donald Trump.

WHY DOES IT SEEM LIKE TRUMP IS ABLE TO SUE WHOEVER HE WANTS WHENEVER HE WANTS?

Donald Trump is extremely litigious. For decades, Trump has used lawsuits — or the threat of lawsuits — to bully business rivals; city, state, and national governments; media companies; people he owes money to; people and groups who have been critical of his loathsome and illegal behavior, and others.

What is perhaps most disturbing now is that Trump is continuing to use lawsuits to bully adversaries. Not only is he weaponizing the Department of Justice, he is bringing dubious lawsuits against universities and media companies. And in case after case, those entities have agreed to settlements, including significant monetary payments. But here’s the thing: They aren’t settling because they think they would lose the lawsuits on the merits, they’re settling because they have business before the government and are afraid of retaliation by Trump.

That’s a very serious problem of authoritarianism, but it’s not a problem rooted in the judicial system. When people fight back in court against Trump, they are often able to win.

ARE YOUR LAWSUITS MAKING A DIFFERENCE?

The short and sweet answer is: Yes!

We are scoring substantive wins that mitigate the authoritarian overreach perpetrated by the Trump regime — protecting rights, blocking deregulation, overcoming censorship, and preserving agencies. Our lawsuits have:
Some of these wins are temporary. Some are permanent. Many of our cases are ongoing, with outcomes still to be determined. There is no doubt that we are having an impact on what the administration is able to get away with.

Along with the substantive wins, these lawsuits are inspiring hope — hope that authoritarianism can be stopped, that fighting makes a difference, that something can be done. In this way, our litigation is about more than the cases themselves. It is about overcoming fear, isolation, and hopelessness — so that people connect and mobilize and build the power we need to defeat Trump and Trumpism.

IN ADDITION TO LAWSUITS, WHAT ELSE IS PUBLIC CITIZEN DOING TO FIGHT TRUMP AND THE MAGA AGENDA?

An exhaustive list would take this email from pretty long to pretty much ridiculous, but we’ll highlight just a few of the ways Public Citizen — that’s not just the two of us and our staff, it’s also some 1.5 million supporters from all walks of life and every corner of this country — is working day in and day out to fight Trumpism and to save democracy.

Public Citizen is a leader in the coalition behind the nationwide Hands Off! and No Kings! rallies that have seen millions and millions of everyday Americans take to the streets in peaceful protest of the regime and its dictatorial ambitions.

We have filed dozens of ethics complaints against administration conflicts of interest and wrongful behavior.

We are issuing deep-dive investigative reports into matters ranging from the sponsors of Trump’s gaudy Billionaire Ballroom to the torrent of abandoned investigations into corporate lawbreaking.

We are leading a massive coalition (thousands of organizations!) standing together in resolute resistance as the administration threatens the very existence of nonprofit groups — and the essential work we do — by falsely brandishing accusations of domestic terrorism at groups that oppose the regime’s flagrant misconduct and authoritarianism.

And of course we are also continuing our traditional, pre-Trump work to make things better for everyday Americans by fighting for policies that will do things like (just to mention a handful): make medicines more affordable; protect workers from excessive heat; challenge oil and gas exports that are supercharging corporate profits but skyrocketing consumers’ utility rates; secure protections against creepy artificial intelligence technologies that put teens at risk; advocate to make billionaires and Big Business pay their fair share of taxes; keep unsafe drugs off the market; break up monopolistic corporations, and win Medicare for All so that no American has to live without health coverage.

MORE ABOUT TAKING THE TRUMP REGIME TO COURT

What you and Public Citizen are doing together matters. What hundreds of other organizations, big and small, are doing matters. What millions upon millions of our fellow Americans are doing matters. We believe that to our core. We take solace in that. And we draw inspiration from that. We hope you do, too.

If you can, please donate today to support Public Citizen’s work standing up to the Trump regime.

Anything you can chip in — $5 or $25, $50 or $100, $500 or even more — will help at such a critical moment.

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For progress,

- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
 
 
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