John Cleese Jokes About Hanging Stephen Miller ‘By The Neck’
The British actor pulled no punches tearing into the white supremacist turned White House aide over proposed rollbacks on constitutional protections for vulnerable migrants.
Dave J Hogan/Getty
Veteran British comedian John Cleese went to a pretty dark place responding to a White House aide’s proposal for nixing constitutional rights afforded to migrants in custody.
“I see Stephen Miller says he is actively thinking about suspending ‘habeas corpus,’” Cleese posted on X. “As this has been the keystone of the Rule of Law for centuries, I’d like to suggest that we actively think about suspending Stephen Miller.”
“Preferably by the neck,” he added.
The message has since been removed from X.
Referring to the right of an imprisoned person to contest the reasons for or conditions of their confinement, habeas corpus is protected under the Constitution, with decades of legal rulings confirming it also extends to non-citizens while present on U.S. soil.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Miller—one of President Donald Trump‘s closest confidants and the architect of his immigration crackdown—floated the possibility of suspending that right for migrants on Friday, claiming that the Trump administration is already exploring legal means for doing so.
“The Constitution is clear–and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land–that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion. So, I would say that‘s an option we’re actively looking at,” Miller told a crew of reporters outside the White House.
“The border crisis is a form of invasion, and that gives us legal grounds to pursue every possible remedy,” he added.
Legal experts, like Georgetown University Law Center professor Steve Vladeck, have since clarified that the president cannot simply suspend constitutionally protected rights without the approval of Congress.
Miller’s comments on the matter nevertheless follow after Trump said during an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press that he “doesn’t know” whether it‘s his duty to uphold the Constitution because he’s “not a lawyer.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.