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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
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.”
