Trump Signals He Might Ignore the Courts
www.theatlantic.com
Yesterday, the president said that no judge “should be allowed” to rule against the changes his administration is making.

This is the very essence of the difference that should exist between a President and a King. From Federalist 69:

The President of the United States would be liable to be impeached, tried, and, upon conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors, removed from office; and would afterwards be liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law. The person of the king of Great Britain is sacred and inviolable; there is no constitutional tribunal to which he is amenable; no punishment to which he can be subjected without involving the crisis of a national revolution. In this delicate and important circumstance of personal responsibility, the President of Confederated America would stand upon no better ground than a governor of New York, and upon worse ground than the governors of Maryland and Delaware.

The failure of the Republican party to support this kind of check on Presidential power is why we’re having this crisis now.

  • Nikophos@lemmy.caEnglish
    9·
    6 hours ago

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/legal-experts-constitutional-crisis-vance-musk-judicial-rulings-trump-rcna191387

    “I think the tweet, taken on its own terms, is empty because it refers to the ‘legitimate powers’ of the executive. And the whole question in these cases is whether the executive is acting legitimately or not,” Greene told NBC News.

    “He has some cover in that sense,” Greene added, referring to Vance. “He hasn’t promised unlawful behavior.”

    Rick Pildes, a professor at New York University’s Law School, also highlighted Vance’s use of the words “legitimate powers” in his post but pointed out that the judiciary is the branch with the power to decide what a president can “legitimately” do or not do.

    “Under the rule of law and the Constitution, it is the courts that determine whether some use of the executive power is lawful or not. That is the critical point,” Pildes said via email.

    “The concern is that the vice president’s statement could be taken to suggest that the Executive Branch is prepared to refuse to comply with a court order based on the president’s own view that he has a power that the courts have concluded he does not,” he added. “A president who orders his officials not to comply with court orders would be creating a constitutional crisis.”

    Also note,

    It’s not the first time Vance has floated defying court orders.

    Greene pointed out that others in Trump’s orbit, including Musk, have floated ignoring court orders.

    On Saturday, Musk reposted a post on X from a user who wrote, “I don’t like the precedent it sets when you defy a judicial ruling, but I’m just wondering what other options are these judges leaving us.”

    I think it’s a series of microaggressions; on their own, each comment is seemingly innocent, and every response appears to be an overreaction. But their comments put together paint a larger picture. I think this is part of the strategy - “Look at these emotional people, panicking at nothing!” as they slowly overwhelm and erode their checks and balances.

    It’s important not to become emotionally overwhelmed, and not to jump to conclusions. I definitely see the tendency to doom-scroll and panic in people right now - I do it myself sometimes as much as I try not to. But I’m thankful for the journalists and scholars that raise alarms, because if people don’t know what’s happening, how will anyone be held accountable?