THAT WOULD BE A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS
U.S. President Donald Trump points a finger as he returns to the White House after attending a board meeting at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Carl Gibson
U.S. President Donald Trump points a finger as he returns to the White House after attending a board meeting at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Carl Gibson
March 18, 2025
ALTERNET
Several top legal experts are now sounding the alarm over the implications of President Donald Trump testing the extent of the federal judiciary's enforcement power.
NBC News reported Monday that Trump's ongoing standoff with the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia over two recent deportation flights has some in the legal community worried about the health of the United States' system of checks and balances. Kimberly Wehle, who is a law professor at the University of Baltimore, told the network that Americans are now "watching the accumulation of power in one person, which is antithetical to our constitutional democracy."
"He now is the law,” Wehle said. “He decides what’s legal and not legal. He decides winners and losers, and it’s arbitrary.”
Over the weekend, Judge James Boasberg — who was appointed by former President Barack Obama — ruled that Trump did not have the authority under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan immigrants who the administration alleges are members of a violent gang. Boasberg pointed out that the law the administration invoked had only been used three times in U.S. history, and only against foreign governments. His ruling ordered that the deportation flights be turned back around as alleged gang members were not on the same legal footing as a foreign government.
Boasberg's ruling enraged both Trump and his supporters, with some MAGA-aligned voices — including Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) — calling on Boasberg to be impeached. One unnamed Trump advisor told NBC that they viewed Boasberg as an "activist" judge who was blocking "the mandate we were given."
According to Ilya Somin, who is a law professor at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, the administration's position in the two deportation flights "seems like more explicit defiance" than previous actions, like refusing to disburse funds already appropriated by Congress.
“If the executive can defy court orders whenever they feel like it, they are essentially not constrained by the Constitution and the laws anymore,” he added. “If they defy court orders and get away with it, they can basically do things that are illegal and there would be no easy way of stopping them.”
Click here to read NBC's report in full.
ALTERNET
Several top legal experts are now sounding the alarm over the implications of President Donald Trump testing the extent of the federal judiciary's enforcement power.
NBC News reported Monday that Trump's ongoing standoff with the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia over two recent deportation flights has some in the legal community worried about the health of the United States' system of checks and balances. Kimberly Wehle, who is a law professor at the University of Baltimore, told the network that Americans are now "watching the accumulation of power in one person, which is antithetical to our constitutional democracy."
"He now is the law,” Wehle said. “He decides what’s legal and not legal. He decides winners and losers, and it’s arbitrary.”
Over the weekend, Judge James Boasberg — who was appointed by former President Barack Obama — ruled that Trump did not have the authority under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan immigrants who the administration alleges are members of a violent gang. Boasberg pointed out that the law the administration invoked had only been used three times in U.S. history, and only against foreign governments. His ruling ordered that the deportation flights be turned back around as alleged gang members were not on the same legal footing as a foreign government.
Boasberg's ruling enraged both Trump and his supporters, with some MAGA-aligned voices — including Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) — calling on Boasberg to be impeached. One unnamed Trump advisor told NBC that they viewed Boasberg as an "activist" judge who was blocking "the mandate we were given."
According to Ilya Somin, who is a law professor at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, the administration's position in the two deportation flights "seems like more explicit defiance" than previous actions, like refusing to disburse funds already appropriated by Congress.
“If the executive can defy court orders whenever they feel like it, they are essentially not constrained by the Constitution and the laws anymore,” he added. “If they defy court orders and get away with it, they can basically do things that are illegal and there would be no easy way of stopping them.”
Click here to read NBC's report in full.
Trump views himself as 'monarch ordained by a god' — not a 'public servant': analysis
March 17, 2025
ALTERNET
After Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by roughly 1.5 percent in the popular vote in the United States' 2024 presidential race, many far-right white evangelical Christian fundamentalists didn't view the outcome as Trump narrowly winning a close election. Instead, they declared that Trump had a divine "mandate" from God Almighty Himself.
But Trump's critics — from Democrats to right-wing Never Trump conservatives — reminded Christian nationalists and MAGA Republicans that the U.S. Constitution vehemently rejects the "divine right of kings" concept. July 4, 1776, they stressed, was a total rejection of monarchy, not an endorsement of it.
In an op-ed published on March 17, journalist Marcie Bianco (author of the 2023 book "Breaking Free: The Lie of Equality and the Feminist Fight for Freedom") emphasizes that Trump has a radically different view of the presidency than Presidents Barack Obama, Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman. While Obama, Roosevelt and Truman described themselves as "public servants," Bianco writes, Trump sees himself as a "monarch ordained by a god."
"From using the White House's South Lawn to shill cars for his biggest campaign donor to demanding taxpayer-funded ads that claim he victoriously closed the southern border," Bianco observes, "President Donald Trump is demonstrating that, as he stated in his first term, he has 'the right to do whatever I want.' That's his twisted interpretation of Article 2 of the Constitution, which describes the power of the president."
Bianco continues, "Yet the president of the United States is not a king. He’s not a monarch ordained by a god….. As mass protests against the Trump Administration take place across the nation, let us remember the historical role and responsibility of the president and what others who've held the office have had to say about the responsibility that comes with the position."
The journalist/author notes that in a May 1918 op-ed for the Kansas City Star, Roosevelt wrote, "The president is merely the most important among a large number of public servants." And in July 1954, Truman said, "I would much rather be an honorable public servant and known as such than to be the richest man in the world."
Then, in a November 2020 appearance on CBS News' "60 Minutes," Obama described the president of the United States' as a "public servant" who needed to represent the public's interest, not their own.
"We, the American people, are responsible to each other to secure the health of our democracy," Bianco argues. "This means we must elect to office presidents who are committed to public service, and if we fail at that, then we must use our First Amendment rights to protest against them."
Marcie Bianco's full MSNBC op-ed is available at this link.
After Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by roughly 1.5 percent in the popular vote in the United States' 2024 presidential race, many far-right white evangelical Christian fundamentalists didn't view the outcome as Trump narrowly winning a close election. Instead, they declared that Trump had a divine "mandate" from God Almighty Himself.
But Trump's critics — from Democrats to right-wing Never Trump conservatives — reminded Christian nationalists and MAGA Republicans that the U.S. Constitution vehemently rejects the "divine right of kings" concept. July 4, 1776, they stressed, was a total rejection of monarchy, not an endorsement of it.
In an op-ed published on March 17, journalist Marcie Bianco (author of the 2023 book "Breaking Free: The Lie of Equality and the Feminist Fight for Freedom") emphasizes that Trump has a radically different view of the presidency than Presidents Barack Obama, Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman. While Obama, Roosevelt and Truman described themselves as "public servants," Bianco writes, Trump sees himself as a "monarch ordained by a god."
"From using the White House's South Lawn to shill cars for his biggest campaign donor to demanding taxpayer-funded ads that claim he victoriously closed the southern border," Bianco observes, "President Donald Trump is demonstrating that, as he stated in his first term, he has 'the right to do whatever I want.' That's his twisted interpretation of Article 2 of the Constitution, which describes the power of the president."
Bianco continues, "Yet the president of the United States is not a king. He’s not a monarch ordained by a god….. As mass protests against the Trump Administration take place across the nation, let us remember the historical role and responsibility of the president and what others who've held the office have had to say about the responsibility that comes with the position."
The journalist/author notes that in a May 1918 op-ed for the Kansas City Star, Roosevelt wrote, "The president is merely the most important among a large number of public servants." And in July 1954, Truman said, "I would much rather be an honorable public servant and known as such than to be the richest man in the world."
Then, in a November 2020 appearance on CBS News' "60 Minutes," Obama described the president of the United States' as a "public servant" who needed to represent the public's interest, not their own.
"We, the American people, are responsible to each other to secure the health of our democracy," Bianco argues. "This means we must elect to office presidents who are committed to public service, and if we fail at that, then we must use our First Amendment rights to protest against them."
Marcie Bianco's full MSNBC op-ed is available at this link.
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