Tranquillus in Exile
New member
Was it constitutional checks and balances, or was it an “unwritten constitution” of people doing the right thing?
“I have an absolute right to do what I want with the Justice Department,” Trump claimed in 2017. Maybe, maybe not. The role of the president in prosecutions is not specified in the Constitution. But in election year, when Trump made clear he wanted the Justice Department to announce a criminal investigation of the Bidens, nobody would do it.
As some of the protests following the killing of George Floyd became violent, President Trump appeared in the Rose Garden and announced that he would “deploy the United States military”. His lawyers had dug up the Insurrection Act 1807. If it was an insurrection, Trump had the right to sic federal troops on them.
It never happened. Defense Secretary Esper publicly broke with the president, saying that US forces should be used domestically only as a matter of last resort and “I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act”. The Chairman of the JCS, General Milley, issued a public apology for appearing in Trump’s photo op: “My presence in that moment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. I should not have been there.”
Trump would say that all the above and many more besides were part of a conspiracy against him. Well, he’s finished. But there may come a president who sees himself as Trump Plus, with more smarts, knowledge and ability. That’s the one to watch out for.
“If fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and waving a Bible.”
“I have an absolute right to do what I want with the Justice Department,” Trump claimed in 2017. Maybe, maybe not. The role of the president in prosecutions is not specified in the Constitution. But in election year, when Trump made clear he wanted the Justice Department to announce a criminal investigation of the Bidens, nobody would do it.
As some of the protests following the killing of George Floyd became violent, President Trump appeared in the Rose Garden and announced that he would “deploy the United States military”. His lawyers had dug up the Insurrection Act 1807. If it was an insurrection, Trump had the right to sic federal troops on them.
It never happened. Defense Secretary Esper publicly broke with the president, saying that US forces should be used domestically only as a matter of last resort and “I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act”. The Chairman of the JCS, General Milley, issued a public apology for appearing in Trump’s photo op: “My presence in that moment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics. I should not have been there.”
Trump would say that all the above and many more besides were part of a conspiracy against him. Well, he’s finished. But there may come a president who sees himself as Trump Plus, with more smarts, knowledge and ability. That’s the one to watch out for.
“If fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and waving a Bible.”