Trump’s Dangerous Attacks On The Rule Of Law
The rule of law is foundational to our system of constitutional government.
It is not, however, foundational to President Donald Trump, who is attacking the rule of law in the same way that a dictator would.
The rule of law is a core principle under which all persons, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are:
- Publicly promulgated,
- Equally enforced,
- Independently adjudicated, and
- Consistent with international human rights principles.
Today, Trump and his Administration are showing contempt for these standards as they run roughshod over the rule of law and our democracy.
The sheer extent of their overreach is demonstrated by the fact that there are more than 130 cases pending against Trump and his Administration challenging the legality of their actions.
More than 40 injunctions have been issued and more than a dozen rulings have already found that the Administration has either violated, or probably violated, the law. We are heading for a constitutional showdown when, as expected, one of these key cases reaches the Supreme Court.
Another case is expected to be filed soon challenging Trump’s executive order (EO) issued on Tuesday which could prevent millions of eligible citizens from voting in future elections. The Constitution gives the states and Congress – not the President – the power to regulate elections and voting. Trump’s EO is unconstitutional.
Trump’s approach to the lawsuits has been similar to his approach to everything else: muzzle and disempower opponents and critics, ignore laws that stand in his way, and prevent accountability for anything he and his Administration does.
No tactic is beneath this Administration, including going after the judges hearing the Trump cases.
Former Judge J. Michael Luttig recently noted that, for years, “Trump has viciously attacked judges and threatened their safety.”
This month, Trump attacked federal Judge James Boasberg, after the judge issued an order that blocked the Administration’s deportation flights. Trump called for Judge Boasberg’s impeachment and labeled him a “Radical Left Lunatic.”
After Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rebuke of Trump, saying that “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Trump called for Judge Boasberg’s disbarment.
There are, of course, no grounds for impeaching or disbarring Judge Boasberg.
Trump’s attacks on Judge Boasberg and other judges presiding over cases challenging actions by his Administration appear intended to intimidate and harass judges, rile up MAGA loyalists, make judges cower, and ultimately delegitimize the judiciary.
To date, federal judges are doing their jobs and ignoring Trump’s abusive behavior.
Trump is simultaneously using executive orders to attack lawyers and law firms, punish perceived enemies, and prevent legal representation for those who want to challenge the Administration.
This crackdown on lawyers, The Washington Post reported, “is having a chilling effect on his opponents’ ability to defend themselves or challenge his actions in court.”
One of Trump’s EOs suspended security clearances and imposed other unjustified restrictions on the Paul Weiss law firm. Rather than defend themselves, however, the law firm rolled over and agreed to a settlement. (Other firms are fighting the executive orders in court.)
By surrendering, Paul Weiss created a dangerous precedent for the legal profession. Trump quickly seized on the opportunity to continue his executive order attacks, including this week’s EO attacking the law firm Jenner & Block.
This is likely to continue until the courts make the executive orders inoperable.
The Trump Administration is also dismantling government anti-corruption efforts, including some which will protect its own activities. Here are just a few examples:
➡️ Just a few days into his second term, Trump fired 17 Inspectors General, the independent watchdogs with responsibility for rooting out corruption in their agencies.
➡️ The Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division, which oversees the investigation and prosecution of federal crimes affecting government integrity, has been gutted.
➡️ Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that prohibits companies that operate in the United States from bribing foreign officials is being paused.
➡️ And, NBC News reports, Attorney General Pam Bondi has halted “a years-old law enforcement effort to combat secret influence campaigns by China, Russia and other adversaries that try to curry favor and sow chaos in American politics.”
Judge Luttig recently reminded us of Thomas Paine’s prescient principle set forth in Common Sense: “[I]n America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.”
Some 250 years later, we are in a battle to prove we can continue to live up to this ideal and protect the rule of law from the efforts of a faux king.
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Fred’s Weekly Note appears on Thursdays in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter. Read this week’s and other recent newsletters here. And, subscribe for free here and receive your copy each week via email.
