John Roberts has created a monster — and he knows it | Opinion
Not so Trump’s DOJ lawyers. At a hearing last week about Trump’s deportation of Venezuelan immigrants to an El Salvador prison, Trump lawyer Abhishek Kambli refused to answer Judge James Boasberg’s entirely expected questions, and claimed that the president didn’t have to follow the judge’s order in any event. The DOJ argued in a court filing that, “there is no justification (for the court) to order the provision of additional information,” and that “the Government should not be required to disclose sensitive information bearing on national security and foreign relations.”
There was nothing classified about where the deportation flights went, who was on them, or why; Trump had made it a flashy PR stunt meant for mass consumption. Fox News repeatedly published footage of the flights, along with footage of prisoners’ heads being shaved, showing them degraded, cowered, chained, and bent over, and depicting the El Salvador slave-labor prison itself, including armed guards and prison staff. There is no alternative universe where what time the planes departed and who was on them could be deemed a “national security” secret after they landed.
When a president manufactures a fake “invasion” under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law from 1798, to justify his unconstitutional actions, he is declaring that the Constitution does not apply to him. It's a continuation of Trump’s lowest common denominator recklessness that will, sooner or later, lead to bloodshed as he expands his definition of ‘invasion’ to any conduct or speech he doesn’t like.
Trump, who is clearly planning to stay in office past his expiration date, will likely disregard that opinion as well, but at least the nation will understand Trump’s lawlessness in plainer terms.
Anyone who is still naive enough to support what Trump is doing should put down the pipe. Democracy can't exist without the rule of law. If there's no rule of law, flawed, corrupt men with the most money and power will seize control of all resources and they will stay in power by force.
We are dangerously close to that tipping point, and every single American needs to be on alert.
Not so Trump’s DOJ lawyers. At a hearing last week about Trump’s deportation of Venezuelan immigrants to an El Salvador prison, Trump lawyer Abhishek Kambli refused to answer Judge James Boasberg’s entirely expected questions, and claimed that the president didn’t have to follow the judge’s order in any event. The DOJ argued in a court filing that, “there is no justification (for the court) to order the provision of additional information,” and that “the Government should not be required to disclose sensitive information bearing on national security and foreign relations.”
There was nothing classified about where the deportation flights went, who was on them, or why; Trump had made it a flashy PR stunt meant for mass consumption. Fox News repeatedly published footage of the flights, along with footage of prisoners’ heads being shaved, showing them degraded, cowered, chained, and bent over, and depicting the El Salvador slave-labor prison itself, including armed guards and prison staff. There is no alternative universe where what time the planes departed and who was on them could be deemed a “national security” secret after they landed.
When a president manufactures a fake “invasion” under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law from 1798, to justify his unconstitutional actions, he is declaring that the Constitution does not apply to him. It's a continuation of Trump’s lowest common denominator recklessness that will, sooner or later, lead to bloodshed as he expands his definition of ‘invasion’ to any conduct or speech he doesn’t like.
Trump, who is clearly planning to stay in office past his expiration date, will likely disregard that opinion as well, but at least the nation will understand Trump’s lawlessness in plainer terms.
Anyone who is still naive enough to support what Trump is doing should put down the pipe. Democracy can't exist without the rule of law. If there's no rule of law, flawed, corrupt men with the most money and power will seize control of all resources and they will stay in power by force.
We are dangerously close to that tipping point, and every single American needs to be on alert.
