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THE VIEW FROM HERE - Citing James Madison’s Federalist Paper # 10, the noted Constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, said that the “accumulation of executive, legislative, and judicial power in a single branch is the very definition of tyranny.” The accumulation of power in the Presidency and the reduction in Constitutional checks and balances have given rise to the Unitary Executive Theory (UET). "If the president can violate court orders, then there's no limit on what the president could do," Chemerinsky said. “If our democracy is going to survive — if the rule of law is upheld — it will be because of the efforts of lawyers and judges.” Oops, hold on there Erwin! Judges will protect us?!? On what planet does Erwin lives? The Supreme Court has already ruled that Trump may do whatever he wants including murdering citizens when the President believes citizens obstruct his constitutional duties?
Chemerinsky naively opined about the case Trump vs Illinois, “The Posse Comitatus Act, 18 U. S. C. §1385, adopted in 1868, prohibits the U.S. military from being deployed for use in domestic law enforcement except in very limited circumstances, such as when there is an insurrection in a state.” Naive Chemerinsky Erwin thought the Supreme Court was limiting Trump’s power because it ruled that Trump may federalize a National Guard provided he has first turned the US Military lose on American citizens. In brief, the Supreme Court told Trump that the correct process was to first send in the US Marine under the Insurrection Act (Posse Comitatus Act, 18 U. S. C. §1385, adopted in 1868) and then federalize the national guard so that the state will have no militia to protect itself. It takes less than a two second to federalize the National Guard after he orders the US Marines into Los Angeles, Chicago, or Minneapolis. It’s only a matter of preparing the paper work and then issuing directives in the order which satisfied Chief Justice Roberts.
Let’s see how that will work out in the real world. Trump justifies the murder of Renee Good on the grounds that she was a “domestic terrorist,” who was preventing ICE from carrying out Trump’s policies. Remember, the Supreme Court has granted Trump absolute immunity to murder citizens. (Trump vs United States). Thus, if people protest Trump’s murdering citizens, he may declare an insurrection in order to deploy the US Marines, which no court gets to overrule. Then, Trump may federalize the National Guard to back up the Marines.
Trump’s Has No Morality Except His Own
As Trump told the world during his interview with New York Times, there is no limit on his power except his own personal morality. The insane delusions which Trump rattles off reveal a seriously mentally ill person who believes that he alone is the world’s savior but whom the world has treated worse than any other person. Trump is so out of touch with reality that he even extorted María Corina Machado to give him her Noble Peace Prize. After which Trump declared that the Venezuelan totalitarian, communist government was doing very well and that Trump would put the money from the sale of Venezuelan oil into an account in Qatar which Trump would control. Notice how Trump no longer has need for the lies about the Caribbean boat people carrying Fentanyl so that he had to murder them to save over 100,000 American lives. Now, it is all about the oil which he is seizing for himself.
By the way, a common definition of paranoia is systematic delusions of persecution and grandeur. According to Trump, no one in the world has done more for NATO than Trump but they treat him terribly. Trump thinks in extremes; something is either the worst ever in the world or the best ever. For Trump, other people are the worst and he is the best.
Nothing in the Unitary Executive Theory required Chief Justice John Roberts to grant Donald Trump absolute immunity to engage in any criminal conduct he desires as part of his constitutional duties. Although the original UET was unconstitutional, it was limited to transferring Congress’s Article I power to the President. People out to subvert a government often begin modestly and later inch by inch they erode more and more rights until the people are left with only one right – the right to obey.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney explained this situation at Davos. See Carney Full Speech Carney reminds the entire world that Trump represents the disintegration of the rule of law where the powerful become isolated actors terrorizing anyone who may dare to disagree. Europe made this mistake with Nazi Germany before WW II. The rest of Europe was so sure that Hitler could be appeased. Winston Churchill knew that they were dead wrong. After Hitler was appointed chancellor, the Germans were certain that Hitler could be restrained. Cowardice blinds people to reality. People will cave into a tyrant’s threats certain they are purchasing safety when in reality they are inviting slavery.
The US Supreme Court could have reversed Trump’s insane juggernaut by simply issuing a tariff ruling which abrogates all Trump’s tariffs on the grounds that Congress and not the President has the power to impose tariffs. However, Chief Justice Roberts covets turning American into a military dictatorship, oblivious to the fact that he has become Trump’s errand boy.
(Richard Lee Abrams is a former Los Angeles-based attorney, an author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at [email protected])
