In just the last few days, President Donald Trump has jumped into active court cases, attacked legally supported investigations and put his own political goals ahead of judicial conventions that underpin the independent legal system.
Trump also fired off a weekend tweet accusing the FBI of breaking in to the office of Michael Cohen, his ex-lawyer who is headed to prison next year. The raid was carried out on a court endorsed warrant.
His comment put Canada, who first arrested Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou, in a tough diplomatic spot, raised questions about whether she would receive due process and could undermine US critiques of the way judicial systems in China and other totalitarian states are subordinate to politics.
But Trump’s challenge to legal norms is not new.
In two years in office, Trump has built a mountain of tweets, remarks and actions that do not just test institutional restraints on presidential power but appear to undermine the constitutional norms he is sworn to uphold.
His willingness to use the weight of his office in such a way appears to be increasing the prospect of a constitutional imbroglio at a time when multiple areas of Trump’s public, political and business life are under investigation.
And it risks lingering damage to the infrastructure of American justice and the public support that is essential for democratic and judicial institutions to retain legitimacy even after he has left office.
That possibility seems to lie behind Comey’s concern.
“This is not about Republicans and Democrats. This is about what does it mean to be an American,” Comey said after testifying on Capitol Hill Monday.
“We have to stop being numb to it, whether you’re Republican or Democrat, stand on your feet, overcome your shame and say something.”
No let up
Trump started to jolt America’s judicial and legal system as soon as he moved into the White House, castigating judges who slowed his agenda and piling pressure on the Justice Department over the Russia probe.
There’s been no let up since.
The President’s unconventional relationship with the law goes far beyond the numerous legal challenges to his presidency, transition and campaign and the unusual number of associates who have fallen foul of prosecutors.
He’s sued and been sued countless times, often using the legal system and bankruptcy courts as a tactical tool as a real estate tycoon.
Trump has so far not been found guilty of any wrongdoing by Mueller or prosecutors elsewhere. He denies he has done anything wrong.
Another former Trump aide, his first national security adviser Michael Flynn, will learn on Tuesday whether he will go to prison for lying to the FBI.
Unprecedented for at least 40 years
Many presidents have had frustrations with the legal system and criticized court rulings and irksome judges. Tensions between branches of government are inherent in the US political system.
But no modern president has racked up a record like Trump, who has risked the integrity of the justice system of which he is the titular head for apparently personal and political reasons.
“He really doesn’t respect the judiciary and the rule of law as we expect and need Presidents to. … He just weighs in for what I think are clear partisan political purposes.”
In tirades more typical of a despot, he has demanded his political foes be investigated by the Justice Department. He beams when crowds chant “lock her up” in reference to Hillary Clinton at his rallies.
Trump responded by proposing the break up of the Ninth Circuit.
In 2017, Trump accused judges of thwarting the fight against terrorism by overturning his executive orders on immigration.
Presidential pressure
Trump’s challenge to the rule of law has not been confined to the judiciary.
For two years he has leaned hard on the Justice Department. His beef with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was that he recused himself over the Russia probe in accordance with departmental norms.
Trump has often given the impression that he views the Justice Department as owing loyalty to him rather than the rule of law.
“And I would have to say to him, ‘Mr. President I understand what you want to do but you can’t do it that way. It violates the law,’ ” Tillerson said.
Trump supporters often argue that his critics take his tweets and comments too seriously. And they reject any criticism by Comey, who many conservatives accuse of giving Clinton a pass on her email server.
Democrats are still fuming at the former FBI chief because they believe he handed the White House to Trump by reopening the Clinton probe days before the election.
Trump backers, who chose someone to shake up what they saw as a corrupt political establishment either do not perceive a threat to the rule of law — or really don’t care that much. Their perceptions of Trump’s behavior are also filtered through the conservative media machine. And the President’s approval ratings of 80% and higher among Republicans offer him a safety net with his political base.
But there is an increasing expectation of a legal reckoning in Washington as Mueller appears to be aiming directly at the President as he approaches the end of his investigation.
That means that Trump has likely yet to pose his most grave test to the legal system and the rule of law.
Source : Nbcnewyork