11-02-2025, 04:32 PM
Trump is assaulting his own legitimacy
Defying the courts could bring a steep cost.
David R. Lurie
Feb 11
[img=550x366.7925824175824]https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f28e586-afaa-47cd-98bf-7525391496ae_4708x3139.jpeg[/img]
Donald Trump’s cronies are threatening to defy the authority of the federal courts. If they follow through, the nation’s rapid descent into dictatorship will be complete, and the risk of the first challenge to the legitimacy of the federal government since the Civil War could soon be upon us.
Over the past several weeks, Trump and consigliere Elon Musk have embarked on an unprecedented barrage of illegality, including an attempt to destroy whole government agencies and misappropriate (and likely misuse) government and personal data on a massive scale. In the face of compliant Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, the only brakes on the MAGA crime spree have come from a handful of federal judges who have issued injunctive decrees prohibiting some portions of the criminal scheme.
![[Image: https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama...x3607.jpeg]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2fb679e5-1392-40c5-94ac-4fac0ae42c1b_5410x3607.jpeg)
Trump and his lawyers embrace the logic of dictatorship
Lisa Needham
·
Feb 10
In recent days, Trumpers have engaged in bad faith efforts to evade some of the judicial constraints. But there are limits to the effectiveness of that strategy. And other orders they cannot fake complying with — such as the ruling keeping Treasury data out of Musk’s hands — have clearly made Trumpers’ blood boil.
Hence the now open threats by Musk, his sidekick Vice President JD Vance, and others to challenge the proposition — which has been foundational to our constitutional structure since 1803 — that the courts have the exclusive power to decide what the Constitution and laws of the United States mean and require, and can issue orders that bind everyone else (including the president) to comply.
[img=528x259.5704697986577]https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_528,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f9bf4ce-3730-4903-b596-71e72ad2c77b_1192x586.png[/img]
In the wake of Watergate, Richard Nixon famously told David Frost that “when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Nixon’s declaration that the president is the arbiter of legality flew in the face of the longstanding principle of judicial review providing that the judiciary has exclusive power to decide disputes over the nation’s Constitution and laws.
Nixon had a personal bone to pick with that principle, because it was an order by the Supreme Court requiring him to turn over evidence that brought his would-be imperial presidency crashing down.
Nixon had attempted to bring the Watergate investigation — and in particular, a subpoena for White House tapes — to a halt by firing prosecutors. HIs gambit ultimately failed, culminating in a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to turn the tapes over. Among them was the so-called “smoking gun” recording that caught Nixon directly engaged in what (until very recently) would have been deemed criminal presidential conduct.
Nixon might well have defied the Court’s ruling. But, unlike Trump today, he understood that most Republicans in Congress would not support him. He ultimately turned over the tapes, and, shortly thereafter, relinquished the White House. As his later remarks to Frost made clear, however, he left power believing that he had been wronged, as did many of his partisans.
Defying the courts could bring a steep cost.
David R. Lurie
Feb 11
[img=550x366.7925824175824]https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2f28e586-afaa-47cd-98bf-7525391496ae_4708x3139.jpeg[/img]
Trump leaves Mar-a-Lago to play golf with Tiger Woods on Sunday.
Donald Trump’s cronies are threatening to defy the authority of the federal courts. If they follow through, the nation’s rapid descent into dictatorship will be complete, and the risk of the first challenge to the legitimacy of the federal government since the Civil War could soon be upon us.
Over the past several weeks, Trump and consigliere Elon Musk have embarked on an unprecedented barrage of illegality, including an attempt to destroy whole government agencies and misappropriate (and likely misuse) government and personal data on a massive scale. In the face of compliant Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, the only brakes on the MAGA crime spree have come from a handful of federal judges who have issued injunctive decrees prohibiting some portions of the criminal scheme.
Trump and his lawyers embrace the logic of dictatorship
Lisa Needham
·
Feb 10
In recent days, Trumpers have engaged in bad faith efforts to evade some of the judicial constraints. But there are limits to the effectiveness of that strategy. And other orders they cannot fake complying with — such as the ruling keeping Treasury data out of Musk’s hands — have clearly made Trumpers’ blood boil.
Hence the now open threats by Musk, his sidekick Vice President JD Vance, and others to challenge the proposition — which has been foundational to our constitutional structure since 1803 — that the courts have the exclusive power to decide what the Constitution and laws of the United States mean and require, and can issue orders that bind everyone else (including the president) to comply.
[img=528x259.5704697986577]https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_528,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5f9bf4ce-3730-4903-b596-71e72ad2c77b_1192x586.png[/img]
(X)
The first failed imperial presidencyIn the wake of Watergate, Richard Nixon famously told David Frost that “when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Nixon’s declaration that the president is the arbiter of legality flew in the face of the longstanding principle of judicial review providing that the judiciary has exclusive power to decide disputes over the nation’s Constitution and laws.
Nixon had a personal bone to pick with that principle, because it was an order by the Supreme Court requiring him to turn over evidence that brought his would-be imperial presidency crashing down.
Nixon had attempted to bring the Watergate investigation — and in particular, a subpoena for White House tapes — to a halt by firing prosecutors. HIs gambit ultimately failed, culminating in a Supreme Court ruling ordering him to turn the tapes over. Among them was the so-called “smoking gun” recording that caught Nixon directly engaged in what (until very recently) would have been deemed criminal presidential conduct.
Nixon might well have defied the Court’s ruling. But, unlike Trump today, he understood that most Republicans in Congress would not support him. He ultimately turned over the tapes, and, shortly thereafter, relinquished the White House. As his later remarks to Frost made clear, however, he left power believing that he had been wronged, as did many of his partisans.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass