Legal Scholars to Trump: No, You Cannot Declare Emergency to Build Wall That Public Doesn't Want

[workinclasszero]

Legal Scholars to Trump: No, You Cannot Declare Emergency to Build Wall That Public Doesn't Want and Isn't Needed

"The American constitution does not contemplate such presidential unilateralism."

by Jon Queally, staff writer Published on Saturday, January 05, 2019 by Common Dreams

After President Donald Trump on Friday claimed he could declare a national emergency in order to assert total control over the border and use existing taxpayer money to build a wall he has repeatedly told the American public that Mexico would pay for, legal experts are pointing out that Trump has no authority under the Constitution to do any such thing.

"I can do it if I want," Trump declared Friday. "We can call a national emergency because of the security of our country. We can do it. I haven't done it. I may do it."

Calling Trump's demand for the wall "constitutionally illegitimate" in an op-ed for the Guardian in the wake of the president's "bizarre" press conference outside the White House, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig argued that no reading of the nation's governing document "would ever uphold the view that a president can stop the functioning of government, to insist upon a program unsupported by the public or unrequired by the constitution."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/05/legal-scholars-trump-no-you-cannot-declare-emergency-build-wall-public-doesnt-want

[duforsure]

1. Just look at how he's done with this,

Claiming a huge majority of the American people are criminals because they don't want the stupid wall, and the crime rate of Americans is much higher than the crime rate is from immigrants in this country.

[SMC22307]

3. Democrats need to be constantly reminding Americans of that...

lower crime rate for immigrants. And that money was allocated last year for Fat Nixon's vanity project and that only a fraction of it was spent. Wasteful!

[shanny]

2. only emergency here involves rump not wanting to look stoopid (too late)

or get yelled at by limpballs and the coultergeist

[NCjack]

4. Yes, we do have a real national emergency.

The Majority Leader of the Senate has failed to defend our constitutional government and must be removed. If Mueller has evidence that is sufficient for an indictment, he must produce it now.

[Achilleaze]

5. "I can do it if I want." - Dirty Donny* (R)

"No you can't, you lying sniveling, whiney little republican brat. You're worse than your father, and he was fabulously foul." - Mom



* aka republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief

[Poiuyt]

8. Now we know where he got that hair

[ProudLib72]

9. Doesn't she look like a Dr. Seuss character?

Maybe like the CEO of the company that cut down all of the trees in The Lorax?

[BootinUp]

11. Kind of reminds me of this

[ProudLib72]

16. Bride of Fredtrumpenstein

Yes, I see the resemblance.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

6. Trump thinks he's still working at 721 Fifth Avenue, New York City...

ordering polish for his golden throne. Man has absolutely no knowledge of government other than how to hustle money out of it for himself. He did it to New York for decades, so this is just a new grifting gig to him.

.... ....I'm really curious as to what he thinks his end game here really is........

[90-percent]

7. "....I'm really curious as to what he thinks his end game here really is........"

a lifetime of getting away with everything, the Presidency is just another grift. He does not have the brain power to understand how much trouble he is in.

He's repeating talking points that have their source in the Kremlin!!!!!! I think what's left of our republic raped system can inflict justice on this best Manchurian Candidate in history!

His crimes are well out of reach of the can't look backward got to look forward doctrine.

They are in the lets get the guillotine out of storage arena.


-90% Jimmy

We live in the most interesting times in my 64 year old lifetime. A life time of constant fear and indignation for my government is getting tiresome. As a nation steeped in decent people we cannot allow this to stand!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

12. And we were appalled at Nixon back then....

Who could ever dream things could get this much worse.

I just can't fathom that he doesn't see that his game is done. The only thing I can figure is that he has surrounded himself with 100% yes-men that keep him walled-off, and that he rarely watches anything but Fox.

I fear that those yes-men that we didn't elect are really controlling this entire administration. And, who knows who is controlling those yes-men?

Perhaps it shouldn't be such a surprise. It was known that W's White House was basically controlled by daily email exchanges with Heritage Foundation, and probably American Enterprise and others as well.

[defacto7]

10. It doesn't matter what's legal. It doesn't matter what the constitution says.

If the defenses of the constitution have broken down it's just old paper. At that point it comes down to whoever wields the most power and has the best physical defenses. Would that be Trump? The military? Without the Senate, the president and the SC to join the House in defense of the constitution, there is no constitution.

The president and the Senate are defying the constitution. Half the SC may also join them.

So....?

[meadowlander]

13. And now he's floating a trial balloon for declaring phoney "national emergencies"...

Can't imagine where this is going.

[lindysalsagal]

14. If he disrregards the generals, the CIA, the FBI and judiciary

why would he suddenlly give one crap what "legal scholars" think?

[Scurrilous]

15. K&R

[Gothmog]

17. If trump tries this, he will lose another lawsuit