Can the President Pardon Himself?
it would be different if the framers had used different language -- e.g., "The President may pardon offenses." But that's not the language, and a textualist/originalist should take the language seriously.
Trump’s Disastrous Syria Attack
Over the weekend, President Trump celebrated firing more than 100 missiles into Syria by Tweeting, “Mission Accomplished!” They say if you cannot learn from history you are condemned to repeat it. So I guess we are repeating it. We all remember that “Mission Accomplished” was the banner behind then-President Bush as he gloated aboard a…
The President and Syria, Again (Again)
To "declare war" in eighteenth-century terms included "declaring" by taking military action as well as by issuing a proclamation, and even relatively small armed conflicts with foreign nations were considered "war."
First the Budget, Then More Federal Gun Control
Today, Jeff Sessions issued a statement announcing that the DOJ is officially putting together regulations to ban bump stocks. In a statement, Sessions said the U.S. Justice Department is proposing to amend the rules by clarifying that bump stocks fall within the definition of a “machine gun” under federal law. The DOJ says if the proposal is made final, bump-stock-type devices…
Expanding War without following the Constitution: The Trump Administration and Syria
Will Congress awake from its slumber and finally dust off the part of the Constitution directing the Legislative Branch to decide on matters of war and peace?
The President and Obstruction of Justice (Again)
In the New York Times, Saikrishna Prakash and John Yoo: Don’t Prosecute Trump. Impeach Him. As to prosecution, they argue: The Constitution imposes on the president the duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” which vests the authority to oversee all federal law enforcement. As Alexander Hamilton observed in Federalist 70, “good government”…
Why Do We Eat Our Own?
“The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally – not a 20 percent traitor.” Ronald Reagan Trump Derangement Syndrome The obsession to mock, slander, make fun of, and defame Trump at any moment possible. A result of the 2016 presidential election were Hillary lost spectacularly, the …
The Constitution and Escalating War in Afghanistan
Recent presidents have usurped all of the military powers of Congress unto themselves and Trump is doing the same. It is a dangerous slippery slope and clearly exceeds constitutional authority regardless of who inhabits the White House.
Donald Trump should learn from John Tyler
Tyler faced a near coup by his cabinet and was expelled from the Whig Party for vetoing their crappy legislation. What did he do? He gladly accepted their resignations, appointed his "state's rights" buddies to his cabinet and moved on.
What do Louisiana, populism, and the Constitution have in common?
Louisiana, populism, and the Constitution, three items that don't seem to have much in common, except that I spent time talking about all three in the last week.