Another Courageous Judge Throws A Haymaker At The Trump Cabal

Marchers on the streets of Seattle Friday night, demanding the Trump dictatorship obey the law.

"I think this cloud is one that is going to rain a storm upon this administration and it deserves it".   - Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe on MSNBC last night

Following in the footsteps of deputy AG Sally Yates days ago, a federal judge(James Robart)  in Seattle   ordered a temporary halt on Donald Trump’s travel ban for refugees and people from seven predominantly-Muslim nations. Indeed, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reportedly told U.S. airlines that they could board travelers who had been barred.  The result was a haymaker of a ruling, effective nationwide, that upheld the Constitution and had the Trump Imperium on their heels, scrambling for response as they went into histrionic mode.

As I pointed out before, this was a no brainer given that the "order" violated the Constitution in numerous aspects including the equal protection clause and also the establishment of religion prohibition.  There was also the fact this glorified tweet was never properly processed and vetted in the first place, one reason it caused so much consternation including among 1,000 career professionals at the State Department. They put their names to a Dissent Letter which allows them to make their criticisms known without fear of retribution from poltroons and narcissistic assholes.

As Washington attorney general Bob Ferguson put it: "We are a nation of laws. Not even the president can violate the constitution. No one is above the law, not even the President"

Indeed, and he will learn - like Richard Nixon did before him - that he is not a goddamned potentate or king, and if his own congress or Justice Dept. will not hold him to account, then governors of the states will. At least those governors who recognize constitutional transgressions when they see them.

AG Ferguson added:

"This decision shuts down the executive order immediately, shuts it down. That relief is immediate, happens right now. That’s the bottom line.”

Meanwhile, Trump's head was exploding as his panties became twisted with yet another uppity guy who refused to kiss his ass and follow his orders, like Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull and Mexico's President, and now the Iranians too.

In his order, Robart wrote that the states had shown “immediate and irreparable injury” caused by Trump’s order.  He wrote further:

“The executive order adversely affects the states’ residents in areas of employments, education, business, family relations, and freedom to travel,” he wrote. He then issued nationwide restraining stops to several sections of Trump’s executive order: its 90-day ban on visa-holders from seven nations, its indefinite ban on Syrian refugee admissions, and its 120-day ban on the entire refugee program.

“The work of the court is not to create policy or judge the wisdom of any particular policy promoted by the other two branches,”


Robart also wrote. “The work of the judiciary, and this court, is limited to ensuring that the actions taken by the other two branches comport with our country’s laws, and more importantly, our constitution.”

The judge insisted that his ruling was “narrow” – about whether certain actions by the president were cause for a restraining order – but concluded that “the circumstances brought before [the court] today are such that it must intervene to fulfill its constitutional role in our tri-part government.”

Late last night, the White House Cabal released a statement saying that it would seek an emergency stay. This was after an earlier request for a stay by a justice department attorney had been denied by Judge Robart. Evidently it's hard for Trumpies to grasp when THEY are breaking the law. Also, it's extra sad that with Sally Yates' departure the DOJ under her replacement Dana Boente appears to be filled with just 'yes'' men and poppets  - prepared to do the potentate's illegal bidding.  They seem to have left their principles at the door.

Propaganda Secretary Sean Spicer said last night:

“At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of this outrageous order and defend the executive order of the President, which we believe is lawful and appropriate. The president’s order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people,”

Of course, this is all recycled horse shit and as I noted in previous posts it does nothing to protect the homeland. All it does is to give ISIS plenty of propaganda material for its online recruitment. That along with the Trump earlier blurt that we "need to take the Iraqis oil."  How dangerous is this stuff? Ask anyone serving in Iraq who now must  look behind their back every second thanks to this deranged fucker's impulsive words.  

Almost as degenerate, as Harvard Law professor Lawrence Tribe noted last night, was the secret order issued with the phony executive order that all lawful visas be rescinded. In Prof. Tribe's words:

"So called laws made in invisible ink, in the dark, in ways that violate our constitution, hurt everybody."

Referencing states' retort to the idiots in the DOJ, to the effect that they "lack standing". No they do not because their universities and businesses are adversely affected by this fucking ban.

Another takeaway for these Trumpist jackasses and the fools who defend them: The American Enterprise Institute has calculated that the odds of an American being killed by a Muslim refugee are 3.6 billion to 1. That is greater odds against than three Apollo asteroids crashing into the Earth at once.

And finally, 48 college presidents - including from Harvard, Brown, and Washington University (where one of the debates was held) have signed a letter to Trump pointing out the dangers of his foolish "executive order" and how it was unconstitutional and risked Americans' safety.

Michael Smerconish this morning wisely advised it was time for Trump to "fold his tent" and not squander any more "political capital".  (As if he ever had any). Smerconish observed the alternative is that the litigation arising will likely last longer than the ban itself. Indeed, it may last years.  As Trump and his cabal fight on with many different courts and rulings, it is assured that many of his other plans will be flayed as he loses whatever scintilla of capital he has left.  But he has no choice, given "President Bannon"  has issued his direct orders to the Donald.

It was not immediately clear whether authorities would comply with the broad order, especially after officials reacted in confusion a week earlier, detaining valid visa holders and arguing with lawyers. But the justice department at least had the sense to say it would not immediately file for an emergency stay, at least on Friday night. Reports said Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had informed US airlines that they should board travelers who had been barred by an executive order last week.

For those who may be unaware, we are already in the midst of a constitutional crisis, certainly in the embryonic phase.

See also the view from Barbados:

http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/93159/editorial-surely-trump-card-mere-trump-blasts

Acting AG Sally Yates Merits Kudos For Defying BLOTUS

Two years ago it was Sen. Jeff Sessions who grilled Sally Yates on her ability to be impartial, asking:

"If the views the President wishes to execute are unlawful, should the attorney general or deputy attorney general say 'no'"?

Yates didn't hesitate in answering:  "Senator, I believe the attorney general or the deputy attorney general has an obligation to follow the law and the constitution and give their independent legal advice to the President".

This is, in fact, exactly  what Sally Yates did, but it was ignored - after Trump's unlawful "EO" created vast chaos and irreparable harm, leading her to take the action she did.

Millions of us who lived through Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" - when he fired two attorneys general (who refused to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox) - were shocked and horrified when BLOTUS Trump fired Sally Yates last night. What did Ms. Yates do to deserve such ignominious treatment?    According to the Trumpistas, she told justice department lawyers not to defend his executive order banning entry for people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

As I wrote in two previous posts, this was quite correct as none of these so-called "executive orders" has any force of law behind them, having not been properly vetted. Worse, the content clearly is in violation of the Constitution, including equal protection under the law and the establishment of religion clause. Ms Yates saw these violations clearly and acted upon them, as a principled person charged with impartial justice would.

But Trump's gaggle of Nazis, especially Steve Bannon,  didn't see it that way. They  said Sally Yates had “betrayed” the department by refusing to enforce a legal order that was “designed to protect the citizens of the United States”.  Of course this is balderdash, because Trump's scrap sheet decree framed as an "executive order" was unlawful,  carrying no weight, none.  Bannon and the other assholes who drafted it and fired it off didn't even bother to do a modicum of cross- department vetting to ensure it was doable and consistent with existing practices.  Because of this they had to walk back the green card aspect, i.e. initially denying entry to legal green card holders.  Even Iraqis who had helped U.S. troops were included in the insane ban, as well as an Iraqi general fighting ISIS.  As some military experts have put it, this is sheer "insanity" when we need Iraqis to help root out ISIS. 

Nor did Bannon and his fellow reprobates have the sense to alert the affected agencies (e.g. Homeland Security) before releasing it so they could at least get their operations in synch. No, they just dropped the hammer, forcing agencies to cope with the thousands of suddenly affected travelers - including Harvard professors, students, doctors - one from Cleveland Clinic - on the fly. Again, sheer insanity.

Thus, this act of Bannon-Trump's discloses they do not believe in judicial independence and insist the DOJ become their political pet to interject and impose wanton, lawless policy. The very nature of the language used, e.g. "betrayed", indicates this - when Ms, Yates was following the historical and principled position of DOJ independence from political influence.

This is evocative of the Reich Courts which replaced the normal Weimar judiciary during Hitler's reign. Hitler  - like Trump now - insisted and demanded "loyalty" from his judiciary to thereby enact his Reich laws (e.g. which enabled seizing Jewish property)  so well described in many books, such as Konrad Heiden's, 'The Fuhrer'.   My point is that when an independent judiciary is quashed it should be the first sign of impending tyranny to vigilant citizens.

Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe, on MSNBC last night, offered this view, when asked 'how big a deal it was to fire the acting attorney general over this issue'':

"I think it's historic. It certainly reminded me immediately of the Saturday night massacre. One of the main differences is how quickly this has happened with the Trump presidency. It's like history is being collapsed into a black hole and everything is happening faster than the speed of light. It seems to me that because the Sessions nomination is already controversial, because the executive order really challenges who we are as Americans and violates important parts of the Constitution - including the clause forbidding an establishment of religion  - including the many protests against this president, I think this is an important turning point in our history.

I think tonight is part of that extraordinary moment we are living through. "

When next asked if it was right for Trump to relieve Ms. Yates of her job, and replace her, Prof. Tribe responded:

"The President had a choice. He could have arranged for the appointment of a special counsel to defend his position even when the Justice Department wouldn't. There are certain limited cases in our own recent history where the Department of Justice was unwilling to defend a particular law and congress appointed someone to defend it. In this case, it wasn't a law that was an issue but an executive order, the president might have arranged through the White House counsel's office to have his order defended. But for him to turn the Justice Department - because of this discharge- into part of his fiefdom and compromise its independence suggests that he has no commitment to the institutional integrity of the department we rely on to represent the rule of law. And not simply the rule or whim of the president of the United States,"

Note carefully first Prof. Tribe's distinction of a law (e.g. settled law) from executive order. Note also that as opposed to his reckless and tyrannical act of firing Ms. Yates, he had other options. Namely getting his own counsel to defend his order, and even better, make the full case that it comports with the constitution. But this he did not do! Authoritarian narcissist that he is, he insisted conformity of the DOJ with his personal, unlawful decrees and hence making the DOJ "part of his fiefdom"  to quote Professor Tribe.

If we as a nation can't see anything seriously wrong with this, we are beyond hope. However, I am convinced the spreading protests show that enough citizens are aware and are  not prepared to initiate or allow another version of Hitler's Reich Court.

For perspective here, as the country’s top law enforcement official, Ms. Yates  had control over the justice department’s immigration litigation office, which has handled the federal complaints filed against Trump’s order since his bombshell policy was announced on Friday. As she made clear in a letter to justice department lawyers :

“I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right. At present I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful.”

The acting AG's action earned praise from immigration activists and Democrats but within three hours Ms Yates was gone. A propaganda statement from press secretary Sean Spicer's  office
said:

“Ms Yates is an Obama administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration.It is time to get serious about protecting our country. Calling for tougher vetting for individuals travelling from seven dangerous places is not extreme. It is reasonable and necessary to protect our country.”

Of course, this is nonsense only meant to distract from the political basis for the firing. As I noted in the last post, Mike Morrell - former CIA deputy director- noted the ban is purely for show and didn't  get at the core problem. In his words:

"I think the order is going to make the threat worse. It is going to make us less safe. First of all, the biggest problem we face is home-grown terrorism.  Of the roughly hundred people who've been indicted for Isis -related crimes over the last three years, eighty five percent were American citizens. This doesn't get at that at all.... It doesn't make the danger any less and it's playing right into the Isis narrative that it's a war against Islam. So this is going to be a recruitment boon for Isis."

Morrell also exposed the blatant Trump lie that these nations were on Obama's hit list. In fact not. They were really part of a program to enhance the security of a visa-waiver program for people traveling from European countries. So the Trump bunch effectively enhanced and 'weaponized' a nominal visa waiver program.

After firing Ms. Yates. Bannon-Trump drafted Dana Boente to take her place. What we know is that he is the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, and also an Obama appointee.

A White House statement quoted Boente as saying: “I am honored to serve President Trump in this role until Senator Sessions is confirmed. I will defend and enforce the laws of our country to ensure that our people and our nation are protected.”

This may well be a more or less accurate statement. The not so sanguine news this  a.m. (CBS) is that Mr. Boente has ordered the DOJ to comply with Bannon-Trump's "order".   Well, there may be limits to adhering to principles and demonstrating courage in these difficult times. Look how the asshole Sean Spicer even threatened over 100 State Dept. employees even after they used the Dissent Channel - which by law makes them immune to political  threats.

In the meantime, after this new insult, the Democrats must go full ballistic on Trump's nominees including Jeff Sessions. Any Dems voting for these nominees, OR who go against a filibuster for Trump's Supreme Court pick, will be listed by name as Vichy Democrats (collaborators) on this blog. Everyone, from every sphere or occupation, must now grasp the seriousness of the national situation. We are approaching a constitutional crisis because of the extremists now running the country and there will be no peace, no relaxation no cessation of dissent until they are neutralized or removed.

See also:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/opinion/president-bannon.html?_r=0

And:

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/henry-giroux/70955/democracy-in-exile-and-the-curse-of-totalitarianism