Texas Sues in the Supreme Court

 The course charted by Donald Trump, to upend the Constitution and remain in power despite his election loss, has reached an inflection point. The crime-ridden Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, has asked the Supreme Court to set aside the election results in four swing states, claiming violations of the Constitution impacting Texas and other states. While Paxton may simply be courting a pardon from Trump, the Supreme Court has directed that a response be made by the four states by this Thursday afternoon. If the court does not then peremptorily toss out this frivolous lawsuit our democracy will be in dire peril.

Coupled with Mr. Trump’s installation of his acolytes at the head of the Defense Department, paving the way for employment of the military to perpetuate his power grab, we have reached a moment in history that will determine the fate of this nation.

Prosecuting Trump a Bad Idea?

 Prof. Eric Posner is right to caution against a federal prosecution of an ex-president Trump (A27, 12/4). It would perpetuate and increase national division, likely would not succeed and would allow Mr. Trump to achieve the martyrdom he seeks.

Mr. Trump, however, should not be given virtual immunity from state prosecution for pre-presidential crimes even though such prosecutions may run the same risk of undesirable consequences. If Mr. Trump’s past tax and credit frauds are overlooked, he will have every incentive to continue conducting himself and his business in the same illicit manner and,seemingly, will have been granted a “stay out of jail card” as he does so.That is too high a price to pay for the prospect of restoring national unity.

Thank You, Justice Gorsuch?

 

Bret Stephens, in his op-ed "Thank You, Justice Gorsuch" suggests that someday liberals will celebrate the recent ruling  of the Supreme Court on religious liberty. I suggest that Mr. Stephens completely misconstrues the ruling and the liberal mindset. The decision, which enjoined Gov. Cuomo's restrictions on the size of religious gatherings during an upsurge in the pandemic, seems to substitute the judgment of the justices for that of public health experts, in contravention of earlier rulings.

Mr. Stephens uplifts Justice Gorsuch's reach for literary sheen ("Government is not free to disregard the First Amendment in times of crisis" and "Even if the Constitution has taken a holiday during the pandemic, it cannot become a sabbatical").

Yes it can and yes it may, depending on the degree and duration of the danger to be avoided. 

Freedom of speech may be curtailed if it imperils public safety, constitutes a threat, is found to be obscene or defames an individual or group. The right to assemble is subject to reasonable, content-neutral, narrowly tailored limitations. Thus, a large group planning to march on a busy thoroughfare may be required to obtain a permit.

These limitations do not make the protected rights "second-class" just as health-driven restrictions on religious observance, based on scientific determination , do not unconstitutionally infringe religious liberty.

Election Fraud Claims

 Having turned truth on its head for four years it is hardly surprising that Donald Trump has now taken on the rewriting of the civil law. Since time immemorial the law has required that the party alleging fraud has the burden of proof, usually by the heightened standard of clear and convincing evidence. But Mr. Trump, incredulous that Joe Biden could have received 80 million votes, has tweeted that he will vacate the White House only if Mr. Biden proves that his vote total was not fraudulently obtained. A good lawyer, if only Trump had one, would counsel her client that the legal system doesn’t work that way. But it seems that it will be left to the courts to deliver the message. In the meantime,  Mr. Trump embarrasses himself, sows national discord and makes our democracy an object of pity and a laughingstock internationally.

Trump Appointees Show Clout as Justices Scrap Limits on Congregations

 

The Trump-constructed conservative majority on the Supreme Court has now made it clear that, while limitations on free speech imposed by obscenity and defamation laws are acceptable, reasonable and temporary restrictions on the size of prayer meetings, designed to protect public health, are anathema.

Justices who usually defer to the expertise of partisan politicians when it comes to drawing voting maps, now substitute their lay judgment to override the scientifically-based advice of epidemiologists  about how best to combat a pandemic.

Apparently, these justices believe it is constitutionally more important to shelter sensitive ears and protect fragile reputations than it is to safeguard the public's health.

Trump Pardons Flynn

 An unintended yet powerful reminder of how President Trump corrupted the criminal justice system, and how close we came to losing our democracy, is Mr. Trump's pardon today of Michael Flynn. Mr. Flynn, a confessed liar, was fired by President Trump for misinforming the Vice President about his dealings with the Russians and because he was vulnerable to Russian extortion. Notwithstanding, Mr. Trump fired FBI Director James Comey for resisting presidential pressure to drop the case against Flynn and, then, had his Attorney General, William Barr, finish  the job (or so he thought) by moving to dismiss before a court could impose sentence. When the court required Mr. Barr to explain his inexplicable and unprecedented turnabout, Mr. Trump delayed until the election ended and then granted today's pardon.

Now we await with apprehension the final blows this roundly rejected president may deliver to the rule of law as he makes his flailing exit from office.

Trump Moves to Hem Biden In

 

President Trump and his administration are laying economic, environmental, and diplomatic mine fields calculated to prevent, hinder and disrupt the new president’s programs to restore the economy, protect our climate, equalize justice and create a more peaceful world.
Trump has launched an eleventh hour maelstrom to seed the courts and federal agencies with long serving ultra conservatives, suspend protective regulations, forfeit funds for economic recovery, award drilling leases on pristine lands, harden rifts with our adversaries and widen the separation from our allies.
This unhinged rampage is the vengeful and destructive work of an egomaniac determined to bring down the nation that rejected him and to insure the failure of his successor.
It is time for Republicans to realize that the boat being scuttled will carry all of us to the bottom.