As the President of the United States, Donald Trump is openly telling America that he doesn’t know if it’s his job to uphold the Constitution. He also claims he doesn’t understand due process because he’s not a lawyer, although he has expressed his desire to terminate the Constitution, be dictator for a day, and become President for a third term.
His top White House advisor, Stephen Miller, otherwise known as Budget Goebbels and Pee-Wee German, told the press the Administration is actively looking to suspend habeas corpus because America is currently under “invasion.” The FBI Director Kash Patel, who was a public defender, also claims not to understand the right to due process enshrined in the 5th Amendment. Meanwhile, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem continues to parrot the lies that demonize innocent immigrants who were sent to die in an El Salvador prison despite being charged with zero crimes.
The Administration has openly defied the 9-0 Supreme Court ruling that ordered the return of Abrego Kilmar Garcia, a Maryland man who is one of the immigrants illegally kidnapped and sent to El Salvador. It has also ignored federal judges who have blocked the Administration and DOGE from dismantling government agencies and firing employees.
However, why would Trump listen to the judiciary when the conservative majority on the Supreme Court told him he has “absolute immunity” for official acts, thereby giving the President expansive powers in direct opposition to the limits placed by the founding fathers? There’s no “originalism” here. It’s just a shameless manipulation of the law by right-wing extremists in black robes to achieve their ultimate goal of creating a Christian nationalist utopia. We also know that the spouses of Justice Alito and Thomas supported the violent insurrectionists, and both have been financially groomed by right-wing sugar daddies.
In this Chai Talk, Professor of Law Leah Litman warns us there are no moderates in this corrupt, rotten, conservative Supreme Court majority. In her latest book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes, she breaks down how these Justices aren’t practicing law, protecting democracy, or acting as a check on Trump’s ascendant fascism. They are complicit actors bankrolled by wealthy Republican donors and part of a decades-long plan to cement right-wing minoritarian rule. However, don’t lose hope: Professor Litman says the majority can still fight back.
Give us a watch.
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