Trump abuses show we must turn traditions into law: Bharara and Whitman

[fleur-de-lisa]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/29/trump-abuses-show-we-must-turn-traditions-into-laws-preet-bharara-christine-todd-whitman-column/1063619001/

By Preet Bharara and Christine Todd Whitman

One year into the Trump presidency, it’s clear that the norms and boundaries traditionally guiding American political behavior have deeply eroded. That matters greatly. A workable democracy can thrive only when there are basic rules, often unwritten, that curb abuse and guide policymakers. Though the two of us are from different political parties, we both believe that now is the time to ensure the president and all our public officials adhere to basic rules of the road. It’s time to turn soft norms into hard law.

So far, President Trump has refused to divorce himself from his business interests, despite decades of tradition. He has repeatedly tried to influence federal criminal investigations. Policymaking processes have become haphazard. And we now see worrisome attacks on the independent press. All this shows just how easily a chief executive can ignore the unwritten rules that typically constrain presidents. We see similar erosion elsewhere in government, too. For example, a major tax bill, affecting the whole economy, enacted with no committee hearings.

Trump is extreme, but he is not the first president to breach core constitutional norms. Our system relies on checks and balances, constitutional commands that are implicit in our founding document but often not spelled out with specificity. Everyone in the political process must act as if limited by invisible guardrails to avoid abuse of power. But at moments of stress or executive impudence, what was assumed to be a solid restriction on improper conduct turns out to be flimsy, relying too much on goodwill or unspoken understandings. When that happens, reform often follows scandal and controversy.

Today, we’re launching an independent democracy task force at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law to holistically review these informal rules, which ones should remain guidelines, and perhaps which ones should be enshrined into law. We’ll examine norms surrounding financial conflicts, political interference with law enforcement, the use of government data and science, the appointment of public officials and any other issues that may arise in the coming months. We will be joined by experts and former officials from both parties. The goal is to issue a set of recommendations, policies that can be enacted that mend the gaps in our system and ensure we have a government that functions ably, competently and with the trust of the American people.

[gibraltar72]

1. Ya think?

[malaise]

2. Off to the greatest page for thee

Rec

[annabanana]

3. Actually the "Honor System" lasted a lot longer

than I would have believed. It speaks to the integrity of the majority of our lawmakers up to now.

[RandomAccess]

4. Oh, thank GAWD*

I'm SO relieved to read this. That Bharara guy is one of my heroes, and this is a PERFECT thing to be doing.

The other thing we need to do is compile a list of all the wreckage Trump is doing -- all the regulations getting upended, all the EOs cancelling other stuff, all the files being dumped in various agencies, etc. -- so we can start to rebuild once our long national actual nightmare is over.

(*GAWD - God, A Woman Deity)

[fleur-de-lisa]

5. Agreed.

Most of this bullshit can be undone, but the appointment of Federal judges to lifetime positions worries me. I guess that's why the republicans are jamming them through as soon as possible. They know their party is going down in flames.

[RandomAccess]

7. Yes. I'm hoping we can ramp up the

impeachment machine for some of them. I know, it's a long shot, but -- I can dream, can't I?

[lagomorph777]

8. +1

I completely agree. We could start with a compilation of all the executive orders and (de)regulatory "rule-making" (rule-breaking). Also need to repeal everything that's been passed in Congress (except the un-implemented Russia sanctions).

[lagomorph777]

6. Yeah, I'm tired of hearing about "norms."

We have to build in serious consequences for anti-Constitutional behavior.

If America survives this crisis, we have a lot of rebuilding to do; a major overhaul of voting protections and a lot more.

[OnDoutside]

9. I hope someone has been keeping a list of all the fixes that need to be made !

[marked50]

10. This sounds good

but what seems to be happening is that even "laws" are being broken and nothing is happening because the perps control all three branches of government. Take the emoluments clause of the Constitution as one example.

[NewJeffCT]

11. Step 1

1) Pass a law overturning citizen's united and require full disclosure for all political donations.

2) All candidates must release tax returns for at least the last 7 years. If a candidate has had any financial issues (i.e., bankruptcies), tax returns must go back for at least three years prior to the bankruptcy. Failure to do so renders candidate ineligible for that office.

3) All candidates must put any and all business interests into a blind trust administered by a neutral third party amenable to congressional leadership of both parties.

I'm sure I could come up with more given time