White House lawyers prepping legal justification for national emergency

[DonViejo]

Source: CNN



2 hr 25 min ago

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

Part of the White House counsel's office review of declaring a national emergency has included laying the groundwork for a legal defense of the move, according to officials familiar with the matter.

That has included advising the President's aides on ramping up talk of the humanitarian and security "crisis" — a characterization that administration lawyers could use later in court to defend a national emergency. The lawyers have suggested the more times the term is used, the more citations they will have in filing a legal defense. Trump and others in the White House began using that term more frequently over the past week.

The lawyers are looking for other ways to illustrate that an emergency is underway, recognizing a declaration would be challenged by Democrats. That has also included hosting lawmakers in the Situation Room for talks, a setting that lends to the sense of crisis.

The counsel's office review of the emergency powers as it relates to the border began in the middle of last week, officials said. Trump said today his legal team has told him he has the "absolute right" to declare an emergency.

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Read more: https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/government-shutdown-january-2019/h_85a25615417e16a4bd4a1b2e0507ee82

[Botany]

1. Trump said today his legal team has told him he has the "absolute right" to declare an emergency.

No, the national emergency is that Trump is President because of his collusion with a hostile
foreign power, manipulation of our elections, and the GOP/media that went right along with
this coup.

Trump is the national emergency.

[RockRaven]

2. There are many things which POTUS has an "absolute right" to do which, when abused such as

in this case for political purposes, Congress has an absolute right AND duty to impeach and remove the scumbag.

If he declares a national emergency, someone in the House should introduce articles of impeachment immediately solely based on this episode.

[sprinkleeninow]

12. This already. eom

[cstanleytech]

18. Agreed as it would be a violation of his oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution"

because the power of the purse does not sit with the President.
If it did then the next Democratic President could use it to institute medicare for everyone under the claim that there is a national healthcare crisis.

[dalton99a]

20. +1. It is a constitutional duty

[benld74]

3. NO court will allow this to proceed

[TomCADem]

14. No Case Is So Good, It Can't Be Lost

Also, even if Trump loses in the courts below, the Supreme Court May go along with it with two Trump lackeys. At minimum, you will have Kavanaugh bending over backwards to support Trump.

[C_U_L8R]

4. It's a fraud.

Phony to the very core. There is no emergency.

[elleng]

5. Arrests For Illegal Border Crossings Hit 46-Year Low.

'Arrests of people trying to cross illegally into the U.S. from Mexico plunged to the lowest level since 1971, as fewer people attempted the trek, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday.

Meanwhile, immigration arrests in the interior of the country increased by 25 percent, the data show.'

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/05/568546381/arrests-for-illegal-border-crossings-hit-46-year-low?

[Botany]

7. I wonder how many undocumented workers Trump has had or still has working for him ...

.... @ his golf courses, restaurants, hotels, and construction sites?

BTW nice post.

[elleng]

8. Thanks.

Hundreds, I suspect.

[cstanleytech]

19. I suspect some of that may be due to the fact that wages in the US have been held down for so

many decades by employers for the average worker that the pay now is not as good as it used to be where as pay in other countries has continued to gradually rise.
In other words the Repugnants are closer to getting their dream of turning this country into a third world nation.

[duforsure]

6. Maybe they'll include

How trump hires illegals, gives them fake green cards, yet claims its a crisis. Also , he doesn't do background checks, and has no idea who they are but hires them at probably all his businesses in this country. His phony crisis act isn't going to work.

[EleanorR]

9. Ask republicans why no wall for 2 years if there's a crisis

If there is a crisis, why didn't they go nuclear and vote for the wall? Eh, McConnell? Seems republicans did not, and do not, believe there's a crisis.

[JudyM]

13. That's the evidence against their argument, right there. Show how it has materially changed.

[GeorgeGist]

10. One thing is certain...

WH lawyers are for shit.e.g.Rudi

[sprinkleeninow]

11. 'Prepping' for a proctological exam? 🤣

Q: Did you hear about the depressed proctologist?

A: He's been feeling down in the dumps.

[orangecrush]

15. I pray

The new Democrats are preparing for this as well.

[area51]

16. Oh, an emergency is indeed underway,

but it's the 45k people dying every year due to lack of healthcare (see sig line), not a bogus immigration "crisis" like Donald likes to claim.

[Maxheader]

17. IMHO

The very fact it is taking so much of the white house attorneys time to get a legal declaration of what an emergency is...tends to nullify

that very declaration...No basis, no need..

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. It's all about keeping him in the headlines, for anything but conspiring with the Russians

Donald Trump said on Friday that he does not plan to declare a national emergency – a day after suggesting he would “probably” do so.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting over the government shutdown and the border wall, Trump said: “What we’re not looking to do right now is national emergency.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/jan/11/trump-government-shutdown-democrats-congress-latest-live?page=with:block-5c38f80ce4b0cebe761849ec#block-5c38f80ce4b0cebe761849ec

The TV speech, the 'will he/won't he' "emergency", the visit to the area - all designed to make him look like someone who takes decisions. It would fit in with an episode of The Apprentice. The media ought to ignore anything that's just a statement from him, because it means fuck all.