Salon: Trump declares "war" -- and, yes, our full-blown constitutional crisis is here

[Hal Zerozerozeronine]

On OCTOBER 9, 2019 1:00PM (UTC), Heather Digby Parton writes:

The leading headline on the New York Times site on Tuesday evening was, "White House Declares War on Impeachment Inquiry." That refers to the astonishing letter produced by the White House counsel's office declaring that the impeachment inquiry is invalid because the Democrats are seeking to overturn the 2016 election. Since impeachment, by definition, is a constitutional process to overturn an election, that contention is embarrassingly daft.

But that's beside the point. This document signals that the White House has decided to formally defy the Congress and challenge its clear constitutional power to check a president who has committed treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The Trump administration has declared that the concept of checks and balances is no longer operative in the United States Constitution. In fact, I don't know if we can be sure anyone in the White House or the Republican Party thinks the Constitution is still operative at all.

As Stephen Colbert put it late on Tuesday:

Link to tweet

It wasn't just the comedians saying so. Conservative legal scholars and Republican insiders have joined in.

https://www.salon.com/2019/10/09/trump-declares-war-and-yes-our-full-blown-constitutional-crisis-is-happening-now/

Obviously, there's more at the link.

[empedocles]

1. Wonder if trump outreach to 'outside counsel', is a sign that some real

lawyers may be balking at signing off on, etc., obvious trump [crazy] orders?

Get more good 'out house' lawyers, like ghouli.

[Six117]

3. If we as a nation survive this

Every lawyer who participated in this obstruction should be brought before the Bar to answer for their behavior since they are clearly not abiding by their oath to support the Constitution.

[2naSalit]

2. K&R