Ari Melber schools Trump on due process and the fact that he doesn’t have the power to pick the other branches of the government.
Video:
Melber said:
Donald Trump spent last week on the defensive and partly caved over his border policy. Tonight, he is clearly eager to turn the corner. Let me tell you exactly what’s happening. Your president is advocating a blatantly unconstitutional proposal to gut due process inside the United States. From a legal perspective, the good news tonight is due process is not a choice for politicians. This is not Donald Trump’s call. It is a right secured in the fifth amendment and upheld by judges. Trump raised a new topic that underscores limits on his own power and maybe limits on his knowledge because it is one thing to say you want to get tougher on the border and another to propose things that are so unconstitutional that basically everyone knows, including your allies in Congress, you can’t do the thing you’re talking about.
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The president doesn’t want judges. That sound you hear is the sound of no one caring. Nobody. Because under our constitution presidents do not pick other branches of government. Tonight, I can tell you as a legal matter, no one cares if Donald Trump wants or doesn’t want judges.
Trump can’t end due process
It doesn’t matter what Trump wants. Trump can’t unilaterally hire more ICE and border control agents. Congress has to pass the bill and approve the funding. Trump can’t decide whether or not migrants get due process. That is a matter for the Judicial Branch of the United States government. Trump can’t comprehend that he is not a king or a dictator. He is one-third of a system of governance.
Donald Trump got totally schooled by Ari Melber, who demonstrated the dangers of having a president who is completely clueless about the Constitution.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
