Unchecked Executive Power

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

It amazes me that against all facts, and common sense, one of the primary arguments I get from leftists and #nevertrump conservatives is that President Donald Trump is guilty of abusing his executive power.  The argument begins with his executive order regarding travel restrictions for persons from particular countries (either of Muslim-majority or communist countries), and ignores the long list of unchecked executive power abuses by Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.

The accusation that Trump is guilty of unchecked executive power is a manufactured argument, and from a constitutional point of view he has been acting in accordance with the Constitution when it comes to his executive powers more than any President of the United States since Calvin Coolidge, save for perhaps President Ronald Reagan.

Let's examine some of the accusations, and compare their arguments to the U.S. Constitution.

● Obstruction of Justice - The charge began before there was any alleged evidence, but the firing of FBI Director James Comey seemed to be the smoking gun the liberal left was looking for.  The Democrats were hoping Special Counsel Robert Meuller was building an obstruction of justice case when he began interviewing Comey, and rumors began flowing that an interview of President Trump was next.  The thing is, the FBI Director works under the President as part of the executive branch, and at the pleasure of the President of the United States.  So, if the President wishes to fire the FBI Director, he can.  In no way was his firing of Comey unconstitutional.  Comey lied under oath.  His firing was not only constitutional, but the reasonable thing to do considering the FBI Director's inability to tell the truth.

● Double Jeopardy Against Hillary Clinton - President Donald Trump has called for the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation against his formal electoral rival, Hillary Clinton.  The Democrats are claiming the push to investigate Hillary Clinton is an abuse of power because she has already been investigated by the FBI, and the result was that the FBI recommended that there should be no filing of criminal charges.  But, if the deep state controlled the FBI during those investigations, and there were payoffs and deception used by persons like Comey, is that previous investigation acceptable as being the final word? Why would anyone believe the findings of an investigation where it has been proven that people involved in that investigation have been willing to lie under oath, and hated Trump so much that language like that by Strzok and Page was being used?

● Religious Test for Refugees - The liberal left says that Trump hates Mexicans, and that he wishes to ban everyone of the Muslim faith from entering the United States.  If banning all Muslims from coming into the country due to their religious faith was the President's goal, wouldn't all 57 Muslim-majority countries in the world be on his travel restrictions executive order?  The fact is, the executive order in question was about terrorism, and countries that directly harbor terrorists, and fund terrorism.  As for the argument that based on the law he cannot apply a religious test to immigration, that is actually false.  Constitutionally, language regarding religious tests only exists in Article VI., and applies only to office holders, and the process they must navigate to achieve their position.  Besides, if his executive orders were all about keeping Muslims out of the country, why was North Korea later added?

● Trump used his executive position to bully the NFL into forcing players to stand during the National Anthem - President Trump did not use his position to force the NFL to do anything.  He gave his opinion that what he saw at games with players kneeling during the anthem was wrong.  In the end, the NFL is a private business, and their policies on the actions of their players are their business.  At no point did the President order the NFL to operate in any specific manner, nor was legislation passed to impose the federal government's will upon the private business.

● Trump's Immigration Policy Violates the 4th and 14th Amendments by depriving immigrants of due process and threatening them with unreasonable searches and seizures - The argument only applies if crossing the border illegally is not illegal, and the reality is, by crossing the border without going through proper immigration protocol, illegal aliens have committed a crime.  Repeated offense makes the crime a felony.  We have immigration judges and immigration courts which provide due process, anyway, and a search and seizure is not unreasonable if it is a part of an investigation of a crime, such as crossing the border illegally.

There are more, and I welcome additions to the list by liberals.  Leave a comment to do so.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary