Congress must be a check on Trump to avoid a Constitutional crisis - 538

[orangecrush]

The term “constitutional crisis” is a slippery and overused one. Quite often, the Constitution offers us a roadmap for addressing transgressions. The Civil War was a true constitutional crisis because there was substantial disagreement over a basic aspect of the national compact (Could states leave?) and the two disagreeing sides were each well-armed and convinced of their rectitude. But to call a presidential abuse of power a crisis of the constitutional system is like calling a bank robbery a crisis of the financial system. It’s not. There are ways to address it.

The problem comes when the relevant actors simply won’t perform their constitutional duties because of other considerations. Trump has violated all manner of norms in the early months of his presidency — he hasn’t divested from his business interests, his daughter has a West Wing office, her husband represents the nation abroad, he falsely accuses his predecessor of crimes, he conducts foreign policy outdoors at a restaurant and using unsecured phones, etc. — and those violations have largely gone unaddressed by one of the two branches of government in charge of regulating him. (The judicial branch, of course, has been a consistent thorn in Trump’s side.) But we face new norm violations today, including the president’s threatening the former FBI director over Twitter.

If Congress continues its investigation into Russian interference in the election and assures that the FBI does the same, then the Constitution’s checks and balances could end up working. (That investigation could, of course, lead to another kind of crisis, depending on what it concluded.) But if Trump continues to interfere in the FBI’s activity, and Congress doesn’t step up its own investigation, we could end up in a true constitutional crisis.

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/fivethirtyeight.com/features/congress-must-be-a-check-on-trump-to-avoid-a-constitutional-crisis/amp/


Keep calling your congress persons, keep the pressure on.

There is too much at stake not to.

[onecaliberal]

1. Russia stole the election. That boat has already sailed.

[JHB]

2. If you stop fighting they win by default

[onecaliberal]

4. Hmm I just re-read my comment. Don't see where I said we stop fighting.

I sad we're IN a constitutional crisis.

[orangecrush]

6. Too much fight

In us to stop.

45 gives me motivation daily.

[orangecrush]

5. Good point. n/t

[spanone]

3. constitutional crisis overused??? never heard it used once in the last 8 years.

or 16 years.

[orangecrush]

7. Last I remember hearing it

Was Watergate.