Every time someone says, Trump can't do it because it's illegal?

[Fiendish Thingy]

21. Not as black and white as it seems

From your link:

The Post examined 337 lawsuits in total, finding 165 cases in which judges had ruled against the administration. The Trump White House has been accused of “defying or frustrating court oversight” in 57 cases, or around 35 percent of rulings or orders made against them, the analysis found — an unprecedented amount, according to legal experts speaking to the publication

“Frustrating court oversight” is legalese for playing procedural games as a form of delaying compliance with a court order, which Trump is an expert at as we have seen. That is distinct from openly defying a court order, which has only happened a handful of times.

Note that neither the article at your link, and the WaPo report it references, distinguishes between or defines what the difference is between “frustrating judicial oversight” and open defiance, nor do they give any specific examples of the former.

Despite this administration’s acting with lawless impunity, we must remember this one absolute truth:

Trump is not omnipotent, and the states and the people are not powerless

I think the more interesting, and important, question is: if this administration is truly a wholly unrestrained dictatorship, why do they comply at all?

At the very least Somebody is afraid of going to jail, or more likely, getting disbarred, and so is probably aggressively advocating for compliance with orders that can’t be gamed in court.