More Threats of Authoritarianism

In what seems to be turning into a trend, I woke up with plans to write about one topic this morning but changed my mind before I actually sat down to start the post. Today there was even a further complicating factor. So much is happening that I couldn't actually decide between topics. Therefore, I am going to touch on a few different items from the news. Collectively, these developments are warnings about the authoritarianism taking over the United States.

The first news item that I want to address is not actually happening in the United States. In yesterday's blog post, I explained how cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump, who had been elected partially because he was believed to be anti-war, has launched a war against Yemen on behalf of Israel. While we slept, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initiated his own war by breaking the ceasefire in Gaza and launching massive attacks on the territory. At least 350 Palestinians, as usual mostly women and children, have been killed already.

As I explained yesterday, Netanyahu is desperately trying to stay out of prison and needs to keep his fragile political coalition intact in order to have any hope of doing so. His government includes two literal terrorists. One of them, Itamar Ben Gvir, ironically the Minister of National Security, has been boycotting cabinet meetings and demanding that Netanyahu fire the director of the Shin Bet intelligence agency in order to return. While Netanyahu cannot legally take that step, he has attempted to do so anyway. The second, Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister of Finance, has been refusing to vote in favor of the budget which must be approved by March 31 unless Israel's war with Gaza was renewed. Netanyahu took that step yesterday. You will likely hear many justifications for Israel's actions, with blame being placed on Hamas, but the simple truth is that this fighting is a result of Netanyahu's precarious political situation. Also, if you believe that I am exaggerating by identifying Ben Gvir and Smotrich as terrorists, just do your own search on their names.

The obvious tragedy here is that hundreds, and likely thousands before it is over, of Palestinians will die needlessly. The same may be true of the remaining Israelis being held captive by Hamas. However, it is also notable that Trump is now pursuing exactly the same policy regarding Gaza as former President Joe Biden. All of those who voted for Trump with the expectation that his policies would be better than those of Vice President Kamala Harris can now accept that they were wrong. Trump, like Biden, has acquiesced to Netanyahu and put Netanyahu's personal interests above those of the U.S.

The second item that I want to discuss is the illegal takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace by staff of the U.S. DOGE Service (generally referred to as DOGE). The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) is an independent, nonprofit organization established by Congress. The Institute is not part of the executive branch, and its statutory mandate only allows limited budgetary oversight by the Office of Management and Budget. Otherwise, Trump has no authority over the organization. Nevertheless, DOGE has been attempting to take over the Institute. Last week, DOGE staffers attempted to enter the Institute's headquarters and were rebuffed by USIP staff. Yesterday, DOGE staff returned but were aided by the FBI and District of Columbia Metropolitan Police. As a result, the USIP staff was evicted, and DOGE successfully occupied the building.

This is a dangerous development on many levels. First, it is a clear-cut case of DOGE exceeding its authority. If the Trump administration sincerely believes that it controls the Institute and that USIP staff was acting illegally, the proper course of action would have been to obtain a court order supporting their claim. Instead, the administration apparently engaged in a series of corrupt actions. It is very likely that someone within the FBI leadership gave an illegal order to subordinates. The FBI, in turn, recruited the support of the MPD. This put the FBI and MPD officers on the ground in a difficult situation. They are trained to follow orders, not adjudicate political control of an organization. Control of USIP will now be an issue for the courts to decide. But, as has become a recurring theme of the Trump administration, the legal process will take time, the Trump administration's cooperation will be grudging at best, and Trump may simply ignore outcomes with which he disagrees. This is likely a very minor blip on most people's radars, if they are aware of it at all. But authoritarianism starts with small steps, undemocratic behaviors are normalized, and eventually become accepted and expected. This is the sort of event that should be sounding alarms among those who are concerned about preserving our democracy.

Another threat to our democracy involves legal proceedings being overseen by Judge James Boasberg. On Saturday, the Trump administration deported 200 migrants to El Salvador, where they will be held in a prison notorious for its brutality. The migrants are not Salvadoran, but rather Venezuelans that the administration accuses of being members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. It is important to note that the accusations about gang membership are simply claims by the government — often based on nothing more than tattoos — and have not been adjudicated or subject to judicial review. It is not only possible, but likely, that the deportees include those who have been wrongly accused of belonging to the gang. Boasberg had ruled on Saturday that Trump could not deport the migrants. While two of the three aircraft carrying them were in the air, Boasberg ordered that the planes return. The Trump administration, however, ignored the judge.

On Friday, prior to the hearing, Trump signed an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. This act gives the President the right to deport foreign nationals in times of war. This was a law cited by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to intern more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II. Trump also announced plans for the immediate deportation of 200 Venezuelans. The American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward immediately went to court to stop the deportations. Boasberg gave a verbal order directing the government to return the two planes that were in the air with their occupants and to stop the third from taking off. Not only did the planes not return as ordered, but the El Salvadoran President mocked the judge's order in a tweet that was retweeted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. If the Trump administration's plans to ignore Judge Boasberg were not clear enough, Trump's border czar Tom Homan made it plain, saying, "We’re not stopping. I don’t care what the judges think."

U.S. government lawyers — apparently believing that Boasberg was born yesterday — tried to convince the Judge that the Trump administration did not violate his orders. His order, they said, was verbal, and the written order came too late. This led an exasperated Boasberg to explain to the lawyers that verbal orders were also authoritative. When the government lawyers attempted to distinguish between verbal and written orders, Boasberg said, "That’s a heckuva stretch." Government lawyers have also argued that Boasberg has no authority to interfere with Trump's authority to protect Americans. The lawyers refused to answer many of Boasberg's questions, citing national security justifications. The icing on the cake in this episode is that after angering the judge and provoking considerable annoyance to be displayed from the bench, the Trump administration is now asking that Boasberg be removed from the case because they don't like his questions. Another hearing is scheduled for today, and this will likely be a long-running affair.

This deportation controversy is another example of creeping authoritarianism. Trump believes that he can detain and deport non-citizens without judicial review, based on nothing more than an accusation. His administration further believes that, in such matters, courts can be ignored. Trump is known to be an admirer of President Andrew Jackson. Jackson is said to have stated in response to a Supreme Court decision that, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" In that case, there was not anything for the Supreme Court to enforce, so there was no subsequent constitutional crisis. The proceedings before Boasberg are different, and Trump appears determined to simply ignore him.

Related to the deportation controversy is how it is being exploited by Republicans. Honesty is apparently not considered a virtue among that crowd. There have been repeated claims that Democrats are trying to protect violent gang members. Never mind that there is no evidence beyond Trump's claims that those being deported are violent gang members. I am sure just about everyone would support the deportation of those who are proven to be Tren de Aragua members, but there is no such confirmation in this case. More importantly, it is a court, not Democrats, that has tried to stop the deportations. This is another common tactic of authoritarians. They take illegal actions and justify them in the interest of public safety. Then they demagogue any who object by questioning their patriotism. We need to be clear about what is happening in our country. Trump and his associates are trying little by little to remove our liberties. Once the principle has been established that individuals can be grabbed off the street, not provided judicial review, and courts ignored, who will be safe?

Update: Trump has now called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached due to his ruling against Trump. Trump's Truth Social "truth" has to be seen to be believed:

This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President - He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY. I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

Second Update: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has responded to Trump:

"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."

Third Update: A D.C. Metropolitan Police press release clarified that it got involved with the U.S. Institute of Peace shenanigans after a telephone call from the MAGA Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin, about whom I have previously written. USIP also appears to have both a president in exile (he was ousted by Trump but considers his removal to have been illegal) and a Trump-appointed President. The Trump appointee convinced the police to side with him and DOGE.