The first shots were fired this week in the war between the White House and the American judiciary
By Tom Arms
The first shots were fired this week in the war between the White House and the American judiciary.
As expected, the courts have moved to block Donald Trump’s disregard for the constitution and the rule of law and to nudge him toward legality.
Not so expected is the Republicans response: The threat of impeachment.
So far four judges have either been threatened with impeachment or have had articles of impeachment lodged against them in the House of Representatives. They are:
- Judge Paul Engelmayer issued an order preventing DOGE from accessing the federal payments system.
- Judge John Bates ruled that health agencies must restore data related to gender-affirming care,
- Judge Amir Ali granted a temporary restraining order that halted Trump’s 90-day suspension of foreign aid.
- Judge John McConell ordered the White House to lift a freeze on federal spending.
But the bulk of the White House’s venom has been saved for and directed against Judge James Boasberg. He had the temerity to challenge the administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected Venezuelan gang members to an El Salvadorean prison.
Read: Is the Trump administration’s conflict with judges a constitutional crisis?
The deportation was wrong on so many counts. For a start, the deportees were suspected criminals. They had not been convicted in a court of law. Furthermore, the Alien Enemies Act allows for the deportation of citizens of countries with which the US is at war. America is not at war with Venezuela. Finally, the administration ignored the judge’s ruling not to land the deportees in El Salvador and to return to the US.
Trump has chosen his fight well. Immigrants are unpopular. Immigrants who are suspected members of a violent Venezuelan gang even more so. So, MAGA—and the Republican Congress—is standing four-square behind Trump.
“If the liberals want to fight us on issue of deporting violent criminals,“ said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, “then bring them on. We’re ready and waiting.”
Opposing the emotive issue of violent gangs is the rule of law. Suspected criminals are protected by the law from imprisonment or deportation until such time as they are convicted. And even then, there are laws against cruel and unjust punishment.
This, however, has not stopped Trump and his supporters. Boasberg and the other judges have been subjected to death threats. Anonymous pizza deliveries have been made to their homes with the message: “We know where you live.” Elon Musk and MAGA activist Laura Loomer have attacked Boasberg’s daughter. Ms. Leavitt went after his wife. Attorney General Pam Bondi called the Bush appointee a “Democratic activist” and accused him of meddling in foreign security.
Trump, however, went the full distance by appending Boasberg“–a rogue judge”—to the list of judge to the to-be-impeached list.
That was too much for Chief Justice John Roberts whose job is to protect the rule of law and the constitution as well as to preside over the Supreme Court. In a clear rebuke to the president, he said: “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”
The defeated Democrats are in disarray. A Republican Congress is supine. The courts are the only American institution left standing between the rule of law and Trumpian chaos. The battle lines have been drawn. The first shots have been fired. Battle has commenced.
World Review
World ReviewTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is on a high. His Syrian proxy is in power in Damascus. The Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan has called on his followers to lay down their arms and disband. Kurdish fighters in Syria are doing that and amalgamating their forces with those of the new Erdogan-backed government.
It is the perfect time for the Turkish president to go after his domestic opposition. And that is exactly what he has done.
This week he arrested his chief political opponent—Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu– on charges of corruption and aiding and abetting terrorists. Funnily enough, the arrest came just before Imamoglu was due to be nominated as the candidate for the presidency by the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The elections are not due until 2028, but the opposition wanted to give Imamoglu the maximum campaign time to break the stranglehold that Erdogan has on the media, courts, police and electoral processes.
Erdogan shouldn’t be worried about the Istanbul mayor simply because he has announced that he is retiring in 2028 when his term of office ends. In fact, he has to retire. Unless… he changes the constitution.
The current constitution limits the president to two terms in office. Erdoğan was first elected in 2014, but changed the constitution so that he was able to serve three consecutive terms instead of the two under the old constitution.
Erdoğan has made statements in the past indicating that he would retire in 2028, but there’s also speculation that he might seek to alter the constitution or push for an extension of his term. Both of which are possible given the dominance of his Law and Justice Party (AKP). And his chances are improved even more by the elimination of the only personality presenting a serious challenge.
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In 2007 President George W. Bush declared: “I looked into the soul of President Putin and found a man I could trust.” He later admitted that that he was wrong.
In 2014 Putin denied that Russian troops were in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. They were “local militia” or “volunteers,” he claimed. He also denied any intention of annexing Crimea. He lied about the “volunteers” and annexed Crimea.
In July 2014 Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over Eastern Ukraine. Putin blamed the Ukrainians. A multinational investigation determined it was the Russians.
At Helsinki, the Russian leader told Donald Trump that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 US presidential elections. The Mueller Report and every one of the US intelligence agencies said it did. Putin dismissed the allegations as part of a wider conspiracy against Russia.
In 2018 former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with novichok in the quiet English town of Salisbury. Putin said it had nothing to do with Russia. British intelligence determined that he ordered the attempted assassination and identified the assassins.
In 2022 French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were repeatedly told by the Russian President that he would not attack Ukraine. Then he attacked.
The above are a small sample of the untruths uttered by President Putin. They and many more are the reason that President Volodomyr Zelensky does not trust the Russian leader and why he, and his European backers, insist on iron-clad security guarantees as part of any ceasefire agreement.
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Israel cannot fight forever. There is no doubt that it is one of the world’s most effective military forces.
It has a superb air force and incredible technical expertise backed up by first class intelligence. Behind it is the United States with a $3.8 billion military aid budget and the Mediterranean-based US Sixth Fleet
There are roughly 200,000 Israeli troops currently active and another 400,000 on active reserve. Three years conscripted service is mandatory for all men (two years for women) and after their conscription period they can be returned to active duty up to the age of 40.
But the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli economy is in danger of becoming overstretched. The American contribution is significant, but the total Israeli defense budget is $22 billion which represents six percent of the country’s GDP which is among one of the world’s highest expenditures relative to GDP.
These are the costs when the country is at a state of readiness, which is more or less permanent. They skyrocket when it is at war, and Israel has been at war since October 2023. This week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the resumption of the war in Gaza.
He also has troops in Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon to prevent a resurgence of Hezbollah. The Israeli Prime Minister fears that Syria’s new leader, Mohammed al-Jolani may return to his al-Qaeda roots and has increased the Israeli forces on the Golan Heights and moved some troops into Syria’s southern provinces. Another 40,000 troops are deployed on the West Bank helping to clear out Palestinian settlements there.
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Tom Arms is foreign editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and the author of “The Encyclopedia of the Cold War” and “America Made in Britain.”
