THREAD: We are witnessing the collapse of our Constitutional democracy. Much has been made of the GOP's unwillingness to be a check on Trump. It's a true abdication of their constitutional duty. But Trump's recent interactions w/the Courts bring this to a new disturbing level /1
The decision to pardon Arpaio was a prelude of what was/is to come. Remember that Arpaio was charged w/contempt of court for failing to follow the Court's order that his office cease racial profiling. Trump was signaling that contempt of court was fine for HIS SIDE. /2
With today's #HammondPardon, trump lets right wing militias (& his right wing base) know that they are free to break the law w/out fear of consequence. At the same time, the Trump admin is actively disobeying the Courts on #FamilySeparation. /3
It's clear from admin admissions around the actual number of families reunified, that they never even tried to follow the Court's order. They are actively undermining the courts. /4
We must also view this in connection w/#Kavanaugh whose most appealing qualification to trump is his belief that (Republican) presidents should be immune from prosecution. And of course, remember that McConnell undermined the Court by failing to hold hearings on #MerrickGarland/5
So-- here we are in a DIFFERENT #ConstitutionalCrisis than the one we have been preparing for... The president seems to be challenging the very idea of an independent judiciary- or its right to be a check on the other branches o government. /6
What happens when the trump admin flat out refuses to follow a court order? Does anyone believe that a GOP Congress will intervene, let alone impeach (which is the proper course of action)? /7
There is no enforcement component of the Constitution- it rests on the assumption that political actors will follow the rule of law. Once that falls away, all bets are off. What keeps trump from ramping up voter suppression? or suspending elections altogether? /8
If you are thinking, "Congress would definitely stop that", a) you haven't been paying attention, and b) if he can ignore one branch of government, why not another? Today signals very dark days ahead for our democracy- & illuminates the path to its destruction. /END
