About this National Emergency...

Did Trump inadvertently say that building the wall on an urgent basis isn't really needed? It sure sounds like that's what he said. And why is it such an emergency now? After all he first started talking about the need for one back when he was running for president and after he won, his party held all branches of government for two years and Trump wasn't pressuring the republicans to build the wall. But suddenly it's imperative that it needs to be built after the democrats took the house and after last year when Trump turned down the democrat's offering of $25 billion for it?

House Judiciary Committee Probes Trump National Emergency After Contradictory Statement

The House Judiciary Committee announced that it will investigate President Trump's national emergency declaration after Trump admitted during a Friday press conference that he "didn't need to do this."

In a six-page letter signed by Democrats who control the committee, the Judiciary Committee seeks several documents from the White House, including any opinions solicited from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and Department of Defense. The letter also asks the White House to justify its legal basis for the determination that "there is an "emergency" at the southern border," and why a border wall is "necessary to support" a "use of the armed forces" at the border.

The Democrat-controlled Judiciary committee is commencing "an immediate investigation into this matter, which raises both serious constitutional and statutory issues," according to the letter.

The letter also demands all communications between the White House and DOJ between November 1 and February 15 related to the national emergency and seizure of any private property.

President Trump may have derailed this own national emergency, which he declared on Friday to authorize an additional $7 billion for his long-promised border wall.

While speaking with reporters outside the White House, Trump said "I didn’t need to do this. But I’d rather do it much faster."

5 ways Trump’s national emergency declaration could be stopped

President Donald Trump has officially declared a national emergency in order to secure funding for his border wall. But he’s also ready to be challenged in court, as he said at the announcement Friday morning.

“We will have a national emergency, and we will then be sued,” Trump said on Friday, outlining the steps he expected the lawsuit to take all the way to the Supreme Court.

Trump is issuing the declaration under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, which lets presidents issue an emergency declaration but under certain constraints — namely, Trump can only use specific powers Congress has already codified by law, and he has to say which powers he’s using. The act doesn’t define what counts as an emergency.

As Vox’s Sean Illing, who spoke with 11 experts about the legality of Trump’s declaration, laid out, there’s enough ambiguity in the law to let Trump declare an emergency. But the maneuver may not stand up to legal scrutiny once challenged in court. He is effectively trying to circumvent Congress — which is supposed to have the “power of the purse” and has decided against funding his border wall — and it’s not clear whether Trump can actually use the armed forces for the project. And his claim that there’s an emergency at the border that necessitates a border wall is dubious.

1) A joint resolution of termination contesting the status of the emergency

2) Congressional Democrats sue the White House

3) Landowners sue the White House

4) Liberal activist groups sue the White House

5) California and other states sue

Democrats put a couple of provisions in the budget deal passed today and one was to protect the butterfly center. The Butterfly Center has sued the government after learning that it's going to be destroyed so that the wall can be built. Today a judge ruled against them, but with Trump declaring this emergency they may have grounds to sue again. What we need is for people to take over the center with guns like the Bundys did with that center in Oregon. /s?

Shutdown deal includes language to protect a butterfly sanctuary and other landmarks from border barrier

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said Thursday that he's added language to a compromise bill aimed at avoiding another government shutdown that would prohibit border fencing at five major landmarks in the Rio Grande Valley.

The five cultural sites lie in the path of $641 million worth of planned border fencing that was funded in the 2018 federal budget. Construction started earlier this month at a federal wildlife refuge, sparking outrage among community members and activists.

The landmarks include major wildlife areas like the National Butterfly Center, a 100-acre nature preserve that attracts hundreds of butterfly species. The center filed a restraining order late Monday night to prevent the federal government from building a barrier on its property or crossing through it to build elsewhere — but a judge dismissed their case on Thursday.

Other places that would be off-limits for fencing are:

- Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, an internationally recognized spot for bird watching
- The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, which was exempted from border barriers in last year’s budget
- La Lomita, a historic Catholic chapel that lost a court fight a week ago to prevent the government from surveying the chapel’s land
- A tract of land that will soon be home to the commercial spaceport for SpaceX, a space transportation company in which Tesla founder Elon Musk is the lead designer

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

But did anything happen or is about to happen that the administration would want to have something else as the news lead?
And, wow, free association rambling from Limbaugh to Coulter thrown in.
I also imagine several DOJ lawyers have bruises from the face palms that ensued with the "I didn't have to do this" comment.

up
0 users have voted.

I have never been convinced he gives a damn about the wall. But his supporters do.They also would be more than likely to over look that he had two years with all Republican control to get this done (hmm...sound familiar?)

So now he can look like he’s making it a priority and he backed the Dems into a corner with it. I have to wonder if the Dems hadn’t won congress if this would even be happening now. That’s the only reasons I can see for this. Two healthy hunks of red meat for the true believers: the wall and punking Dems.

up
0 users have voted.

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

detroitmechworks's picture

Is that it empowers the military to act domestically. Congressmen can scream about the courts at the legality of it all they want, but they just handed Trump the right to use active duty troops domestically and didn't even put up a token resistance. (Did some reading on what this empowers the Military to do. It's not pretty)

Course, they'll say they didn't, But Trump no longer has to provide Habeas Corpus during it. Which means anybody imprisoned at the border STAYS imprisoned, legally.

Essentially, this is a domestic declaration of martial law at the border. Take a look at the history of it.

This always happens right before a Major war. Interestingly enough the emergency declarations happen right before we send troops.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk5Dwg5zm2U]

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

snoopydawg's picture

@detroitmechworks

look at what border control can get away with already. They have jurisdiction over 100 miles from the border where 2/3 of Americans live. It's pretty much a constitutional free zone. And what exactly is Trump going to have the military doing? Will posse comitatus still be in effect?

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

say they are confused about why Trump didn't pursue the wall in the 1st two years. Trump had an aggressive agenda, including the wall, and part of the agenda was passed and part was not.

He and Ryan simply were not on the same page about that issue. Further, there was at least one, if not two efforts to deal with the wall and DACA within that first two years.

People and the dem media need to quit repeating this falsehood.

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

Lily O Lady's picture

@dfarrah

the obscene tax “reform” bill which gave so much to so few—the .001%. Crumbs for the masses were secondary to buck for the backers.

up
0 users have voted.

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

travelerxxx's picture

@Lily O Lady

Crumbs for the masses were secondary to buck for the backers.

Exactly. The ultra-rich quickly learned to let Trump bluster, rant, and posture to his voter base. While they may or may not find his antics distasteful, they really don't care as long as their man Ryan was able to work - almost invisibly due to the anti-Trump hysteria - to destroy all the New Deal and Great Society programs he could possibly destroy. This has always been Ryan's job, but he needed cover to accomplish it. Enter, Trump.

The Trump antics are double-edged. Not only do they stoke up his voter base, they also provide cover for the Dollar-Democrats who, while they publicly scream "Look at Trump! Nazi! Nazi!" - are busy colluding with the Republicans. Pay no attention to their anti-Trump sound-bites, or their ridiculous hats - all that is for their base. Pay attention to the raft of judges-for-life they have helped confirm, the unbelievably reactionary federal department heads they approved, their lust for never ending war and empire.

The ultra-rich few who own the USA are still following the blueprint laid out in the Powell Memo. They are winning and winning bigly.

up
0 users have voted.
Lily O Lady's picture

@travelerxxx

They give us a “choice” between red and blue. And they call it “democracy”.

up
0 users have voted.

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

k9disc's picture

eye...
@travelerxxx

up
0 users have voted.

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

snoopydawg's picture

@dfarrah

having other priorities for two years and not getting to building his wall should prove the point that it isn't an emergency. The GOP could have passed his wall budget through reconciliation instead of using it for the tax cut bill. No way you can put lipstick on this pig. Nope,, not buying. Besides, did you listen to the him in the video provided where he said that HE DIDN'T NEED TO DO THIS?

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg the emergency/not emergency arguments.

I was just pointing out that it does not make sense to demand 'why didn't Trump do it already if it was so important,' the argument is kind of a straw man. Trump did try.

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

snoopydawg's picture

@dfarrah

I'm not following what you're saying. This is what this essay is about. Trump declaring the emergency so that he can build the wall. He agreed to sign the last budget that didn't include money for it until he changed his mind after getting shit from Coulter for not fulfilling his campaign promise. Which included Mexico paying for it. Not by tariffs or the trade deal, but by Mexico cutting him a check for it.

And if it was so important to him to get it funded two years ago there were plenty of ways that he could have leaned on Ryan to get it. Like, "I won't sign that tax bill unless you get me funds for that wall."

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg going on for either side. Trump had a fairly generous offer related to DACA that the dems rejected, too.

Maybe both sides just want a forever political football.

And maybe Trump realized he might lose his base if he doesn't do something concrete about the wall, although I wouldn't think so. Maybe Trump, now that the tables appear to be turning on his seditious enemies, figures now is the time to focus on immigration after the trade and tax stuff.

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

@dfarrah
And Democrats are just bleating like sheep instead of fighting like men.

up
0 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness The dems have been bleating since Reagan, and they are perfectly fine with power grabs by dems.

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

snoopydawg's picture

@dfarrah

Not an emergency

Let’s start with the basics: There is no emergency. Fact-checkers have already ripped apart the misleading statistics Trump has presented, and official government data show that illegal border crossings remain near their lowest point in the past four decades. Indeed, the very fact that Trump hesitated for so long before declaring an emergency suggests there is none.

Trump has explained why he waited by saying that he first wanted to give Congress a chance to pass legislation that would fund the border wall. But the purpose of emergency powers is to give the president access to standby authorities, passed by Congress in advance, that can be deployed in cases where Congress has no time to act. If Congress does have time and has refused to give the president the authority he seeks, resorting to emergency powers to get around the objections of lawmakers is not just inappropriate. It’s a brazen attempt to undermine the constitutional balance of powers.

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg
He has trampled on the Constitution. Congress is now irrelevant. And that senile hag, Pelosi, just says it was "unfortunate", instead of starting impeachment proceedings. They are frothing over phony Putin-gate and ignoring that Trump has just proven that Congress is irrelevant, the President can just cite a phony crisis and rule by decree.

up
0 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

snoopydawg's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

it's really about. Starting the minute Trump was elected the democrats have only been resisting him in name only. One of the first bills they passed with both parties was to give him more power to spy on us. If Trump was as messed up as they were saying then why would they agree to give him even more power?

I think that this is an agreed upon executive grab to further restrict our liberties. That so many people are in favor of him doing this tells me that they aren't seeing the big picture. As Detroit wrote, this gives Trump lots more power with what he can do with the military. Habeas Corpus is already pretty much dead in this country since the patriot act and the NDAA were passed. With that how far are we really from being under martial law?

Look at what has been happening since Hillary lost in regards to Russia Gate and internet censorship.

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg getting excited over some 'abuse' of power by Trump in this situation.

First, I don't understand people's objection to the wall. I don't support open borders at any level. (and that is not just coming to America, I don't like the Americanization of other countries)

https://news.gallup.com/opinion/chairman/246563/million-border.aspx

Second, I consider the efforts to remove Trump from office a far higher offense than anything Trump has done.

If Trump starts jailing journalists, murdering protestors, or departs from what has been acceptable in the past by supporters of both parties, who, oddly enough, support just about anything 'their' side does, then maybe I'll worry about abuse of power if/when he takes money from one pot and uses it for another.

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

snoopydawg's picture

@dfarrah

of immigrants coming has been going down for years and I have stated that I am not for open borders. I'm seeing people saying that Americans are dying because of the drugs coming over the border wall, but the reality is that most drugs either come through the border checkpoints or they are flown in. Then there's all the drugs that the CIA brings into this country. Blaming this on immigrants is silly. I'm not saying that is what you are saying.

Second, I consider the efforts to remove Trump from office a far higher offense than anything Trump has done.

Maybe you haven't seen the essays that have been written here, but many of us agree with you on this. I do. It's sedition for McCabe and whomever else are trying to do that. I'm not sure if I include Mueller in this. It's going to depend on what he makes up in his investigation. He's now saying that Stone had lots of contract with Wikileaks which is bullshit. They told the world that they would be releasing Hillary's emails days before they did. And for gawd's sake why was it necessary to send in SWAT to arrest him?

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@dfarrah @dfarrah
The Constitution is clear. Only Congress can authorize the spending of money. If the President can just recite a magical phrase and spend what he likes when he likes then Congress is irrelevant. Will he suspend the 2020 elections because of the "emergency",
Whether or not you want the wall is irrelevant. Only CONGRESS has the authority to authorize spending. Congress granted temporary authority to deal with real emergencies like Hurricanes (which he hasn't done in Puerto Rico and invasions by real armies, not not poor starving peasants looking for work. This "emergency" has existed since NAFTA impoverished small Mexican farmers.

EDIT: Will he use this "invasion" to declare the next elections null and void because photo ID's were not used to verify voter's citizenship? Think about it. I'm sure he has.

up
0 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness lists the conditions for the president declaring a national emergency.

I guess Congress could suspend the Act.

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

@dfarrah
Does it include spending that Congress refuses to authorize?

up
0 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness you mention is not in the regulation.

Here is an article by Jonathon Turley, in which he points out many instances of presidents declaring national emergencies to suit their purposes, and he talks about how Congress slowly gave away its powers over the years to the presidents.

So, Congress is in a lather for something it brought on itself.

https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/430335-why-trump-will-win-the-wall...

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

@The Voice In the Wilderness about Trump's legal rationale behind his actions. The article is linked at Naked Capitalism.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-authorities-president-trump-using-build...

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

Deja's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness
Invasion of Libya and paying insurance companies. Ban nok posted the link in a gjohn essay.

In 2016, I represented the House of Representatives in challenging one of Mr Obama's unilateral actions, after he demanded funds to pay insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Every year, presidents must ask for appropriations of money to run the government - a critical check on executive authority held by the legislative branch.

Congress refused so Mr Obama simply ordered the Treasury would pay the companies as a permanent appropriation - even though Congress never approved an annual, let alone a permanent, appropriation.

Mr Obama did not declare an emergency, he just took the money. Nevertheless, Ms Pelosi and the Democratic leadership opposed the lawsuit and declared it a meritless attack on presidential authority. We won the lawsuit.

In addition to ruling that Mr Obama violated the Constitution, the federal district court in Washington, DC, ruled that a house of Congress does have standing to bring such a lawsuit - a precedent that Congress had sought to establish.

Now Democrats are going to use the precedent that they opposed under Mr Obama. However, they could end up not only losing the challenge but frittering away this historic precedent.

Where will the $8bn come from?

$1.4bn from the agreed budget

$600m from cash and assets seized from drug traffickers

$2.5bn from a defence department anti-drug trafficking fund

$3.5bn reallocated from military construction projects

Snip

Courts often turn to standing to avoid tough decisions. Since the Democrats are likely to try to litigate this question in the Ninth Circuit which covers California and some other western states, the judge will not be bound by the DC ruling and could rule against the right of Congress to bring such actions.

Moreover, the litigation to the Supreme Court could easily take two years. Once there, the challengers will face a newly minted conservative majority with two Trump appointees.

That would mean that the Democrats could hand Trump a major victory on his signature campaign issue just before voters go to the polls in 2020.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47258779

up
0 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@Deja

is coming from base housing that is desperately needed. People are living with mice, rats, black mold and mildew and other horrible conditions. If anyone is interested do a search for it and see how long overdue it is.

I posted this in my essay, but in case people missed it.

duty, honor, country

up
0 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness when Obama went after habeas corpus?

I just don't see the big deal with Trump's actions. It's just moving money around. From what I've heard, Trump can do this even without declaring an emergency.

up
0 users have voted.

dfarrah

@dfarrah

up
0 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Big Al's picture

and demand the immediate abolishment of the duopoly. Of course, then progressives would probably sue the independents for interrupting their 2020 presidential primary.

up
0 users have voted.

streaming live now from your get smart phones!

up
0 users have voted.