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Chief Justice Rebukes Trump And MAGA Goons Over Impeachment Threat

President Donald Trump and some of his MAGA allies are calling for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the Barack Obama appointee who temporarily blocked the deportation of undocumented immigrants allegedly associated with the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Trump, with his executive order, invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — which has only been used three times s in U.S. history.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts intervened in the matter on Tuesday, March 18, issuing a statement that was highly critical of Trump.

"For more than two centuries," the conservative George W. Bush appointee wrote, "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."

Responses to Roberts' rebuke of Trump came swiftly.

On a legal panel, MSNBC's Lisa Rubin pointed out that Roberts is concerned with the "safety" of judges. And Georgetown University law professor Paul Butler noted the important role that judges play in the United States' system of checks and balances, adding, "Congress will do whatever the president wants."

Roberts' rebuke is also receiving a lot of responses on social media.

Billionaire Elon Musk posted, "As Justice Roberts well knows, impeachment is a constitutional right of the legislature."

Other X users, however, defended Roberts' position.

Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade, a frequent legal analyst for MSNBC, tweeted: "Chief Justice John Roberts has issued a remarkable statement in response to Trump's call for impeachment of the judge who ruled against him in Alien Enemy Act case. This is about law, not politics."

Attorney Gerald A. Griggs wrote, "When the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court feels compelled to issue a statement, it’s a clear sign that there are serious issues with how two branches of our federal government are operating."

Comedian John Fugelsang commented, "John Roberts, who poured gasoline on a raging inferno, sternly rebukes one of the flames."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

The Real Meaning Of Trump's Threat Against Liz Cheney

In the context of calling Liz Cheney a “war hawk,” Trump says she should be given “a rifle” and face what amounts to a firing squad of “nine barrels.”

Let’s get something straight. This man has no idea what he’s talking about. As a draft dodger, Donald Trump successfully escaped being trained to use a military rifle. He wouldn’t know what to do with a rifle if you handed it to him. Ironically, Liz Cheney probably does.

In the closing days of this campaign, Trump is defaulting to threats of violence and arrest. In a post on his social media account, Trump threatened to arrest “Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”

The New York Times reported this week that Trump’s threats against election officials appear to be having some effect. In an article entitled "The Army of Election Officials Ready to Reject the Vote," the Times describes efforts in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania by election boards to reject certification of the vote if the election does not go Trump’s way. The people described in the article are partisan Republicans. When even they fear arrest and prosecution by their own candidate, something is seriously wrong in this country.

NPR reported this morning that “Military experts are preparing for possible election violence or unrest.” Earlier in the week, NPR reported that local police are “preparing for possible violence against election workers.”

The front line in the election for Liz Cheney is her own home in Wyoming. The front lines for election workers are the polling places where they will go to work next Tuesday. The idea of “battleground states” has become a reality, where armed police officers may be necessary to secure the Constitutional right to vote. One political party and one presidential candidate are responsible for turning this election into a warzone.

Lucian K. Truscott IV, a graduate of West Point, has had a 50-year career as a journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. He has covered Watergate, the Stonewall riots, and wars in Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He is also the author of five bestselling novels. You can subscribe to his daily columns at luciantruscott.substack.com and follow him on Twitter @LucianKTruscott and on Facebook at Lucian K. Truscott IV.

Reprinted with permission from Lucian Truscott.

Trump Surrogates Try (And Fail) To Whitewash His ‘Enemy Within’ Threats

Following backlash to Donald Trump’s statement that the U.S. military or National Guard should be used to contend with his political opponents, Republicans have been struggling to justify and parse his remarks.

In an interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Trump said that an “enemy from within” is a bigger threat to Americans than any foreign adversary. He said this was a reference to “radical left lunatics” and said they should “be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard—or if really necessary, by the military.”

Among those Trump identified as one of the “lunatics” is one of his frequent critics, California Rep. Adam Schiff.

Trump’s open support of using the armed forces in this way contradicts a frequent claim from the right that the right to bear arms in the Second Amendment is meant as a check on government overreach. The scandal-plagued NRA, who has made that argument while opposing restrictions on guns, is supporting Trump in the election.

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, attempted to play damage control the next day when asked by reporters about the precedent-breaking comment.

Asked if going after Americans this way was a justifiable use of power, Vance said, “Is it a justifiable use of those assets if they’re rioting and looting and burning cities down? Of course it is.”

Vance’s comments did not condemn or rebuke Trump’s premise, but instead added extra details that would make a military deployment sound more reasonable.

In an appearance on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took a different tactic and brought up the notion of immigration policy, something Trump had not invoked.

— (@)

“It’s my belief that what former President Trump is talking about are the people that are coming over the border that are in fact committing crimes, that are bringing drugs, that are trafficking humans, and that are turning every state into a border state,” Youngkin said.

Tapper pressed him, noting that Trump was not speaking about immigration. He then read a transcript of what Trump told Fox.

In response, Youngkin replied, “I do think that you are misinterpreting and misrepresenting his thoughts.”

Florida Rep. Mike Waltz also appeared on CNN and when confronted with Trump’s statement by anchor John Berman said, “I don't think that's what he said. I think you're connecting some dots there.”

His fellow Florida congressman, Rep. Byron Donalds, took another tactic in his CNN appearance. Without addressing the core substance of Trump’s statement, Donalds said, “Obviously we don’t want to have the United States military—we’re not going to have that be deployed in the United States. It’s been longstanding law in our country since the founding of the republic.”

The Republican fumbling stands in contrast to the clear condemnation of Trump’s statement from the Democratic ticket.

At a rally, Vice President Kamala Harris played video of Trump’s interview along with similar remarks of his and said, “This is among the reasons I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America, and dangerous.” She added “Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged. And he is out for unchecked power. That’s what he’s looking for.”

Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, told rally attendees that Trump’s reference to an “enemy from within” is “about you.”

“He’s talking about someone that comes to a rally to express their love and their commitment to our democracy. Donald Trump sees that as an enemy,” Walz added.

The Harris/Walz campaign also released a campaign ad, “Enemy Within,” to highlight Trump’s statement. Clips of his rhetoric are juxtaposed with footage of an interview with former Trump administration official Olivia Troye, who says, “I do remember the day that he suggested that we shoot people on the streets.”

- YouTube

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Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

#EndorseThis: Trump Surrogates Explain Away ‘Second Amendment’ Comment

Donald Trump’s thinly-veiled threat on Hillary Clinton’s life yesterday was yet another in his increasingly desperate attempts to bait his supporters against the “dishonest media.” Trump’s suggestion that supporters of the Second Amendment “can do” something about Hillary Clinton appointing pro-gun control justices to the Supreme Court was just vague enough for the Trump campaign to immediately insist that he was talking about gun advocates’ “political power.”

But the message was clear: This woman wants to take away your guns. Do something about it.

The threat left many of his campaign’s highest-profile surrogates in an awkward position: How can one defend the indefensible?

Luckily, that’s about the only one of the media’s questions the Trump campaign has succeeded in answering this election cycle — over and over again — and Trump’s supporters are well-versed in the art of the word-twist. Here are some highlights.

Rudy Giuliani said that if Trump wanted someone killed, he would just openly call for it.

Katrina Pierson, Trump’s national spokeswoman, started by referring Jake Tapper to the Trump campaign’s clarification of his remarks. She then tried to say that what Trump “said” isn’t really what he said. Or something like that.

But a day later, on MSBNC, she said the story had only picked up weight because of the “liberal media.”

Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager who is now being paid a severance package from the campaign while commenting on the election as a paid CNN contributor, claimed he didn’t “know what he meant” by the remarks (though he also said Trump “understands what he’s saying”), contradicting Trump himself, who said in response to criticism that “there can be no other interpretation” of what he meant, other than that it was a reference to “political power.”

“What you have is Donald Trump talking stream of conscious” @CLewandowski_ on Trump’s 2nd Amendment remarks https://t.co/FKyPbfENW0
— New Day (@NewDay) August 10, 2016

Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who supports Trump, called the remark “imprudent” but then called out media and commentators who interpreted it as violence for supposedly imagining their own version of what Trump said. It’s the “he who smelt it dealt it” of political commentary.

Of course, all it takes is one real person outside the Trump surrogate bubble to explain what Trump actually wanted his supporters to hear. Take one CSPAN caller, who reported that Trump wanted him to “defend our rights with… guns.”

Photo and video: CNN, MSNBC, CSPAN.

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Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless

Chief Justice Rebukes Trump And MAGA Goons Over Impeachment Threat

The Real Meaning Of Trump's Threat Against Liz Cheney

Trump Surrogates Try (And Fail) To Whitewash His ‘Enemy Within’ Threats

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#EndorseThis: Trump Surrogates Explain Away ‘Second Amendment’ Comment

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