What the President Could Do If He Declares a State of Emergency (The Atlantic)

[Kablooie]

From seizing control of the internet to declaring martial law, President Trump may legally do all kinds of extraordinary things.

The moment the president declares a “national emergency”—a decision that is entirely within his discretion—more than 100 special provisions become available to him. While many of these tee up reasonable responses to genuine emergencies, some appear dangerously suited to a leader bent on amassing or retaining power. For instance, the president can, with the flick of his pen, activate laws allowing him to shut down many kinds of electronic communications inside the United States or freeze Americans’ bank accounts. Other powers are available even without a declaration of emergency, including laws that allow the president to deploy troops inside the country to subdue domestic unrest.

The president could seize control of U.S. internet traffic, impeding access to certain websites and ensuring that internet searches return pro-Trump content as the top results.

In October, in the lead-up to the midterm elections, Trump characterized the caravan of Central American migrants headed toward the U.S. border to seek asylum as a “National Emergency.” Although he did not issue an emergency proclamation, he could do so under ieepa. He could determine that any American inside the U.S. who offers material support to the asylum seekers—or, for that matter, to undocumented immigrants inside the United States—poses “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security, and authorize the Treasury Department to take action against them.

This scenario might sound extreme. But the misuse of emergency powers is a standard gambit among leaders attempting to consolidate power. Authoritarians Trump has openly claimed to admire—including the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan—have gone this route.

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So our representatives better work damned hard to prevent his emergency declaration from taking hold. If he is allowed to use it to grab funds for his wall, what would stop him from using it again to force his personal agenda on the country? He really is a danger that could push the US into a dictatorship, all with the Republican Party's blessings.


https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/presidential-emergency-powers/576418/

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. This may be the most important read for today. nt