The Trumpian right keeps pushing rule of law to the brink. But the law is winning

[babylonsister]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/28/the-trumpian-right-keeps-pushing-rule-of-law-to-the-brink-but-the-law-is-winning


The Trumpian right keeps pushing rule of law to the brink. But the law is winning
Norman L Eisen and Dennis Aftergut
Some Republicans in Congress allegedly considered using martial law to keep Trump in office. Thankfully our institutions have held the line
‘At stake is whether we are a society ruled by law or not.’
Thu 28 Apr 2022 08.49 EDT
Last modified on Thu 28 Apr 2022 09.04 EDT


This week has seen developments in two important legal battles. At stake is whether we are a society ruled by law or not. Without law, we face not survival of the fittest but survival of the fiercest – those most willing to use intimidation, force and violence to get their way.

snip//

For those on the American right who profess to believe in liberty, imposing martial law to put a strongman atop American government a la Putin should be unthinkable.

But do not hold your breath waiting for outrage from the right over texts such as the one Greene was just revealed to have sent Meadows. Greene is a charter member of the anything-goes-for-Trump club. For its members, the end justifies any means.

From ancient Greek democracy to the Roman republic to the French Revolution, history tells us again and again that gravitating to autocracy comes back to haunt a nation. As John Adams, signer of the declaration of independence and second president of the United States, wrote in 1775 to his wife, Abigail, “[A] Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever.”

This week, we were reminded again how close we came to a coup here in the US. Fortunately, a New York judge also showed us that the institutions of law remain strong and the impulse to autocracy is being held at bay.



Norman L Eisen served as President Barack Obama’s ethics czar, was special impeachment counsel to the House judiciary committee in 2019–20 and is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. His latest book is Overcoming Trumpery

Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor, currently of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy

[TheRealNorth]

1. Have they been punished for their attempted coup?

Coups that go unpunished are just practice runs for the next one. So I wish people would spare the platitudes about the strength of the American justice system, because from my POV it appears to be broken.