Trump Could Threaten U.S. Rule of Law, Scholars Say

[BootinUp]

By ADAM LIPTAKJUNE 3, 2016

Donald J. Trump’s attacks on the press and the judicial system are evidence to some people of his bracing candor. But his comments also sketch out a worldview that many legal experts say is contemptuous of the First Amendment, the separation of powers and the rule of law. Watch in NYT video

WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump’s blustery attacks on the press, complaints about the judicial system and bold claims of presidential power collectively sketch out a constitutional worldview that shows contempt for the First Amendment, the separation of powers and the rule of law, legal experts across the political spectrum say.

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“Who knows what Donald Trump with a pen and phone would do?” asked Ilya Shapiro, a lawyer with the libertarian Cato Institute.

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David Post, a retired law professor who now writes for the Volokh Conspiracy, a conservative-leaning law blog, said those comments had crossed a line.

“This is how authoritarianism starts, with a president who does not respect the judiciary,” Mr. Post said. “You can criticize the judicial system, you can criticize individual cases, you can criticize individual judges. But the president has to be clear that the law is the law and that he enforces the law. That is his constitutional obligation.”

Continued at NYT