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In recent days, President Donald Trump has initiated legal proceedings, challenged lawfully founded investigations, and put his own political agenda ahead of the legal conventions that underpin the independent legal system.
Trump also launched a weekend. tweet accusing the FBI of breaking into the office of Michael Cohen, his ex-lawyer who is sentenced to prison next year. The raid was executed on a warrant approved by the court.
His comment places Canada, which first arrested Meng Wanzhou, of Huawei, in a difficult diplomatic position, raised questions as to whether it would benefit from due process and could weaken US critics on how the judicial systems in China and in other totalitarian states subordinate to politics.
But Trump's challenge to legal norms is not new.
In two years, Trump has built a mountain of tweets, remarks and actions that do not just test the institutional constraints of presidential power. undermine the constitutional norms that he has sworn to respect.
He seems willing to use the weight of his charge in this way, which seems to increase the prospect of a constitutional imbrogli. o At a time when many areas of Trump's public, political and economic life are under investigation.
And this may cause persistent damage to the infrastructure of the American justice and public support essential to maintaining the legitimacy of the democratic and judicial institutions he has left office.
This possibility seems to be at the origin of Comey's concern.
"It's not about Republicans and Democrats, it's about what it means to be an American," said Comey after testifying Monday at Capitol Hill.
"We must stop numbing ourselves, whether you are Republican or Democrat, stand up, overcome your shame, and say something."
Uncertakably
Trump began to shake the America's judicial and legal system upon his arrival at the White House, reprimanding the judges who were slowing down his agenda and exerting pressure. the Ministry of Justice about the investigation of Russia.
There has been no break since.
The unconventional relationship of the president with the law goes well beyond the many legal challenges posed to his presidency, transition and campaign, as well as the unusual number of associates who guilty prosecutors.
He was prosecuted and was prosecuted on numerous occasions, often using the courts of justice and bankruptcy as a tactical tactical mogul of real estate.
Trump has not yet been found guilty of wrongdoing by Mueller. or p rosecutors elsewhere. He denies having done anything wrong.
Another former Trump aide, his first National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, will learn on Tuesday when he will be imprisoned for lying to the FBI.
Unprecedented for at least 40 years
. Many presidents have been frustrated by the judicial system and have criticized the courts' decisions and tedious judges. Tensions between branches of government are inherent in the American political system.
But no modern president has recorded a record like that of Trump, which has jeopardized the integrity of justice is the main cause for apparently personal and political reasons.
"He really does not respect the judicial system and the rule of law, as we expect and ask the presidents … He just takes into account what I think is clearly partisan, political ends. "
In more typical tirades of a despot, he demanded his enemies be investigated by the Department of Justice. He smiles when the crowds chanted "lock up" in reference to Hillary Clinton at his rallies.
Trump responded by proposing the bursting of the ninth circuit.
In 2017, he accused judges of thwarting the fight against terrorism by canceling his immigration orders.
Presidential Press
Trump's challenge to the rule of law is not limited to the judiciary.
He leaned hard on the Department of Justice. His view with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was that he had recused himself after the investigation of Russia in accordance with departmental standards.
Trump often gave the impression that he viewed the Department of Justice as loyalty to him rather than law enforcement. Very often, the president said: here's what I want to do and how I want to do it, "said former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at one of his first public appearances since his departure from the administration
"And I would have to say to him:" Mr. President, I understand what you want to do, but you can not do it as well. "This is a violation of the "," said Tillerson.
Trump supporters often claim that his detractors take his tweets and comments too seriously, and they reject any criticism of Comey, whom many conservatives blame for allowing Clinton to pass on his mail server.
Democrats still blame the former FBI leader for believing that he ceded the White House to Trump by reopening the Clinton probe a few days before the elections. perceive no threat to the Rule of law or do not really care about that. Their perceptions of Trump's behavior are also filtered by the conservative media machine. And President's approval rates of 80% and more among Republicans provide him with a safety net with his political base.
But we are expecting more and more of a legal calculation in Washington, because Mueller seems to be targeting the president directly as he approaches. the end of his investigation.
This means that Trump will probably still have to submit his most serious test to the legal system and the rule of law.
