Trump seeks to extend his powers while Mueller and Dems threaten to limit

Such an initiative would trigger a new constitutional argument and risk making the president angry if the courts, as expected, intervene to block his power play, triggering a long legal battle.

Trump made it known that he was ready to go ahead after the failure of the last talks with the congressional Democrats on the resolution of the government's closure.

It does not work, I will probably do it, I would say almost definitely, "said Trump." It's a national emergency. "

The Balance of Powers

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The tension between the three branches of government is an inherent feature of the American system and the presidents, from John Adams to Barack Obama, have been embarrassed by the constraints of their power.

But it is difficult to do reference to a moment in the modern era where so many issues that drive the national debate revolve around what a president can legally do and the effectiveness of competing power bases in the federal system. [19659002] Part of this can be attributed to the character of Trump himself. The president is mercurial and undisciplined. He is a stranger unfamiliar with the institutional constraints of the American constitutional system. His point of view was shaped into a family business where he enjoyed absolute power and he sought to transfer his method to politics.

In two years in power, Trump was torn by historical norms and adopted the protocol, the ramp, to the Washington establishment. Such behavior is the reason why its millions of supporters still maintain it, but this constantly puts it in conflict with the buildings of political and legal responsibility.

The War of the Privilege of the Executive

It has long been assumed that the end of the investigation of the special advocate would trigger a murderous constitutional battle on the fate of a final report – even before a possible impeachment procedure in the House led by the Democrats.

This scenario is now almost inevitable.

"The privilege of the executive is a term we should all get familiar with because we are going to hear a lot in 2019, I think more than every year since 1974, when Richard Nixon was on the ropes and has invoked the privilege of management, without success, "said Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor who is CNN

The case law on the privilege of the executive is limited. Many constitutional experts expect such statements from the Trump administration to precipitate a case of the Supreme Court at the time.

The appointment of Mueller is due only to an outcry over the dismissal of former FBI director James Comey, who soon became the focus of the investigation into whether Trump had or had not hindered justice. The president seemed to say in NBC News that he had sacked Comey because he was investigating a purported collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia in 2016.

Some of the Trump supporters say that it's not the same thing. It is impossible for a president to hinder justice because it is ultimately impossible.

His lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, did not go that far in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper last August, but outlined a possible defense, noting that the President had the power to fire executive employees. [19659002] "When he exercises his power as president … exercises the power of president – and that he fires someone, it becomes very very doubtful then that it's a matter of course." An obstruction of justice, "said Giuliani.

Experts who reject this view and argue that if there is evidence that a president is acting with intent to bribe, to conceal a crime or to defeat a criminal investigation into his own conduct, he may be guilty of obstruction.

[1 9459011] The Democrats Prepare

While Trump prepares for a confrontation, the Democrats also engage in action.

Ted Deutch, Speaker of the House of Commons, told the Wolf Blitzer TV news program on Thursday that the majority of the party would oppose any effort on the part of the party. The White House hides essential details in the Mueller report.

"There is no executive privilege on the presidential deliberations regarding the risk of obstruction of justice, no executive privilege to hide a possible falsification of witnesses or the possible concealment of the commission of a federal democrat to be elected President of the United States, said the Florida Democrat.

"We will make sure that the President and its lawyers, regardless of their number, can & # 39; "not be allowed to pursue arguments that are not allowed by law," he said.

The struggle for executive power is also likely to come when House Democratic presidents begin to issue subpoenas at the White House. officials, a gesture likely to trigger new conflicts of privileges.

The most blatant sign of the new Democratic House's ability to harm Trump will come when Cohen testifies in public before the Oversight Committee on February 7th.

Talk about Russia not to damage Mueller's investigation, with which he cooperates following his conviction for tax evasion and fraud in New York. But he could potentially shed light on his work for Trump prior to his election, including the campaign financing crime that Cohen confessed and in which prosecutors indirectly implicated the president.

Republicans will try to call Cohen as a witness. But the audience announces it as the most convincing appearance of any of the president's men at Capitol Hill since John Dean, the former White House lawyer at home -Blanche, testified about Watergate more than 40 years ago. be able to go around Congress and build the wall. Some researchers believe that he has the power to reprogram the Pentagon's existing funds. But the Congress should still appropriate any future funding.

The dispute, which is likely to end up quickly in the courts, also concerns the presidential power in that it could create a precedent that could echo for generations if a commander-in-chief who sees his main political priority blocked by the Congress may simply grant the power to execute it unilaterally.