Many voted for Donald Trump because they believe in his policies. Their victory came at too great a cost.
Mr. Trump is firing independent-thinking government lawyers.
As a former government lawyer of over two decades, let me explain why this matters.
Government lawyers don’t dictate policy; they provide apolitical, objective legal advice to assist public officials like the president execute the law.
Government lawyers represent not only the president but, more broadly, the citizens of this country by playing a critical role in protecting the people’s choice of law.
This internal order is being turned upside down by the Trump administration.
In a recent social media post, Mr. Trump said: “He who saves his country does not violate any law.”
This flagrant justification for equating presidential power and dictatorial authority should chill the soul of anyone observing what Mr. Trump is doing at the Department of Justice, firing lawyers at a rate one recently departed DOJ attorney told a Congressional committee constitutes “an all-out assault on the career public servants who are the department’s backbone.”
Mr. Trump is clearing out any lawyer who stands in the way of his power, whether his exercise of power complies with the law or not.
The president’s assault on our Constitution should be feared even by those who endorse his policies.
As English philosopher John Locke said, “Wherever law ends, tyranny begins.”
If we lose the rule of law, democracy ends, and we lose control of our laws and lives.
Mr. Trump must be stopped.
Cheryl Nielson
Port Angeles