"Rule By Whim."

The Trump Presidency vs The Rule of Law

The title of the latest episode of Main Justice comes from a legal decision stressing an American legal system where due process and the rule of law are supposed to be paramount, as opposed to a system where the whim and caprice of the executive is what governs.

Mary McCord and I dissect various examples of what courts have concluded to be examples of the latter: that is, unbridled executive power and its abuses. We discuss the retributive attack on Harvard, another law firm, and a Member of Congress. And a new set of defeats for the administration—finding the actions against Harvard should be stayed, the executive order against the law firm Jenner & Block violates the First Amendment, and further U.S. deportations again violate due process.

But the administration had an important win in the Wilcox case, with 6 Justices in the Supreme Court permitting Trump to fire, without any cause, leaders of two federal agencies, signaling that they will once again ultimately rule to increase the unbridled power of the executive branch, even in the face of a congressional statute stating that agency heads can only be fired for cause.

Take a listen. Stay engaged.

—Andrew

P.S. The transcript is available through Apple Podcasts.