Tom Steyer: Trump Claims Power to Bypass Limits Set by Congress in Defense Bill

[riversedge]

Much longer article with other examples in it.

Link to tweet

Trump Claims Power to Bypass Limits Set by Congress in Defense Bill
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/us/politics/trump-signing-statements.html



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President Trump during the bill’s signing ceremony on Monday. He deemed 51 of the law’s statutes to be unconstitutional intrusions on his presidential powers.CreditTom Brenner for The New York Times

By Charlie Savage

Aug. 14, 2018

WASHINGTON — When President Trump signed a $716 billion military spending bill on Monday, he claimed the authority to override dozens of provisions that he deemed improper constraints on his executive powers.

In a signing statement that the White House quietly issued after 9 p.m. on Monday — about six hours after Mr. Trump signed the bill in a televised ceremony at Fort Drum in New York — Mr. Trump deemed about 50 of its statutes to be unconstitutional intrusions on his presidential powers, meaning that the executive branch need not enforce or obey them as written.

Among them was a ban on spending military funds on “any activity that recognizes the sovereignty of the Russian Federation over Crimea,” the Ukrainian region annexed by Moscow in 2014 in an incursion considered illegal by the United States. He said he would treat the provision and similar ones as “consistent with the president’s exclusive constitutional authorities as commander in chief and as the sole representative of the nation in foreign affairs.”

The statement was the latest example of Mr. Trump’s emerging broad vision of executive power. His personal lawyers, for example, have claimed that his constitutional authority to supervise the Justice Department means that he can lawfully impede the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election no matter his motive, despite obstruction-of-justice statutes................

[gratuitous]

1. The Emperor Donald has no need of your puny Congress

He shall write the laws to his own liking! And your courts? Hah! The Emperor Donald requires no interpretation of your so-called laws. He is his own law, and never the twain shall meet.

[Iliyah]

2. The majority GOP congress is allowing him to do whatever he wants.

Plus, looks like the house will return to sane politicians and possibly the senate as well.

Shithole is trying to take total control over the USA before the mid-terms wherein he'll outlaw voting altogether. If that fails (which I believe it will cause IC's are extremely pissed), he will start some major conflict outside the country or within.

[zipplewrath]

3. Bush II asserted similar powers

The GOP has been pushing this "unitary executive" crap for a while now. It rests upon the concept that congress can't interfere in "executive" powers. They tend to ignore that the Constitution clearly gives the power of the purse to congress.

[duforsure]

4. He'll be bypassing Congress when they do something

Then he'll create a situation where he can claim martial law and bypass them in a heartbeat, then we have a dictator in power.

[MiniMe]

5. Isn't this the line item veto that has been deemed unconstitutional?