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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMeet the Man Curbing Trump's Power Without Anyone Noticing
Hes a pioneering attorney and Haitian immigrant whos leading the emoluments lawsuit. He engineered some of Dems biggest wins in 2018. So why havent you heard of Karl Racine?
By HARRY JAFFE February 23, 2019
Harry Jaffe is an editor at large at Washingtonian magazine and co-author of Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C.
Afew hours before President Donald Trump went into the Rose Garden last Friday to announce his intent to declare a national emergency so he could build his long-promised border wall, Karl Racine sent a shot across the bow: If Trump was serious about this, he was in for a fight.
We will not hesitate to use our legal authority to defend the rule of law, the 56-year-old attorney general of Washington, D.C., said in a terse statement.
Its a posture that has become almost routine for Racine, who as co-chair of the national Democratic Attorneys General Association is playing a little-noticed but hugely influential role in fighting the Trump administration at the polls, in the courts and in the news media.
The past few years have been uncommonly high profile for the American legal system. The president finds himself in both personal and professional legal jeopardy. Several of his former aides and advisers have been criminally indicted. The administrations every move is subject to major lawsuits.
But while the public has been mesmerized by Trumps legal troubles, Racine has been quietly building out Democrats ability to check his administration at the state level. Without much notice, hes quietly emerged as perhaps the single most important player in restoring Democratic clout in Americas legal system.
As D.C. attorney general, Racine is leading the ongoing emoluments suit against the president over foreign governments allegedly corrupt patronage of the Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington, along with Maryland AG Brian Frosh. As co-chair of DAGA, he has helped coordinate the legal and political strategies behind the lawsuits suing the Trump administration over issues including the separation of children and parents at the Mexican border, upholding the Affordable Care Act and protecting DACA recipients. And more substantial yet, Racine was the architect of one of the least-discussed but most far-reaching results of Novembers elections: Democrats winning a majority of the nations attorney general positionsan electoral success with far-reaching implications for workers rights, immigration, civil rights, consumer protections and the ability to erect a judicial wall against the Trump administration.
more
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/02/23/karl-racine-profile-attorney-general-emoluments-lawsuit-trump-2020-225200
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Meet the Man Curbing Trump's Power Without Anyone Noticing (Original Post)
DonViejo
Feb 2019
OP
Dems need all the help they can get. Fortunately, there is a lot out there already . . .
empedocles
Feb 2019
#2
One of the unspoken heroes trying to protect the country from the Republican travesty.
Honeycombe8
Feb 2019
#3
A Haitian born attorney with the law on his side. DT's worst nightmare.
SleeplessinSoCal
Feb 2019
#14
N_E_1 for Tennis
(9,721 posts)1. K & R.
empedocles
(15,751 posts)2. Dems need all the help they can get. Fortunately, there is a lot out there already . . .
. . . and, imo, there may be much more out there.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)3. One of the unspoken heroes trying to protect the country from the Republican travesty.
Good to know about Racine.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)4. K&R
bonniebgood
(940 posts)5. Who will win? DAGA vs MAGA.
True Blue American
(17,984 posts)6. Positive thinking!
calimary
(81,223 posts)7. Man, this is GREAT!
Color me impressed. VERY impressed! Grateful that guys like Racine are at work. Watch the nogoodnik story to target him now, though...
iamateacher
(1,089 posts)8. Great article
Thank you for posting!
Jeffersons Ghost
(15,235 posts)9. K&R
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)10. I'm grateful to the man!
May he inspire others, too.
BigmanPigman
(51,590 posts)11. People like this give me hope, which is rare these days.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)13. K&R
This man is one of the silent heroes of the Trump era.
SleeplessinSoCal
(9,112 posts)14. A Haitian born attorney with the law on his side. DT's worst nightmare.