Guest Commentary: Is the Attack on the Courts a Constitutional Crisis?

By Richard Blumenthal

Our nation is careening toward a constitutional crisis — testing the independence of the American judiciary. President Donald Trump‘s foot is on the accelerator, but make no mistake: Republicans in Congress will be complicit in the damage done to our democracy if they do not find the political courage to place country over party, and to prioritize patriotism over partisanship.

Congress must immediately seize the moment for oversight and accountability, checking a president who is attempting to elevate himself above the law. Immediate action will require particular political courage from Republican leaders who must join a bipartisan effort to push back against the president’s bullying.

After a federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s ban on immigration from a number of Muslim majority nations, he responded with intimidating and threatening missives attacking the judiciary, and his personal invective and insults raise core constitutional dangers.

Donald Trump’s Tweets referring to the “so-called judge” and anticipating blame for anything “bad” reflect profound disrespect for an independent judiciary and the Constitution. They are disturbing evidence that the elected leader of the greatest democracy on Earth lacks even a basic understanding of core freedoms established by the rule of law.

His comments are an attempt to destroy the courts’ credibility and capacity to serve as a check on lawless executive action. His demeaning and disparaging comments about the judiciary have already started to undermine respect for judicial rulings that hold the president accountable to the people and our Constitution. Respect for these opinions is fundamental — without it, our democracy cannot function.

Numerous reports indicate that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials across the country have failed to enforce federal court orders blocking President Trump’s recent executive orders. Instead, several of these law enforcement officers were reported illegally arresting, detaining and intimidating innocent individuals arriving in the United States. They further deprived individuals of the ability to communicate with family members and legal counsel and forced them on planes to leave the country. Such blatant disregard for the law and the authority of the courts must not be tolerated, much less encouraged by statements made by President Trump.

These destructive, denigrating acts must be stopped. We must speak out, stand up and act.

First, the heads of every federal agency involved with our nation’s borders — the departments of Justice and Homeland Security — should immediately issue in writing their clear pledge to respect and abide by whatever ruling the courts deliver with respect to these anti-American executive orders. They must send an unambiguous message to every person working at their agencies that vigilantism will not be tolerated and refusal to abide the court’s decision will be met with swift punitive measures.

Second, Congress must act. Our Founding Fathers entrusted the Congress with the power to conduct oversight and investigation of the executive branch. This responsibility is not ideological or partisan — it must be pursued with the same energy and rigor regardless of which party sits in the White House or wields the gavels of congressional committees.

The Republicans who were so quick to level charges of executive overreach and law breaking at the Obama Administration, have suddenly lost their appetite for investigating presidents. This would all be chalked up to run-of-the-mill partisanship if there weren’t so much at stake.

The coming years under President Trump will test the integrity of Congress and its members. The strength of our democracy and our country will depend on my colleagues across the aisle choosing to put down their partisan rhetoric and taking their oversight responsibility seriously.

Richard Blumenthal is Senator from Connecticut