President Trump has come into conflict with Chief Justice John Roberts for his tyrannical and erratic behaviors that show a contemptuous disdain for law. While many people want to side with “my president”, such language is not that of an ordered republic, but a banana republic, noting that powers are separated and politicians are intended to serve the people, not the other way around.
In another demonstration of his highly questionable behavior, Trump recently declared, albeit unofficially, to be the “Chief Law Enforcement Officer”.
During President Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, Democrats repeatedly asserted that he is “not above the law.” But since his acquittal two weeks ago, the president has taken a series of steps aimed at showing that, essentially, he is the law.
On Tuesday, Trump granted clemency to a clutch of political allies, circumventing the usual Justice Department process. The pardons and commutations followed Trump’s moves to punish witnesses in his impeachment trial, publicly intervene in a pending legal case to urge leniency for a friend, criticize a federal judge, accuse a juror of bias and threaten to sue his own government for investigating him.
Trump defended his actions, saying he has the right to shape the country’s legal systems as he sees fit.
“I’m allowed to be totally involved,” he told reporters as he left Washington on Tuesday for a trip to California, Nevada and Arizona. “I’m actually, I guess, the chief law enforcement officer of the country. But I’ve chosen not to be involved.”
The president’s post-impeachment behavior has alarmed Attorney General William Barr, who has told people close to the president that he is willing to quit unless Trump stops publicly commenting on ongoing criminal matters, according to two administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. It also has appalled several legal experts and former officials, who have said his direct intervention in legal matters risks further politicizing law enforcement at a time of fraying confidence in the Justice Department. (source)