Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Investing

To Head Off Strongman Governance, Keep Presidential Power in Check

Walter Olson

The group Protect Democracy has just published90‐​page report (“The Authoritarian Playbook for 2025”) laying out six areas to watch should a restored Donald Trump decide to push the limits of current presidential authority in pursuit of strongman governance of the Orban or Erdogan sort. The six are: 1) misuse of presidential pardon powers, specifically when lawbreaking has been committed in the political interests of the president and his allies; 2) law enforcement investigations of opponents; 3) regulatory retaliation against those not in political step with the authorities; 4) federal law enforcement overreach, and steps toward consolidation of a domestic federal police force; 5) domestic deployment of the military, with or without the invocation of the Insurrection Act; and 6) legal and street‐​based resistance to leaving office after failing to win re‐​election.

Over the years Cato has been a voice, at times a lonely one, warning of dangers in each of these areas. In the first five, abuses have occurred through multiple presidencies and at times at multiple levels of government— as with, for example, regulatory retaliation against political foes. (On number six, resistance to leaving office after electoral defeat, Trump’s offenses really do appear to put him in a class by himself in modern America.)

To sample just one item from the Protect Democracy list, misuse of the presidential pardon power, Cato senior vice president Gene Healy wrote about Trump’s end‐​of‐​term pardon spree, his earlier pardon of “unrepentant, serial abuser of power” Joe Arpaio, the pardon of presidential crony Roger Stone in between, and the vexed issue of presidential self‐​pardon. The posts also cite the notorious pardon records of Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon in their day.

Were I to nominate a seventh entry to the already useful compilation here, it might be abuse of the array of dangerous emergency powers available to the president.

You May Also Like

Editor’s Choice

[#item_full_content]

Editor’s Choice

[#item_full_content]

Disclaimer: KingOfCashSecrets.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice.
The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Copyright © 2024 KingOfCashSecrets. All Rights Reserved.