Yesterday: “Almost definitely”
“If [a deal with Congress] doesn’t work out, probably I will do it. I would almost say definitely,” Trump said of declaring a national emergency as he left the White House for Texas.
Today: Trump Backs Down
The “easy solution is for me to call a national emergency … but I’m not going to do it so fast.” Trump added “I have the absolute right to do it.”
Trump said he would do it, it would be appealed, he expected to lose the appeal in the 9th Circuit, but would win in the Supreme Court.
“We have a country that is being invaded by criminals and by drugs and we’re going to stop it,” said Trump.
Who Pays for the Wall?
I often said during rallies, with little variation, that “Mexico will pay for the Wall.” We have just signed a great new Trade Deal with Mexico. It is Billions of Dollars a year better than the very bad NAFTA deal which it replaces. The difference pays for Wall many times over!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2019
Rewriting History
https://twitter.com/RyanHillMI/status/1083696653608067072
Mexico was going to pay for the wall. Now President Trump claims he never said that. With his signature campaign promise now at the center of a government shutdown, here’s a look at how Trump has contradicted himself about the wall.https://t.co/3R7Eu9fd5u
— NPR (@NPR) January 11, 2019
https://twitter.com/RyanHillMI/status/1083696653608067072
Compelling Mexico to Pay for the Wall
That clip with Hannity does say “one way or another” but courtesy of web archives, please consider Compelling Mexico to Pay for the Wall.
That’s what Trump meant. That link was taken down.
For a complete explanation of the vanishing link, please see Trump Thought It Would Only Take Three Days to Get Mexico to Pay for the Wall
Also, a March 2016 memo to Washington Post reporters explained multiple ways to “compel Mexico” to “make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion” to keep the U.S. from cutting off the spigot of money it already sends to Mexico annually.
Senator Lindsey Graham Wants Emergency Declaration
Mr. President, the Democrats are not working in good faith with you.
Declare emergency, build the wall now.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 11, 2019
Speaker Pelosi’s refusal to negotiate on Wall/Barrier funding – even if the government were to be reopened – virtually ends congressional path to fund Wall/Barrier.
Time for President @realDonaldTrump to use emergency powers to build Wall/Barrier.
I hope it works.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 10, 2019
National Emergency Valid Idea?
It certainly within his right to declare a National Emergency. I have stated so many times.
What’s questionable is whether or not Trump can bypass Congress on funding.
Stupid Thing to Do
I do not know for sure how the courts would rule, and nor does anyone else.
However, I do know that declaring a national emergency would be a stupid thing to do.
Bad Precedent
A Fox News analyst warns that a future Democrat president could declare a “national emergency” over gun violence and ban guns.
The Wall Street Journal accurately comments on Trump’s Presidential Emergency.
The editorial board accurately argues “He probably has the legal authority, but it’s still a bad precedent.”
Because President Trump has deployed troops to the border, he theoretically could reallocate some of the $10 billion or so unobligated military construction funds for a wall. This would be a broad interpretation of the law since a wall is not necessary to support troops. But the Supreme Court has nearly always upheld executive actions pursuant to delegations of Congress.
Real Threat: Climate Change
If Mr. Trump did win in court, a President Elizabeth Warren might take the precedent as license to circumvent Congress whenever it is politically expedient. Rising carbon emissions or even income inequality could be declared national emergencies. The media would cheer them on.
That’s the problem with declaring national emergencies when there truly aren’t any.
Who the hell knows what the Democrats will do when they get their turn?
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Some dimwits would declare a national emergency over gun rights, income inequality and global warming REGARDLESS of what Trump does. This is why they must be kept out of the WH, and why Trump should feel free to use the act.
I am watching CNN and CNN has turned into a Conspiracy News Network.
CNN is now reporting a theory that firing Comey was the act of Collusion with Russia by Trump.
This means Mueller has no proof whatsoever about collusion so they are grasping at straws.
Maybe soon FBI agents will be wearing tinfoil hats…
There was a guy on saying this tinfoil hat theory and he has written a blog about it and was interviewed by CNN as expert:
Firing Comey by Trump was apparently a “threat to national security” in these conspiracy theorists mind.
Comey should have been fired by Obama after he botched the Hillary Clinton email server investigation since that investigation was done totally incompetently.
The claim that a future president could declare a “national emergency” and ban guns is an obvious and BLATANT LIE since guns are protected by 2nd amendment.
There is NO constitutional amendment requiring US-Mexico border to be almost complete open and allow millions of illegals to come through and to never build a wall on the border.
Therefore declaring a national emergency and building a wall on the whole US-Mexico border is the sensible thing to do.
That Fox News analyst is therefore LYING to please some Republican donor who likes to push wages lower by employing illegals so he himself gets more profits from his companies.
Another option is that the Fox News analyst is NOT very bright…
I don’t think they claimed that a future President could “ban guns”, but impose forms of gun control that have been legal in the past, or are in place in some states. Such measures, popular in e.g. SF or NYC, might not be popular in AR or MS, but, you know, National Emergency and all that. I mean, over 30,000 Americans die each year from guns, most suicides. If there is an emergency because Americans are killing themselves with H, there is just as good an argument that there is an emergency due to guns.
What fun. Just as Democrats were hoisted on their petard by lowering the voting requirements for judges, the Republicans are going to see the same tactics they used on themselves.
He will save the actual declaration for when he really needs a distraction. Meanwhile NYTimes reports that the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into Trump they were so concerned that he was somehow compromised by the Russians. Of course you are still in denial about this Mish, in spite of the insane amount of connections to Russians Mueller has already revealed, and all the lies Trump has already been caught in concerning them.
If you still believe the Russian collusion BS you need to read this blog for a while:
They catalogue how FBI and DOJ under Democrats committed many abuses during the Trump campaign and the goal was to get Hillary Clinton elected.
Even the silk glove treatment Hillary got from FBI for her email server was led by an FBI agent Peter Strzok who hated Trump and wanted an “insurance policy” against Trump.
Hillary’s interview was not taped and Comey totally botched the investigation and FBI 2nd in command’s McCabe’s wife got almost a million dollars in election funding from Clinton pal Terry McAuliffe while Hillary Clinton was being investigated.
Mueller of course employed said Peter Strzok as part of his Witchhunt team against Trump and when the conspiratorial messages between FBI’s Strzok and DOJ’s Lisa Page against Trump came to light Strzok was removed from the Mueller Trump witchhunt team but instead of giving the phone to investigators investigating Strzok to be analyzed Mueller had Strzok’s phone he used while in the Mueller team to be wiped and returned to factory settings.
This was clear obstruction of justice from Mueller but because Republicans were clueless this was not used to FIRE Mueller.
Witchhunt continues eve though there was no collusion and now Mueller is trying to get anything possible to blame Trump for si Mueller’s investigation has turned to open-ended fishing trip.
Up
Do it Trump! Declare the emergency and stop flapping your mealy mouth. The courts will surely stick this back to you, exactly as they have done with almost all of the other dumb things you tried to impose.
Of course he can declare a national security emergency. The Congress can then override him, and if only the Dems had actually won the Senate, they could. But they can’t. With Kavanaugh now, and with RBG soon to be gone, U.S. Supreme Court will say its Constitutional, because it is.
“…, because it is.”
How refreshing! I can’t believe I say it.
“…one faction, of one party, in one House of Congress, in one branch of government, doesn’t get to shut down the entire government, just to refight the results of an election.”
— obama 2013 during a FULL government shutdown
Trump is borderline insane, Mish.
Schumer and Pelosi are borderline zombies based on the rebuttal they gave after Trump’s speech.
What’s the difference is DJT declaring a national emergency to build a wall and obama ignoring EXISTING FEDERAL LAW in an EO for DACA?
DACA is much worse. The democrats could have cared less.
‘Zactly!
Democrats don’t need to declare national emergencies to accomplish their priorities such as DACA and IRS harassment of conservative organizations.
Trump should just enforce existing immigration laws to the letter of the law, starting with CA. You won’t believe how fast Democrats will approve the $5b funding for the wall.
Solution is simple to that problem Trump should:
Just ask Putin and Jinping how this is done.
Ask Obomber how he tried to use the FBI to interfere with the Trump campaign.
its already beyond that point. Where are your shooting implements?