Legal Scholars Warn That Trump Won’t Uphold the Constitution

Photo: Shutterstock

An open letter written and signed by 42 constitutional law scholars aims to address the expected legal issues that Trump’s presidency is going to cause. The scholars have expressed concern that Trump’s actions during his campaign and his cabinet appointments so far will damage the constitutional foundations of the United States, and they question whether Trump has any interest in upholding the Constitution.

The group of legal scholars who wrote the letter said, “Although we sincerely hope that you will take your constitutional oath seriously, so far you have offered little indication that you will. We feel a responsibility to challenge you in the court of public opinion, and we hope that those directly aggrieved by your administration will challenge you in the courts of law.”

They criticized Trump’s appointment of Senator Jeff Sessions to attorney general, who has a dismal record on issues of race relations, as well as Stephen Bannon as chief strategist, a man with open and unashamed ties to white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.

Trump spent much of his campaign banning reporters from his events, threatening Muslims, and talking about ways in which he would blatantly interfere with the independence of the judicial branch or freedom of the press. Trump has made it clear from the beginning of his campaign for election that he has little, if any respect for or understanding of the Constitution, and his choice of cabinet members shows that he has no interest in changing that.

Among other things, his appointment of Stephen Bannon, head of Breitbart.com, a notoriously biased website with clear ties to the “alt-right,” an ideology that is a mix of racism, white nationalism, and old-fashioned populism, is a clear reward for the support he received from those people.

Trump’s presidency won’t even begin until January 20, but he’s already setting the stage for what will be a global embarrassment if we’re lucky, or more likely one long string of human rights violations.