Tuesday night, Attorney General William Barr spoke to the American Law Institute on Nationwide Injunctions on the issue of nationwide rulings against Trump by federal judges over the past two years. He said that the courts are overstepping their constitutional authority and are wielding “unprecedented power.”
We know that’s true. One doesn’t need to be a lawyer to know that. It’s judicial tyranny.
“The central genius of the American Constitution lies in its use of structure to protect individual liberty. It does not rely solely on, or even primarily, on grants of substantive rights. As Justice Scalia colorfully quipped, ‘Every banana republic has a bill of rights.’ His point—and mine—is that the bulwark against tyranny in America has always been our structure of government, most notably the Separation of Powers,” Barr said.
“These days, clashes between Congress and the Executive steal the headlines. I know that all too well. But clashes between the Judiciary and the Political Branches are just as weighty,” he continued.
THE NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS ARE HOLDING THE ADMINISTRATION BACK
The Attorney General said that these so-called nationwide injunctions are holding Trump back on immigration, health care, and other issues with “no clear end in sight.”
“We have seen over time an expansion of judicial willingness to review executive action. Then, combine that with the strategies of sophisticated public-interest lawyers and the aggressive practices of some courts, such as the novel and growing use of nationwide injunctions. The legal community and the broader public should be more concerned, particularly about this trend of nationwide injunctions,” he said.
Barr used the nationwide ruling in the DACA case as an example. It limited the President’s ability to negotiate with Congress in 2018.
-
The Importance of Prayer: How a Christian Gold Company Stands Out by Defending Americans’ Retirement
The DOJ under Jeff Sessions argued that the Obama administration acted unlawfully when it implemented DACA. He did. Obama had no authority to grant amnesty to youths allegedly brought here at an early age.
At one point states sued and won a partial victory in a federal court in Texas. Leftist groups and Democrat-led states sued to keep the program.
A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled that the administration decision to end DACA was arbitrary and capricious.
Barr said Trump “lost much of his leverage” in negotiations with congressional Democrats, who were pushing for a permanent solution for DACA recipients after one district court judge issued an order forcing the administration to maintain the program nationwide.
There was no deal as a result.
IT’S ABOUT PARTISANSHIP
Barr said that this is about partisanship. It departs from the Constitution and from the “traditional understanding of the role of courts.” The Justice Department will continue to oppose such rulings, he said.
“Nationwide injunctions not only allow district courts to wield unprecedented power, they also allow district courts to wield it asymmetrically,” Barr said.
President Trump has complained about these rulings, stating it “undermines and threatens the rule of law.” He might contest it.
It most definitely threatens the rule of law, and we, at last, have an Attorney General who cares about the Constitution. He will be on the side of law against these judges who abuse their power.
The Democrats have politicized everything, even our court systems. Can Barr return us to the rule of law? He is going to try and Democrats will do their best to destroy his credibility in the meantime.
