Don’t let tyranny take hold

The following is an excerpt from an editorial in the Guardian:

President Donald Trump’s act (in firing FBI Director James Comey) is a threat to U.S. governance. It looks ominously part of a pattern of trespassing beyond constitutional boundaries. Trump fires officials who cross him. He attacks judges when they find his policies unlawful. He refuses to release his tax returns, which might reveal conflicts of interest. He uses blind trusts that are not blind, while his children commingle private and public business. Power in the Trump presidency is held by the president’s family, and what appears to be incompetent followers whose main contribution is loyalty rather than expertise. . . In short, Trump is governing like he is the president of a banana republic, not the leader of the oldest constitutional government of modern times.

The manner of the FBI boss’s removal also means that an independent special prosecutor is now needed to investigate the Russian influence on the American elections. Since Trump’s attorney general has recused himself from any Russian investigation because of links to Moscow, his deputy would be responsible for overseeing the FBI on this matter. Yet his deputy provided the evidence for Comey’s dismissal. That is why only an independent counsel will serve.

The U.S. system of checks and balances is a metaphor, not a mechanism. There is a separation of powers and judicial independence. But it relies on the right people making the right choices at the right time

A U.S. president is restrained largely by conscience, training and the desire to be judged well by history. Trump appears to lack those qualities. Senators have to approve Trump’s new FBI director. They should only do so if Trump’s White House appoints a special prosecutor.

They may prefer to keep quiet, opting not to rock the boat. But that will let presidential tyranny take hold. It won’t occur instantly. But it will, like dusk, draw in without us realizing.