Over the last week, Trump has spoken what he believes his rights as a president are. On June 4th, Trump stated, “I have the absolute right to PARDON myself.” Pardoning powers have always been controversial because the constitution is quite vague on the topic. Based on Quinta Jurecic from Lawfareblog, the pardoning powers of the president on his or her self are a gray area. No president has tried to pardon themselves before (although Nixon came close to trying), so it would set a precedent for the rest of the nation. Interestingly, both articles presented information from Alexander Hamilton when he first pushed for the pardoning power. Hamilton originally created the power as a signal of mercy within the government and mercy from the criminal law system. …show more content…
On the contrary, the Fox News article states, “But just because President Trump has the constitutional power to pardon himself, prudence and political tradition urge him against using it.” The author made this analysis from Hamilton’s Federalist 74 where Hamilton sees the power as unyielding to anyone as long as it's to “restore the tranquility of the commonwealth” Nobody is sure of the correct answer to Trump's threat legally.
In the Fox News article, the author states that even if Trump tried to pardon himself, it is possible he would be held accountable for high crimes by Congress and therefore tried for impeachment. This issue relates back to the executive branches power and the linkage institutions connecting it to the people. It showcases the executive power by Trump stating what he believes he can do based on his status. Also, it shows how the constitutional power given to the president can be understood in different ways. The media outlets’ differing their take on the situation reveal the way linkage institutions connect to their viewers as well as the government. Due to the political climate and the legality, a result will not come
easy. In my opinion, Trump would not have the power to pardon himself because it exhibits monarchical tendencies, which are a threat to the “tranquility of the commonwealth.” This would go against Hamilton’s original intent for making Article II vague because it would hurt the commonwealth by having a ruler who has had charges brought against them, but do not receive repercussions. The government was created with checks and balances in order to keep one person from receiving too much power. This pardoning of a president goes against these ideals allowing for that person to be “superior” to the law and other branches. Thus, I personally think Trump should not have the power to pardon himself, but many experts believe its legally a gray area.
To explain, the president has little control with regard to current events and policy making, his wishes are ignored, and his hands are tied. With such circumstances, the president’s desires are viewed as, just that, desires, rather than commands. Unless of course he holds the power of persuasion. In order to reach political power and presidential achievement, the president must persuade other political actors his interests are theirs (Howell 243). Howell counter argues Neustadt, explaining the president exerts influence not by the power of persuasion, but by his unilateral powers. “The president can make all kinds of public policies without the formal consent of Congress”. The unilateral powers emerge from institutional advantages such as the structure, resources, and location within the system of separated powers. (Howell 246-247). By that Howell means, the president’s power does not derive from persuasion, but from simply being the
The American Civil War not only proved to be the country’s deadliest war but also precipitated one of the greatest constitutional crises in the history of the United States. President Lincoln is revered by many Americans today as a man of great moral principle who was responsible for both preventing the Union’s dissolution as well as helping to trigger the movement to abolish slavery. In retrospect, modern historians find it difficult to question the legitimacy of Lincoln’s actions as President. A more precise review of President Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War, however, reveals that many, if not the majority, of his actions were far from legitimate on constitutional and legal grounds. Moreover, his true political motives reveal his
To quell the ambition, human nature of the Legislative Branch, the president has the power of the veto. This aspect that the president can shoot down any legislation that has passed, is a tremendous embodiment of how to president, the executive branch, checks the legislative branches “ambition.” This struggle of interest between two of the three branches, keeps the human nature in check. Moreover, the election of the president, judiciary, and legislative representatives, is just another balance of power between the three branches. Madison talks about how the three branches are to be as separate as possible. By dividing them up by their interests, ambition or human nature, they keep one another from running roughshod over other peoples’ liberties and
In William Hudson’s book, American Democracy in Peril, he writes about different “challenges” that play a vital role in shaping the future of the United States. One is the problem of the “imperial judiciary”. Hudson defines its as that the justice system in the United States has become so powerful that it is answering and deciding upon important policy questions, questions that probably should be answered by our democratic legislatures. Instead of having debates in which everyone’s voices are heard and are considered in final decision-making process, a democratic-like process; we have a single judge or a small group of judges making decisions that effect millions of citizens, an “undemocratic” process. Hudson personally believes the current state of judicialized politics is harming policy decisions in Americans. According to him, the judicial branch is the “least democratic branch”, and ...
...y decide to do this, the president could be tried for wrongdoing. If a majority of the House of Representatives vote to impeach, then a trial will be held and a decision will be made based on existing evidence. As stated before, each branch is supposed to equal, but their duties raise them to different standards than the others. If we did not have these guidelines for each branch and our government would not be complete without all three of these branches working together successfully, but the Legislative branch should always be viewed as the most powerful.
The Constitution lays out power sharing amongst the President and Congress. However the Constitution is not always clearly defined which leaves questions to how the laws should be interpreted and decisions implemented. There are three major models of presidenti...
Impeachment is “ a criminal proceeding instituted against a public official by a legislative body.” (Impeachment). This does not mean automatic removal from office, which is a common misconception. the article goes on to explain how in the United States, the reason impeachment is so rare at the presidential level is because it is quite a long process and keep the Congress occupied for months; due to this impeachment in only employed in the gravest of circumstances. Furthermore, it is not just presidents or federal officials who can be impeached, as 49 states (all but Oregon) have an impeachment procedure in place. Impeachment is considered to be an important part of the checks and balances that make the US government unique, however due to the complicated and time consuming process it is.
United States locks up more people, per capita, than any other nation. Bail system has failed to keep people arrested out jail and the increasing rate of people in jail is alarming. Many District Attorney forment defendant to take a plea deal, instead of waiting for a trial (Buettner). Bail reform has help put fewer people in jail, but has lead to many lost jobs for people who works at the jail. Bail system is a profit motive for the bail industry.
The old proverb “the Pen is mightier than the sword” (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy) still holds significance in protecting of public rights. Words such as freedom, and liberty engendered the idea for democracy. Such words formed into sentences and paragraphs enlightened the public to take action against tyranny and corruption. Freedom of the press is what ensured the general masses of their public rights. The exemplary case in which the freedom of the press played a role was the endeavors of Woodward and Bernstein to unravel the corrupted politics behind the Watergate Scandal. The movie All the President’s Men depicts the proceedings of the Watergate scandal, the scheme to attack the crux of democracy: “ the open election”. Also how the two journalists of the Washington Post progressed to unveil the relationship between the Watergate Burglary and the White House. On one hand, the movie represents the role of the media in its obligation to convey the truth to the masses. On the other hand, the movie reflects political corruption and conspiracy. The accomplishment of Woodward and Bernstein presents the importance of the interaction between the media, the government, and the general masses of society. The role of the media is not only to intervene between the State and the public, but also to take account of public ideas and to apply those ideas to new policies. Also, the media acts as a safeguard to prevent the corruption of the State. Thus, the Watergate scandal signifies the significance of the media as an intermediary between the government and the public mass.
Decriminalization is defined as: elimination of criminal penalties or removal of legal restrictions against. It is a topic in relation to drugs and Canada has still not come to a conclusion on the issue. As stated in the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report from 2010, Canada is one of the world’s primary source countries for illicitly manufactured synthetic drugs, particularly MDMA (“ecstasy”). Certain individuals argue that if all drugs are legalized, our society will be safer and drugs will be clean which will reduce the number of overdoses and deaths due to laced drugs being consumed. In the article The Surprising Truth about Heroin and Addiction by Jacob Sullum, it is stated that “… drugs such as nicotine and cocaine [are] not truly addictive; they [are] merely habituating”. The question should not be “Should Canada Legalize all Drugs?” it should be “Which Drugs Should Canada Legalize?”
Another issue in the American presidency is the power to pardon. The president’s pardon power comes from Article II, section 2 of the Constitution which gives the president the power “to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment” (Love 2007). However, there are restrictions to this power as the president can only pardon federal crimes and not state ones. Pardons are sought out through the Office of the Pardon Attorney, which helps the president by reviewing and investigating the requested pardon before it is sent to the White House. So far, Joe Arpaio is the only person who has been pardoned by President Donald Trump, but there are several hundred other people who also requested pardons.
To Neustadt, “presidential power is the power to persuade” (Nuestadt, 11). Persuasion and bargaining are the means that presidents use to influence policy. Presidents need to “bargain” to influence both Congress and the executive branch. Neustadt argues that presidents cannot lead directly.
When describing Trump’s ability to effectively run the country, Blow highlights his “unrelenting assault” on “morality”, “ethics”, “truth”, “norms” and “decorum” in paragraph 11. By accusing Trump of unrelentingly assaulting cornerstones of the nation, Blow further portrays him as an unfit president, whose presence in office degrades the country. Describing the “assault” as “unrelenting”, Blow reasons that as long as Trump is in office, the standards of the nation will continue to be attacked and defiled; in other words, this degradation cannot be stopped by merely reasoning with the president but will dissipate once he is removed from office. By listing specific cornerstones that are affected by Trump’s presidency, Blow further urges readers
Few issues have been as hotly argued and controversial as the death penalty, with its many conflicting moral, social and legal implications. Compelling arguments exist in favor of the final punishment, and equally strong arguments exist to end its practice. Furthermore, considering its conflicting history, on the grand scale of the whole world, and in just America, it is unlikely that this issue will be resolved any time soon. In the United States specifically, the issue has great significance to the bill of rights and the 8th amendment, which prevents cruel and unusual punishment. The death sentence, due to the intense debate on its morality and constitutionality, as well as the many conflicting decisions made about it until this day, still is and will likely remain a very controversial issue in the United States.
A key feature of the unwritten constitution is ‘the Separation of Powers’. This exercises the idea of independence within ‘different functions of government’; it is represented by the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Separating the three prevents a dangerous occurrence where power is entirely centralized in one group. Cooperating with one...