Ein amtierender Präsident, der die Todesstrafe für politische Gegner andeutet, verlässt den Rahmen demokratischer Verantwortung. Kritik an Regierungsentscheidungen ist verfassungsrechtlich geschützt. Forderungen nach staatlicher Gewalt gegen Oppositionelle widersprechen jedem Prinzip eines rechtsstaatlichen Systems.

#Democracy #RuleOfLaw #ChecksAndBalances #HumanRights #USPolitics #Accountability #NoPoliticalViolence

"We recently returned to our group with a new survey and follow-up interviews about Trump’s impact on the rule of law since retaking office. The responses captured almost universal fear and anguish over the transformation of the Justice Department into a tool of the White House. Just as chillingly, the new survey reflects near consensus that most of the guardrails inside and outside the Justice Department, which in the past counterbalanced executive power, have all but fallen away. The indictment of James Comey, the former F.B.I. director whom Trump ordered the Justice Department to charge, represents a misuse of power for many of our respondents that they hoped never to see in the United States.

These respondents include former attorneys general, solicitors general and their deputies in the Justice Department and White House counsels, as well as former U.S. attorneys and retired federal judges from across the country. (Forty-two people who took the survey last year did so again, and we added eight more to replace those who did not. The group is again evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.) Some of the former officials we surveyed, in both parties, are speaking out against the wrongs they see unfolding despite the professional and personal risks.

But many of them — more so than last year — don’t want to speak on the record. These are people with stature in their world, custodians of the American Bar who have represented clients of all stripes, taught law students, served on professional committees. But now they’re worried about retribution, for their law firms or their family members, if they draw Trump’s ire.

Our new survey channeled their collectively grim state of mind. All but one of the respondents rated Trump’s second term as a greater or much greater threat to the rule of law than his first term."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/magazine/legal-experts-trump-justice-department.html

#USA #Trump #Authoritarianism #Democracy #RuleOfLaw #ChecksAndBalances

Laws must be made transparently, with oversight and accountability. Independent courts, strong legislatures, and clear separation of powers prevent abuse, protect rights, and ensure that no branch or individual can override the will of the people.

#RuleOfLaw #ChecksAndBalances #fediverse #mastodon

The Man Behind #Trump’s Push for an All-Powerful Presidency

Russell T. Vought spent years drawing up plans to expand presidential #power & shrink federal bureaucracy. Now he is moving closer to making that vision a reality, threatening to erode #ChecksAndBalances.

#RussVought #Project2025 #law #democracy #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/russell-vought-trump-budget.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare