We’ve had three or four seemingly contradictory court rulings this week that make it impossible to understand where the powers of the presidency and Congress legally are set – and an outright plea from the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals majority to settle it themselves and to please leave judges out of the question.
But what is easy to understand is that the courts occupy a very thin line between allowing a monarchial presidency or a democracy that believes in oversight.
The three court decisions – overturning the policy to leave asylum seekers in Mexico while they wait, upholding a policy that can require cities and states that receive law-enforcement grants to cooperate with immigration authorities, and that absolves top administration officials such as former White House counsel Don McGahn from having to answer Congressional subpoenas – each are substantial and controversial. Continue reading.