"President Donald Trump may be stretching executive power to its outermost bounds, but in one very significant area he is simply not getting his way: criminal prosecutions. In many cases-such as those of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, charges against whom were thrown out by a federal judge in Virginia today-the basic, ground-level machinery of the criminal-justice system has thwarted the administration."
"In areas such as immigration and administrative law, too many supposed checks on Trump's power have proved inadequate to the task. He governs by executive fiat, enabled by a passive Republican Congress and compliant Supreme Court majority. But the constitutional and procedural protections of the criminal-justice system, designed to safeguard individual liberty from the power of the federal government, are unique and largely immune to his decrees."
"The adversary system is an exceptionally effective means of finding the truth. In Comey's case, it is exposing a flawed, corrupt prosecution for what it is. In others, overzealous prosecutions are giving local citizens on juries and grand juries an opportunity to push back on Trump's takeover of their cities. The basic safeguards of the criminal-justice system are proving to be some of the most effective checks on Trump's power."
President Donald Trump has stretched executive power to extreme limits, but criminal prosecutions have resisted his influence. In several cases, including those involving former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, charges were dismissed by a federal judge, demonstrating the criminal-justice system's resilience. Many checks in immigration and administrative law have been insufficient, while criminal-justice constitutional and procedural protections protect individual liberty from federal overreach. Once cases reach court, facts, evidence, laws, and procedures govern outcomes. Independent trial judges, skilled defense counsel, juries, grand juries, and the Bill of Rights collectively constrain politically motivated prosecutions.
Read at The Atlantic
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