Trump and His Abuse of Power Doctrine

Former President Barack Obama meeting with AG Loretta Lynch

Historically, every modern President and Executive Branch of United States Government surrounds itself with legal expertise. The Office of Legal Counsel provides binding opinions of proposed actions regarding their lawfulness, the Attorney General (no, not this one), legal review of executive orders by the ...

War Criminal Hegseth conferring with AG Pam "Bribe Me" Bondi

... Office of Management and Budget to identify potential conflicts with Congressional Authority (mostly abandoned by this Congress), and more. Additionally there are experts in war powers, international law and treaty compliance, Department of Defense counsel (renamed as the Department of War Crimes), an Office of Government Ethics (for Trump?: LOL!), and the Inspectors General (IGs) -embedded in agencies as oversight to provide warnings of ethical lapses, illegality, abuse, and waste -until Trump attempted to fire them all -with mixed results.

A normal presidency, historically, is concerned with the Constitution, legal precedent, and the rule of law asks:

“Is this lawful?” → “Is it defensible?” → “Will it survive Judicial review?”

This presidency, more closely resembling a criminal organization asks a simple question:

“Who is going to stop me?"

Untethered by the Roberts Court We have Shifted From Rule of Law to “Who’s Going to Stop Me?”

Hot off the website presses -California's Governor Newsom is tracking and publishing many of Trump's illegal, unconstitutional, and unethical activities: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/12/16/trumpcriminals/.

The Newsom site is updated with Trump's 34 Felony Convictions, violations of the Emoluments Clause, bribes, pardons, Trump's defense of pedophiles, and major known examples of Trump's corruption.

Trump Crimes and Nefarious Actions:

(not a comprehensive list)

Jan 20, 2025 — Inauguration; immediate assertion of maximal executive authority (Project 2025/Presidential Unitary Authority) and rollback of prior administrative constraints.
Jan 20, 2025 — Trump signs an executive order establishing the “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” allowing major campaign donor and fellow narcissist Elon Musk and his team of miscreants unfettered access to formerly secure Federal Systems, our health information, financial data, social security records, and more.
Jan 20, 2025 — Trump's racism was manifest when he issued an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” directing federal agencies to terminate internal DEI programs/offices and reversing Biden-era equity initiatives, alongside a broader Day One order revoking EO 13985 (Former President Biden’s Executive Order on “Advancing Racial Equity”.)
Jan 20–21, 2025 — Declares a "national emergency" at the southern border, invoking expansive military and enforcement authorities.
Late Jan 2025 — Issues immigration orders framing migration as an “invasion,” reviving constitutional theories previously rejected by courts.
Late Jan 2025 — Suspends or sharply restricts refugee admissions and asylum processing, triggering rapid legal challenges.
Late Jan–Feb 2025 — Administration freezes funding across critical federal programs; budget analysts argue this functions as an impoundment in violation of Congressional Authority and the Impoundment Control Act.
Feb 1, 2025 — Imposes sweeping tariffs under "national emergency" economic powers, bypassing Congressional Authority and reigniting Constitutional separation-of-powers concerns.
Feb 26, 2025 — Trump signs an executive order expanding Elon Musk and DOGE’s role, including centralizing/reshaping how the government processes payments for contracts, grants, and loans, effectively expanding Presidential budget authority and subverting Constitutional balance of powers.
Feb–Mar 2025 — Ordered by the criminal elect, Pam "Bribe Me" Bondi orders the DOJ to link progressive organizations to “domestic extremism” frameworks.
Mar 2025 — Driven by white nativist Stephen Miller, Trump directs Kristi Noem to expand ICE enforcement tactics, including warrantless or fast-track arrests, violating the Constitution's Fifth Amendment: “…nor shall any person be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
Apr 2, 2025 — Announces additional tariffs, again citing "National Emergency" Presidential authority bypassing Congress and trade statutes.
Spring–Summer 2025 — Higher-ed groups describe an “assault on federal grants,” arguing funds appropriated by Congress were frozen through executive action rather than legal processes.
May–Jun 2025 — Proclaims the U.S. is in an ongoing armed conflict with transnational drug cartels, without new congressional authorization.
June 7, 2025 — Trump federalizes and deploys California National Guard over governor’s objection, marking unprecedented use of federal power in domestic Guard activation. Trump also ordered the deployment of troops and federal law enforcement to Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Washington DC, Memphis, Charlotte, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
July 1, 2025 (deadline) — States file suit alleging the Trump administration unlawfully withheld $6.8B in federal education funding that was supposed to be distributed at the start of the fiscal cycle.
July 24, 2025 — After originally and illegally withholding Congressionally budgeted funds, Trump signs the Rescissions Act of 2025, retracting roughly $8B from USAID/foreign assistance with disastrous consequences for impoverished and vulnerable communities globally.
Summer 2025 — Authorizes expanded military and maritime operations tied to cartel enforcement, in violation of the 1973 War Powers Act.
Sep 26, 2025 — Budget analysts publish “new data” arguing the administration engaged in the illegal withholding of Fiscal Year 2025 funds constituting unlawful impoundment.
Oct 2025 — Courts forced to intervene in ICE practices, extending or reinforcing limits on warrantless arrests and detention.
Oct 2025 — Trump directs a $40 billion bailout of Scott Bessent/Elon Musk's Right-wing friend - Argentina's Javier Milei.
Nov 7, 2025 — Legal analysis documents extensive efforts to impound climate-related funds (including attempts to cancel already-obligated awards), generating a wave of lawsuits by states and grantees.
Dec 4, 2025 — Releases a new National Security Strategy, signaling a major shift in U.S. claiming that Europe is an adversary, not Putin's Russia. The National Security Strategy is embraced by Putin.
Mid-Dec 2025 — Expands travel and immigration bans affecting dozens of countries, triggering civil-liberties challenges.
Dec 16, 2025 — Orders a blockade of "the largest Armada in the history of South America" to provoke Venezuela to war.
Dec 2025 — Trump refuses to rule out U.S. troop deployment to Venezuela, attempting to provoke war, presumably to keep his involvement with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell off of the front page.

From Vanity Fair's Exclusive with Trump Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

Late breaking exclusive reporting about Trump and his "Confederacy of Dunces" from his Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles is in Vanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trump-susie-wiles-interview-exclusive-part-1

Courage

While still far too limited, there continues to be exceptional acts of courage in the face of the Trump funhouse corruption mirror that has turned the so-called "American Dream" into a dystopian nightmare.

Federal Judges

Governors and State Attorneys General

The GOP-controlled Indiana State Senate

No Kings Rallies.
ICE Arrest and Detention Protests.

ProPublica exposing Trump's Mortgage Fraud Double Standard when he vindictively ordered the DOJ to pursue other officials.

Lawsuits brought by Inspector Generals and others for unlawful firing.
Amazingly, 20 Republicans joined all House Democrats to restore collective bargaining rights of Federal Workers, undoing a Trump Executive Order.

The Fierce Urgency of Now

As Trump continues to provoke an unauthorized war against Venezuela — including actions that raise grave concerns under the War Powers Resolution and international law — Congress must act immediately. Credible reports of unlawful lethal force in international waters demand urgent oversight, accountability, and restraint.

House Concurrent Resolution 64, introduced on December 1, 2025, directs the removal of U.S. armed forces from hostilities in or against Venezuela unless Congress lawfully authorizes such action. It is not symbolic. It is a constitutional necessity. The GOP-controlled House has both the authority and the obligation to bring it to the floor without delay.

The pattern of the Trump Administration is unmistakable. This administration governs by "Who is going to stop me?" — defying Congress, defying the courts, defying treaties, and defying the Constitution itself. The executive branch has been transformed by Trump into a vehicle for personal enrichment, political retribution, and reckless escalation abroad.

When a president repeatedly ignores constitutional limits, Congress should not be permitted to look away. Continued inaction is not neutrality — it is acquiescence. Every day the House and Senate fail to assert their Article I authority, they become participants in the erosion of democratic guardrails and the normalization of the abuse of power.

Congress must act now: enforce the War Powers Resolution, bring House Concurrent Resolution 64 to a vote, convene emergency oversight hearings, and begin impeachment proceedings. Failure to do so is not prudence. It is complicity.

A Call to Action -Peace Action's Kevin Martin

(Read Kevin's complete article here: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/reps-stop-trump-venezuela)

Two bills have just been introduced in the House, and between them, 56 Representatives are already on board, including 3 Republicans.

The first (H Con Res 61), sponsored by Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), would require the president to remove US troops from hostilities with any presidentially designated terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere unless he receives congressional approval for military action.
The second (H Con Res 64), sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), would direct the president to remove US forces from any conflict with or within Venezuela unless authorized to use military force by Congress.

Please call your representative today! Here’s all we need you to do:

1) Call the special hotline 1-833-STOP-WAR (1-833-786-7927) to get connected with your representative’s office.

2) When connected, give your representative this message:

My name is (your name), and I am a voting constituent from (your City). I am calling to urge the representative to support War Powers Resolutions to put an end to hostilities within or against Venezuela that Congress has not authorized. This week could see votes on H. Con. Res. 61 from Rep. Gregory Meeks and H. Con. Res. 64 from Rep Jim McGovern. Both bills would help end any hostilities with Venezuela that Congress has not authorized. Americans across the political spectrum oppose regime change attacks against Venezuela, including 63% of Republicans, 79% of independents, and 88% of Democrats saying the US should not get involved in Venezuela. I urge my representatives to listen carefully to these numbers and vote to stop the US from launching further into another unnecessary war of choice, this time in our own hemisphere.

This is an incredibly important moment in time. The most effective thing you can do today is to make sure our representatives hear from constituents like you. Please join the thousands of others taking action today in demanding “NO WAR WITH VENEZUELA” by calling your representative!

It’s up to those of us who strive for peace to make sure representatives feel enough heat from constituents to pull us back from the brink of war. Please call your representative today!

FYI: I'm honored to serve on the Board of Peace Action (https://peaceaction.org) with Kevin and many others committed to a more diplomatic, peaceful, and secure world.

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