Kim Wehle,  Professor ofx Law  -  zeteoStephan: If you study the history of the founding of the United States, it becomes clear very quickly that what is happening today is exactly what the Founders feared. A leader who did not respect the Constitution but instead worked to get around it and create an autocracy.  As 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin was walking down the steps of Independence Hall, as the Constitutional Convention ended, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked him: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" To which Franklin replied, "A Republic if you can keep it." Franklin's concern was whether the American people would maintain, respect, and honor the three branches of government the convention had just created. Will we?  Polling in April showed that a majority of registered voters – 57% – agree that the US is in a constitutional crisis. But the Annenberg Public Policy Center in 2023 reported that 17% could not name even one branch, 7% could name only one branch, and 10% could name two branches. Perhaps that is why the Trump Republican attempt to consolidate power in one branch of government, rather than separated and checked between the three, is a primary reason why this consolidation we are witnessing is not the leading discussion of the day. Credit: Washington Crossing Historic Park Donald Trump’s second administration is outmaneuvering the Constitution and laying bare a gaping hole in the system of checks and balances. Think about it. Although Congress has the power to dictate how money is spent, the president controls the actual bank account. Although Congress has the power to declare war, the president controls the troops and the drones and the bombs and the tanks. Although Congress has the legislative power to create the federal bureaucracy and dictate the role of federal agencies, the president hires and fires people. Although the Constitution requires due process, free speech, and other constraints on how law enforcement treats individuals, the president controls the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and now ICE. The president has all the really serious power and is supposed to play by the rules and only use that power within the limits set by Congress, the Constitution, and the courts – none of which have their own police forces or armies. The president is [...]

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