During the second presidential debate of the season Sunday evening, Donald Trump raised the hopes of many of my Conservative colleagues by actually using the word “Constitution.” Their hope is displaced in my opinion after Trump proceeded to display his ignorance and/or disregard of this sacred document by issuing his Hitleresque threat to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary’s scandals in order to have her thrown in jail.
While Hilary’s crimes are worthy of a criminal conviction, Trump’s threat is unconstitutional.
To begin with, special prosecutors can only be appointed by Congress or the Attorney General. And while the AG is nominated by the president, he/she is confirmed by the Senate and operates independently of the White House–unless you’re Eric Holder or Loretta Lynch. When you fail to keep them separated you end up with the IRS getting away with targeting conservative groups, and Hillary’s email scandal being swept under the rug.
So, if Trump were to actually “instruct” his AG to go after Hillary as he promised in the debate, he would be doing exactly as Obama has done–abusing his presidential power to punish his political enemies.
Of course, almost immediately after Trump stuck his foot in his mouth, his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, immediately went to work removing it by writing-off his ignorant comments as a so-called “quip“–defined as a “witty remark”–because it’s just so darned funny to shred the Constitution.
This isn’t the New York Liberal’s first dive into the unconstitutional waters when it comes to punishing his political enemies as Trump has issued multiple threats against the media during his campaign. From a promise to expand libel laws in order to make it easier to sue the media whenever they write something that meets with his disapproval, to creating his own personal Black List of media outlets who have been prevented from covering his campaign, Trump has openly threatened the First Amendment right to a free press.
To be fair, Trump has promised to defend the Constitution–even the parts that don’t exist.
As we approach the election in November, we continue to find evidence that the man who claims he will end the tyranny we’ve witnessed for the past eight years under Obama won’t end it at all. It will continue. The only difference will be that it will have an “R” after its name instead of a “D.”
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
