Another Constitutional Crisis, Another Letter to My Electeds

Sigh. Time for another letter to my congressional representatives, in my case, a Democrat House member and two Republican senators. 

(By far the most difficult to contact online is my Democratic House member. There are multiple pages and CAPCHAs before you get to the text field. And the text field itself has a 2,000 CHARACTER limit. That's disappointing.) 

Anyway--here's my sure-to-be-ignored letter:

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Dear [congressman/senator] and Staff--

I am a Louisiana voter, one of your constituents.

I have read, with growing unease, reports of the White House's refusal to recognize judicial authority. Specifically, I am concerned about the administration's evasion of Judge Boasberg's orders regarding the deportation of dozens of Venezuelan men to a hard labor camp in El Salvador. 

I understand the White House believes itself to be in the right. I understand that they believe Judge Boasberg to be in error. There are established, effective procedures for handling such disagreements. It disturbs me greatly to see the White House choosing instead to call for the judge's impeachment.

I see this call echoed and amplified by Trump-adjacent officials and Trump-supporting media--and not just about Judge Boasberg but about any judge ruling against the White House. 

To be clear: I find the deportation itself highly suspect. ICE claims that these men are members of a violent criminal gang. Subsequent reporting indicates that this is not the case at least for several of them. I think it shocking we are shipping people to a foreign dictator's prison with no trial, no evidence, and no right of appeal. It does not lend credence to the White House's case for it to be responding to judicial inquiries about such issues with cries for impeachment.

I realize you may disagree. Perhaps you, like the President, see Judge Boasberg's ruling as wrong. And perhaps he is! Right now, though, the point is that the President is refusing to recognize a clear judicial order. Instead of simply appealing the ruling, the White House is ignoring it and heaping public abuse on judges.

Regardless of your feelings about the deportation or about Judge Boasberg's ruling, I ask you to support the process. I ask you to defend the basic legitimacy of Constitutional checks and balances. The President must, like everyone else, follow the law. He cannot simply ignore judicial rulings. He ought not threaten urge impeachment for judges whose rulings he does not care for. As Justice Roberts tweeted, such threats are inappropriate and dangerous.

Executive overreach threatens not just the judiciary but the legislative branch as well. What happens when Congress tries to assert its authority as a coequal branch of government? Will President Trump call for your impeachment, claiming that you have no right to check his power?

Please join Justice Roberts's rebuke of President Trump's anti-Constitutional rhetoric. Please affirm the legitimacy of judicial checks and balances.

Thank you.

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