The Trump presidency has exposed many vulnerabilities in the laws and norms that govern presidential behavior. His brazen disrespect demands action to protect against a future president who might build on Trump's playbook.
President Trump has flouted norms against conflicts-of-interest and courting foreign interference, abused his pardon power, threatened nuclear war, used the office to attack political foes, the press, and the judiciary, and refused to concede an election that he lost.
He's not the first president to abuse presidential power and he's not the only problem. Congress has abdicated too much of the power they once used to better oversee and constrain presidential power.
The good news is that we now have an opportunity to codify certain norms most vulnerable to abuse. Do we have the political will?
GUEST:
- Jack Goldsmith is a professor at Harvard Law School, co-founder of Lawfare, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He served as the head of the Office of Legal Counsel during the George W. Bush Administration. Administration. He’s the co-author, with Bob Bauer, of After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency (@jacklgoldsmith)
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Colin McEnroe and Cate Pastor contributed to this show.
