Restoring public confidence in our institutions
To the Point
KCRW
4.4 • 583 Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2018
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are President Trump and allies in Congress eroding public trust in democratic government? Even a former Republican governor warns that attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller have gone too far. A constitutional scholar and a former FBI agent see real threats to both federal law enforcement and national security.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We're talking today about the basis of Democratic government, that's Democratic with a small D. |
| 0:10.0 | The stability of democracy depends on respect for the rule of law, something President Donald Trump's been accused of violating since the day he took office. |
| 0:19.0 | His White House and Republicans in Congress |
| 0:21.8 | have made it part of the public conversation by their handling of Special Counsel Robert |
| 0:26.3 | Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian involvement in the presidential campaign. |
| 0:31.3 | Here is the veteran Senate Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois. This could precipitate a constitutional |
| 0:37.1 | crisis if the House Republicans believe they've set the stage for this president, Dick Durbin of Illinois. This could precipitate a constitutional crisis. |
| 0:38.2 | If the House Republicans believe they've set the stage for this president to end this |
| 0:42.5 | investigation, they are basically saying that in America, one man is above the law, and that's |
| 0:47.7 | not a fact. |
| 0:48.7 | Erwin Chemerinsky is a preeminent constitutional scholar. |
| 0:52.0 | He's now dean of law at the UC Berkeley Law School. Welcome, |
| 0:55.2 | as always. It's always a pleasure to talk with you. You have sued the president himself and |
| 1:00.9 | sued over a constitutional issue. The case has been declined by the court, but it is now on appeal. |
| 1:07.5 | What's that about? There are two provisions of the Constitution that use the word amoluments that are relevant here. |
| 1:14.9 | One says that no one holds a position of office in the federal government is allowed to receive any amoluments or presence from foreign governments. |
| 1:23.7 | In other words, anybody holds a position in the federal government is prohibited from using any benefits from foreign governments. |
| 1:30.4 | The other is in Article 2 of the Constitution. |
| 1:33.0 | It says the President cannot receive any emoluments from the federal government other than the salary paid for the office. |
| 1:40.3 | Well, President Trump, since the moment he was sworn in, is receiving enormous benefits from foreign governments through the properties that he personally owns, and is receiving great benefits from the federal government as he's leasing his property to the United States. |
| 1:55.2 | This is clear in terms of the constitutional violations. |
| 1:58.2 | How does that damage the general public? |
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