Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

Trump just dug up some 1790's laws to grab more power

alternet.org · 14dShare

Critics of President Donald Trump often accuse him of blatantly violating federal and state laws in an effort to increase his power. But according to The New Republic's Matt Ford, a major part of Trump's ongoing power grab is using a different tactic: unearthing "moribund" laws and looking for ways to weaponize them. The "moribund" laws that Trump and his legal team are digging up, Ford reports in The New Republic, are still on the books — and they are finding ways to exploit them. "Congress has spent the last two centuries passing laws," Ford explains. "These laws often remain on the books, so to speak, long after their purpose has been fulfilled until lawmakers repeal them. Occasionally, the Trump administration finds something buried within this back catalogue that it can wield for its own purposes — and to no good end." Ford continues, "This summer, for example, the Trump administration has moved to revive two different courts that are authorized by Congress but have laid moribund

First report: How Trump Uses Dormant Laws to Amass Power — newrepublic.com, 14d