WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is raising fears among those who understand the inner workings of the Pentagon that he is turning the nonpartisan U.S. military into the muscle arm of his political agenda as he comments on dictatorship and devalues checks and balances who support the two-century-old national democracy.
A circle of appointees independent of Trump’s political operations steered him away from ideas that would have pushed the limits of presidential power during his final term, according to books they wrote and testimony given to Congress. Most were gone by the end. In a new term, many former officials worry that Trump will surround himself with loyalists unwilling to say no.
Trump raised new questions about his intentions if he returned to power by proposing a legal theory that a president would be free to do almost anything with impunity – including assassinating his political rivals – until Congress can muster the votes to impeach and remove him from office.
Now, preparing for Trump’s potential return, a loosely structured network of public interest groups and lawmakers is quietly developing plans to try to thwart any attempts to expand presidential power, which could include pressure on the army to meet its political needs.
Those involved in the effort told NBC News they are studying Trump’s past actions and his policy positions for 2024 to be ready if he wins in November. That includes preparing to file lawsuits and send letters to Trump appointees explaining the consequences they would face if they undermine constitutional standards.
“We’re already starting to put together a team to think about the most damaging types of things he (Trump) could do so that we’re prepared to sue if necessary,” said Mary McCord, executive director of the ‘association. Institution for Constitutional Defense and Protection at Georgetown Law.
The goal is in part to identify like-minded organizations and build a coalition to challenge Trump on day one, participants in the discussions said. Some participants review policy documents currently being developed for a future conservative administration. They also monitor interviews Trump allies give to the press for clues about what a Trump sequel would look like.
Other participants include Democracy Forward, an organization that has sued the Trump administration more than 100 times during his term, and Protect Democracy, an anti-authoritarian group.
“We are preparing for litigation and we are preparing to use every tool in the toolbox that our democracy offers to give the American people the ability to fight back,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward. “We believe this is an existential moment for American democracy and it is up to everyone to do their part.”
America’s commander-in-chief has broad powers – some well-known, some less so. Some lawmakers and democracy advocates worry that nothing will stop a president from mobilizing the military to intervene in elections, control America’s streets or quell nationwide protests.
Wary of Trump’s longevity — he’s even running with President Joe Biden in the polls — Democratic lawmakers already known as Trump adversaries are working on a parallel track.
Among the least understood tools available to a president is the Insurrection Act. Vaguely worded, it gives the president considerable discretion to decide what constitutes an uprising and when it is acceptable to deploy active duty military in response, experts say.
Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill fear Trump could invoke the law to involve the armed forces in the face of nationwide protests or if the midterm elections don’t go his way.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, is crafting a bill that would clarify the law and give Congress and the courts a say in its use. Its chances of passage are slim given that Republicans control the House and are largely loyal to Trump.
“Many horrors could result from Donald Trump’s unfettered use of the Insurrection Act,” Blumenthal said in an interview. “A president with malicious motivations could use it in a variety of dictatorial ways, unless at some point the military itself resists what it sees as an illegal order.” But this places a very heavy burden on the military.”
Trump’s vow to seek ‘retaliation’ on behalf of those he says he was “wronged” and “betrayed” has raised fears that he will use his presidential powers more broadly as a cudgel against his political enemies. Adding to the anxiety, he remarked during a Fox News Town Hall last month that he would be a “dictator” – but only on his first day in office with the aim of closing the border and drilling for oil. He later posted on his social media that he had made the remark. “jokingly.” Most recently, Trump told a Fox News town hall in Iowa that “I’m not going to have time for revenge.”
The detractors don’t believe it.
“He represents a clear and present danger to our democracy,” said William Cohen, a former Republican senator from Maine and secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, who is not involved in the murky network. “His support is strong. And I don’t think people understand what it means to live in a dictatorship.”
Sent a list of questions about the fears raised in this article, the Trump campaign did not respond.
“The same lessons Lincoln learned”
Trump’s legal troubles offer new insights into his vision of a presidency that has abandoned its constraints. Even corruption or murder could not land a president in prison until Congress impeaches and convicts him, according to a legal theory advanced by his lawyers during a federal appeals court hearing Tuesday.
Trump faces charges for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In his defense, his legal team claims that in attempting to overturn Biden’s victory, Trump fell within the “outer perimeter” of his official functions and is therefore immune from prosecution.
Where does such reasoning lead? At the hearing Trump attended, a judge sketched out disturbing scenarios for what a president could do under this notion of expansive presidential immunity.