Fordham Law Professor Bruce Green, director of the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, was quoted in an ABC News article, commenting on the Trump administration’s reassignment of some career Department of Justice officials to a newly-formed task force to prosecute immigration violations.
But Trump’s taken a far more expansive view of executive authority, and could try to wield his influence directly over the DOJ and FBI.
Already his administration’s removed some career DOJ officials, sparking concern within the department’s National Security Division, ABC News previously reported. Others were reassigned to a newly-formed task force to prosecute immigration violations in so-called “sanctuary cities.”
“The test will really be if President Trump asked the Justice Department to prosecute someone or investigate someone, will they do it?” said Bruce Green, a Fordham Law ethics expert who examined this issue during Trump’s first term.
Backstops still remain if that were the case, experts noted: prosecutors could threaten revolt, courts could reject cases that lack proof of a crime or Congress could step in. But Trump is entering a second term with Republicans controlling the House and Senate, and a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that’s agreed with him on some aspects of presidential power.
“It’s a little early to know whether all of the guardrails are being obliterated,” said Green. “But sadly, all signs point in that direction.”