Democracy Dies in Subversion
6th September 2018
Imagine, if you will, that a well-connected figure within Barack Obama’s White House had considered the unilateral nature of the Iran Deal to be a clear violation of the Constitution’s treaty clause, and had taken to the New York Times to explain that they were, in consequence, working from within the executive branch to thwart it. The reaction to such an admission would have been explosive. It would have yielded uniform and vehement condemnation, without caveats or excuse. Again: It is not acceptable to claim that “extreme circumstances” justify this behavior — at least it’s not unless you would also justify an assassination or a military coup. That some people think that Trump is insane or unstable or unable to fulfill his duties in no way alters the fact that this, by the author’s own admission, is subversion. There are mechanisms in place to deal with an unfit president in the White House. This was not one of them.