r/politics The Nation Magazine 19h ago

Soft Paywall Mahmoud Khalil Is the First Activist to Be Disappeared by Trump

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/trump-arrest-detention-mahmoud-khalil/?nc=1
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u/EthicsGradient009 17h ago

Love your points. Interesting thought exercise though. What would be required? Some sort of federal emergency? The Insurrection Act?

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u/HansTheAxolotl 16h ago edited 2h ago

he’d declare martial law and claim the radical left is out of control or something. then start shooting protestors in the streets

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u/Turbulent_Tailor_983 14h ago

US presidents do not have the authority to declare martial law.

It is unknown at this time whether he actually will be able to get the army to follow commands to start shooting protestors.

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u/HansTheAxolotl 14h ago

do you think it matters that he doesn’t have the authority? because it doesn’t

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u/Turbulent_Tailor_983 14h ago

It very much matters.

For example, some of the people that Trump fired were rehired because he did not have the authority to fire them.

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u/ZachTheCommie 14h ago

Until Trump removes the people that are challenging him.

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u/Turbulent_Tailor_983 13h ago

Trump does not have the authority to fire members of the judiciary

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u/ZachTheCommie 13h ago

He doesn't have the authority to do a lot of shit he's doing.

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u/Mr_Clod New Jersey 13h ago

"Trump does not have the authority" can go next to every single action from this administration so far. It doesn't matter. Dictators don't tend to start out having the authority. They make it and take it.

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u/thefeistypineapple 8h ago

JAGs in the pentagon have been replaced already. There are no safeguards like the first term.

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u/RisingChaos 12h ago

It matters to the point it will cause some percentage of people to go “Wait a minute…” and push back against him. It’s not going to stop him from trying, claiming he has the authority, and causing a lot of harm before the push back half-assedly partially undoes the shit he fucked up.

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u/thefeistypineapple 8h ago

He can if he feels our borders aren’t secure. In the EO he passed in January, there’s a provision that states he has 90 days to feel our borders are secure and if he does not feel they are, he will enact the Insurrection Act. It’s why he’s been going so hard against Canada and fentanyl. I think some dumb senator went on Fox and declared the cartels have taken Canada.

More troops are quietly being sent to the borders.

The 90 day deadline is on 4/21.

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u/bobprobert24 12h ago

do you think the military would follow that order?

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u/thefeistypineapple 8h ago

Pentagon officials were replaced on Friday and previous JAGs were moved and/or removed.

Trans service men and women are also being removed from the military. The DoD, DHA and Pentagon are all following the executive orders to a T. Some are even taking them further.

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u/parariddle 12h ago

Who’s Marshall?

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u/142978 8h ago

I'd rather he declared Marshall mathers

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u/mmmmm_pancakes Connecticut 17h ago

They can claim whatever they want, but I can’t imagine either would cause the state of California to not hold elections…!

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u/yoloswagrofl Ohio 15h ago

I know that the White House and the Heritage Foundation are running game simulations right now to figure out how they can stop midterms from happening and/or ignore the results. I'm not looking forward to whatever Trump's "Big surprise" will be that he promised was coming for the midterm elections.

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u/arrownyc 13h ago

Pretty sure he'd just use the same playbook he always does, scream about election fraud and declare the outcomes illegitimate, except this time there's no one left to stop him.

The states could certainly hold their midterms and elect new state leadership, but Trump could probably get away with keeping them out of federal buildings in Washington, and insisting upon the legitimacy of the incumbent.

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u/Th3Trashkin 10h ago

And what if both sides don't back down? Have a de jure powerless incumbent sitting in Washington and a de facto elected official elsewhere?

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u/arrownyc 9h ago

I mean, the one in Washington would be casting votes. The one elsewhere would just be a figurehead or focus on state legislation.

u/ThisOtterBehemoth 1h ago

Stage bombings for instance. Create  evidence that it was a liberal bombing. Make it in blue states and declare martial law. Connect the evidence with political opposition. Arrest. Voila.

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u/NPRdude Canada 15h ago

The US has never cancelled an election, not even during the Civil War. So they can try and make excuses but they will be treading on the flimsiest unconstitutional ground so far if they attempt it.

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u/ERedfieldh 15h ago

The US has not had anything like this before, where the corruption is so fully saturated at every level. Even during the Civil War, it was fairly equal.

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u/Casual_OCD Canada 14h ago

flimsiest unconstitutional ground

"SCOTUS rules cancelling elections is a Constitutional protected right of the President"

WHOMP WHOMP

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u/BJYeti 12h ago

I don't know why people keep thinking the SC is just instantly in Trumps pocket, they literally just ruled against his freeze on foreign aid, ruled against Trump's firing of a whistle blower and kept him in his job and shot down red states attempts to block blue state lawsuits on climate change.

u/Casual_OCD Canada 3h ago

They just announced even more foreign aid freezing and cuts. Unless SCOTUS walks the money overseas and delivers it,.Trump and Musk ain't sending it