Trump’s ‘deep-state’ obsession threatens U.S. justice system | Letter to the editor

One of the things that has allowed our democracy to function as long as it has is the existence of certain norms that fill in where the Constitution is vague or silent. The framers could not envision every issue that might come up, but people like George Washington very clearly established norms they hoped would continue far into the future. Some have since been codified into the Constitution (limiting the president to two terms), but others are still informal, yet important, norms. Many of those norms are under attack by the current administration which threatens our democracy.

Recently, President Donald Trump gave Attorney General William Barr the power to declassify material from various intelligence agencies related to the alleged surveillance of the Trump campaign. Ever since he was elected, Trump has been convinced that the Obama administration illegally spied on him. Now he has a compatriot in this suspicion who is ready to declassify intelligence documents to prove there was wrongdoing. The problem is that this runs counter to the way the intelligence community works and the role of the justice department. Even more concerning is the fact that Barr apparently asked Trump to give him the power to release classified documents and Trump agreed. Who is in charge here?

The norm that has long been established regarding classified information gathered by the intelligence community is that the role of the attorney general is to ensure that the various agencies involved work within legal parameters and remain apolitical. This goes back to the Nixon administration and has worked very well up to this point. Barr’s new powers fall right in line with the ongoing obsession by this administration of the “deep state.” Unfortunately, this obsession threatens to undermine the very fabric of our intelligence and justice system. When will it end?

Jenni Casale

Palmetto

This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 2:20 PM.