Trump's Ideas for Expanding U.S. Create Conflicts with Constitution

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump set off a possible constitutional crisis with his social media post on Christmas Day saying he wanted to buy Greenland, take control of the Panama Canal and to make Canada the 51st state.

Some U.S. political and legal analysts say his expansive proposal forebodes autocratic tendencies that could create havoc over the president’s legal authorities.

USA Today columnist Michael J. Stern told CNN, "When one country tries to take over parts of another country it's not 'expansion,' it's an illegal act of war."

Election lawyer Marc Elias said on social media that “This 'expansion' would require military invasions of several allies in violation of international law.”

U.S. constitutional law authorizes the president to oversee foreign relations but not to intrude on other countries’ sovereignty. Any annexations of foreign countries or their properties would require either popular agreement of the annexed country or a U.S. constitutional amendment, according to constitutional law attorneys.

Article Four of the Constitution allows the federal government to create new states but only from territories already under U.S. ownership.

In Canada, Panama and Greenland, political leaders are ridiculing Trump.

Trump taunted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by calling him “governor” and  threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canadian exports unless border security and drug issues are resolved.

He added, “But if Canada was to become our 51st state, their taxes would be cut by more than 60 per cent. Their businesses would immediately double in size and they would be militarily protected like no other country anywhere in the world.”

Trudeau responded by posting a video on his X account that discussed close economic and diplomatic relations with the United States but gave no recognition to Canada being anything other than a separate country.

In Panama, President José Raúl Mulino said there was no possibility of agreeing to a U.S. takeover of the Panama Canal.

"The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians,” Mulino said during a press conference. “There's no possibility of opening any kind of conversation around this reality.”

Trump based the idea of taking over the canal largely on Panama’s relations with China. Panama established diplomatic ties with China in 2017 while breaking off relations with its rival Taiwan.

Trump’s sarcastic post on Truth Social said, "Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal."

Panama’s president called Trump’s allegations “nonsense.”

Greenland’s prime minister made equally strong criticisms of Trump’s proposal for buying Greenland.

Trump said that “for purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said in a statement, “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.

Trump Plans to Resume Death Penalty in Reversal of Biden Policy

President-elect Donald Trump is saying he will reverse his predecessor's policy that disfavors the death penalty as soon as he is inaugurated this month.

President Joe Biden last month commuted the death penalties of 37 murderers convicted in federal court. Instead, they will spend life in prison. 

Trump responded the next day with a post on his social media site Truth Social saying, “As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters. We will be a Nation of Law and order again!”

Trump criticized Biden’s commutation of the death sentences by saying it was an insult to the families of the murder victims.

“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” Trump wrote in his post. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense.

Historically, presidents were granted limited control over the Justice Department by the separation of powers described in the Constitution. Most death penalty decisions and policies were left to the state and federal supreme courts.

Trump said while he was running for president that he would expand use of the death penalty against killers of police officers, persons who engage in drug and human trafficking and migrants who murder American citizens.

A majority of Americans, or 53 percent, favored the death penalty for murder in a Gallup poll this month. In 1994, 80 percent of Americans favored the death penalty.

The majority support stops at murder and does not include other crimes Trump mentioned.

In the last six months of Trump’s first presidency, he ordered that federal executions resume after a 20-year pause. Thirteen federal prisoners were then executed, the most for one presidency in a century.

The American Civil Liberties Union released a statement after Trump resumed his pledges to restart death penalties saying it was a “chilling” plan.

"He's already shown us that he will act on these promises," the ACLU said in reference to Trump’s first presidency. 

 The three federal prisoners whose sentences Biden refused to commute were each convicted of hate crimes and mass murder.

They were Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; Tree of Life Synagogue gunman Robert Bowers, who killed 11 in Pittsburgh; and Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black congregants at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.

Allegations Against Former Rep. Gaetz Create Criminal Charge Possibilities

The potential for criminal prosecution of Matt Gaetz remains unclear this week after the U.S. House Ethics Committee released a report alleging the former congressman paid thousands of dollars for illegal drugs and sex with women at least 20 times.

The women included a 17-year-old.

The report says Gaetz violated state and federal criminal laws as well as congressional standards of conduct banning prostitution, statutory rape and illegal drug use.

Until mid-November, the former Republican congressman from Florida was President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to become U.S. attorney general. He withdrew as suspicions of wrongdoing and denunciations among senators plagued the nomination.

Gaetz was accused of misbehavior previously but the new report portrays his lapses as being more extensive than previously mentioned by the House Ethics Committee.

The Ethics Committee released the report last week despite last-minute efforts by Gaetz to stop it by filing a lawsuit. 

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., sought an emergency order to block publication of the report, saying it would contain "untruthful and defamatory information" about Gaetz.

The lawsuit also says the House Ethics Committee lacks authority over Gaetz because he no longer is a member of Congress.

No judge ruled on the request for an emergency order before it was posted on the Ethics Committee’s website.

The report found that Gaetz paid more than $90,000 for sex with 12 women. Other findings say:

• “During the period 2017 to 2019, Representative Gaetz used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on multiple occasions.
• Representative Gaetz accepted gifts, including transportation and lodging in connection with a 2018 trip to the Bahamas, in excess of permissible amounts.
• In 2018, Representative Gaetz arranged for his Chief of Staff to assist a woman with whom he engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the U.S. Department of State that she was a constituent.”

Reports of sex with a teenager drew some of the most intense outrage during the House investigation. The girl, who is now an adult, was listed as “Victim A” in the Ethics Committee’s report.

"Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex," the report says. "Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age."

The new allegations could provide the basis for criminal charges if state or federal prosecutors decide to pursue the case.

Florida law says anyone 24 years old or older who has sex with a person 16 or 17 years old has committed a second-degree felony that could be punished by as much as 15 years in prison. It provides no exception if the adult was unaware the minor was underaged.

In anticipation of the report, Gaetz posted on X, "In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated - even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years. I NEVER had sexual contact with someone under 18. Any claim that I have would be destroyed in court - which is why no such claim was ever made in court."

The federal Controlled Substances Act allows prison terms for illegal purchase or use of both ecstasy and cocaine.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.

New Laws Affect Residents in D.C., Maryland and Virginia

New laws across the Washington, D.C., region take effect this week that could touch the lives and businesses of everyday residents.

In the District of Columbia, the biggest change is that motorists no longer will be allowed to turn right at red stop lights.

An exception is allowed when the local Department of Transportation installs signs that specifically say drivers can turn right on red.

The right on red turns originated decades ago during an oil crisis as a means of reducing gasoline consumption. The D.C. Council’s Safer Streets Amendment Act of 2022 changed the right turn rule as well as modified traffic laws for cyclists and scooters.

The law allows cyclists and scooters to make “Idaho Stops” at stop signs, which means they must yield to pedestrians and automobiles but they are not required to stop.

“This change would recognize that our existing traffic laws were designed for cars, not bikes; thus, many of our current laws include behavior requirements ill-fit for ensuring the safety of roadway users other than drivers and modifying those laws will help improve safety for all roadway users,” former D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh said when the law won approval.

Also in the District, new laws require most businesses to accept cash payments. Exceptions are granted for safety to businesses that operate late at night or that sell alcohol.

The District’s new laws also mean local government will reimburse home healthcare visits for beneficiaries of Medicaid, the D.C. Healthcare Alliance or the Immigrant Children's Program.

In Maryland, the biggest change likely to be noticed by residents comes from the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act. It means more speed cameras will be installed in work zones and that traffic violators will pay stiffer penalties.

Speeding through a work zone could result in fines from $60 to $500. The fines double if workers are present.

In Virginia, lawmakers modified employment laws to help workers.

The minimum wage is increasing from $12 an hour to $12.41. Businesses with at least 25 employees are required to offer workers retirement savings accounts through the RetirePath Virginia program.

In addition, ethnic origin is now given extra legal protection if the workers face discrimination, harassment or retaliation based on their ancestry.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.

D.C. Court of Appeals Declines New Election for ANC Seats

The D.C. Board of Elections correctly identified a problem in a recent Advisory Neighborhood Commission election but the error was too small to require a new vote, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled last week.

The election was for two seats representing American University’s campus.

Some voters were given the wrong ballots, according to Adah Nordan, 20, a candidate for one of the seats. She said the mistake cost her the election.

Voters in district 3E07 were mistakenly given ballots for district 3E08, Nordan said. Both districts are made up exclusively of American University students.

She was alerted to a potential problem after the election was certified. It showed she received only one vote that she cast for herself despite the fact several people she knew said they voted for her.

The D.C. Board of Elections investigated before agreeing with Nordan. The Board then asked the court last month to void the votes in both districts and to order a new election.

The court declined, saying the Board of Elections failed to prove significant mistakes produced inaccurate results.

The three judge panel’s ruling said elections could be voided only for an “act or omission, including fraud, misconduct, or mistake serious enough to vitiate the election as a fair expression of the will of the registered qualified electors voting in the election.”

Board of Elections officials said they are trying to correct any mistakes that contributed to some voters receiving the wrong ballots.

ANC commissioners are unpaid and hold low positions in city government but can exert significant influence on issues such as bike lanes, construction projects and liquor licenses.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.