The other day, Westport attorneys and longtime civic volunteers Ken Bernard and Lawrence Weisman spoke to 24 Ukrainian law students.
The Zoom session focused on the American legal system, and what Bernhard and Weisman believe is President Trump’s threat to the Constitution.
Ken Bernhard (top) and Lawrence Weisman, in a poster advertising their Zoom lecture.
Bernhard has taught law in Ukraine before. He became friendly with Professor Dmitriy Kamensky, who arranged this and a previous event (and translated for the Americans).
Professor Kamensky will be in Westport at the end of June.
Here is what Bernhard and Weisman told the Ukrainian law students.
==================================================
I want to thank Professor Kamensky for inviting my colleague attorney Weisman and me to discuss with you our thoughts on the current political and Constitutional issues facing the US.
To avoid any misunderstanding, we are not speaking for anyone other than ourselves. We are not connected with any organization or political party.
Let me first set the stage for our discussion. Why do we have a Constitution?
A Constitution is a foundational document that establishes the basic principles, structure and processes by which a government operates. It serves as a framework for organizing political power, defining the rights of citizens, and outlining the responsibilities and limitations of various branches of government.
A Constitution is intended:
- To limit and prevent abuses of government power;
- To provide stability by establishing a clear structure, and a set of rules to foster consistency and predictability and to maintain order;
- To define and protect individual rights upon which government may not infringe;
- To reflect a nation’s core values and to serve as a statement of collective identity and purpose;
- To distribute power among different branches to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful; and,
- To promote accountability and the rule of law.
The US Constitution distributes power among 3 co-equal branches of government: the Executive (the president and his cabinet, nominated by him and approved by Congress); the Congress (made up of the Senate, with 2 senators from each state regardless of size, and the House of Representatives, reflecting the size of the population of each state); and the Judiciary.
The Founding Fathers, who wrote the Constitution in 1787, purposefully intended to separate power so that each branch could provide checks and balances to the other 2, and prevent the concentration of power in one branch or in one person. The American colonialists had just fought a revolution to separate from a king. They wanted a new form of government, where power was more democratic.
For our system to function effectively, however, each branch of government must play its part, and each must acknowledge the limits on its power. When one branch of government fails to discharge its Constitutional responsibility or to check another branch from asserting power, the stage is set for a Constitutional crisis. That is what we, Ken and me, fear we are seeing in the new administration.
President Trump is claiming executive powers that no previous president has ever asserted, and for the moment, the Republican majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives is letting him do it.
This surrender of power by the Congress can foster autocracy and corruption. It undermines cultural norms and long-standing policies that, while not specifically set out in the Constitution, are the rules by which the US has governed itself for the 240 years.
With the executive branch seemingly intent on undermining the Constitution, and the legislative branch unwilling to play its proper role, Ken and I feel that our country is facing a Constitutional crisis, and our democracy must look to the judiciary (the courts) to provide a check on the executive branch. The problem is that courts and cases take time to resolve issues.
When one branch of government asserts superiority over the others, it can have serious consequences including:
- Erosion of our Constitutional government, specifically the separation of powers
- A reduction in accountability where the rule of law is weakened and fundamental democratic principles violated, and
- A government that causes uncertainty, public disillusionment, unrest, and political instability
That’s what Ken and I fear is happening now in the US.
Here are some examples of Trump’s overreach of executive power:
Unlawful impoundment of funds: The Trump administration unilaterally delayed or canceled appropriations enacted into law, a practice known as impoundment, which is prohibited under the Constitution.
Interference with Congressional investigations: President Trump made aggressive constitutional claims to protect his financial records, challenging congressional committees’ authority and undermining the separation of powers.
Politicization of the Justice Department: The administration’s actions, including the dismissal of inspectors general without proper notice or rationale, compromised the independence of oversight bodies designed to ensure executive accountability.
Violation of the Emoluments Clauses: President Trump received substantial payments from foreign governments through his businesses, raising concerns about violations of the Constitution’s Domestic and Foreign Emoluments Clauses.
Disregard for the Appointments Clause: The administration’s frequent use of “acting” officials in key positions without seeking Senate confirmation raised concerns about bypassing the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.
Unilateral military actions: President Trump ordered military strikes without seeking congressional approval, raising questions about the executive’s war powers under the Constitution.
First Amendment violations: The administration barred journalists from certain events, infringing on press freedoms protected by the First Amendment.
Interference with federal employment: Advisor Elon Musk’s directive requiring federal employees to justify their job roles led to confusion and legal challenges, potentially infringing on due process rights.
Erosion of democratic norms: The administration’s governance style, characterized by treating the state as personal property and rewarding loyalty over competence, led to significant corruption and incompetence within the government.
Disregard for judicial authority: Following unfavorable rulings, President Trump and his allies attacked the judiciary, undermining the constitutional principle of an independent judicial branch.
These actions collectively represent significant challenges to our constitutional framework and our democratic principles and we fear we are in the beginning of a Constitutional crisis.
It’s only a crisis if someone other than the left wing crazies are in power.
false.as are so many maga radicals state. There are voluminous Republican politicians and military leaders that have said that agree. I don’t know on what planet people live to fail to understand what is occurring. My comments on Dans blog will not change anything. Mr Gallo and anyone else can google or research a long lost of republican military leaders as well as Republican constitutional lawyers who say the same. The maga crowd should be identified properly. Radicals
Are either of these distinguished gentlemen constitutional attorneys?
No. Not every country has a constitution.
It’s so scary. What can we do?
when millions of people take to the streets change is a possibility. I have been writing consistently on 06880 that we are sleep walking to the end off democracy. America deserves what it voted for.
It’s frightening that you think people take you seriously.
Chicken Little is alive and well‼️
Clutch your pearls 🤓
No you idiot‼️
My apologies. I get my Republicans mixed up.
Well defined reasoning as to what crimes Trump and his facist government are committing. Every Rabbi and head of a congregation should show the picture of Musk doing the Nazi salute and his own daughter admitting that’s what he did and meant. Wonder how many would keep their Teslas?
The orthodox Jewish community loves Trump. They disregard all forms of anti semitic behavior by Trump Musk and his administration. Trump uses Israel as a prop to allow his world vision. His world vision is China gets Taiwan. Putin gets Ukraine and later on more of Europe. Israel gets Gaza and the West Bank. And the USA is made to be a white nation. Elon Musk is an immigrant from South Africa with a long history of discrimination. Not all Orthodox Jews are pro Trump but the majority are As they love Trumps policies toward Israel. Israel is also a nation loosing democracy. The USA unsure Trump wants Canada. Greenland and Panama. good luck.
100% spot-on point.
Every comment thread on posts nominally about antisemitism around here are proxy comment battles about Netanyahu’s actions. Why worry about the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza when we can hand-wring about hurt feelings on Ivy League campuses? Suddenly right-wingers care about feelings? Give me a break. If you express concern about 40,000 dead Gazan citizens, some dopes will call you a Hamas supporter. Does Jonathan Greenblatt send out talking points for people to post? Because it sure reads that way.
Circle jerk/Circle of jerks.
Well said🇺🇸
is the stock market performance an indicator of the great management and circle of jerks as you frame it ??
I will always respect Westporters’ and their opinions, however, this is totally off base. The Biden Admin drifted into un constitutional territory on so many occasions. God bless our president and Elon Musk. Going after that fraud is not pretty but must be done, can you imagine 36 trillion in debt, and the left is firebombing businesses and painting swastikas on cars. Looks to me like Elon must be getting close. Imagine All of Bidens pardons signed with an auto pen…nothing constitutional there…give me a break.
Also, notice the lockstep nature in the legacy media? Eh? Millions to news organizations…oh thats constitutional right there, NYT, politico, pressuring facebook into censorship, the twitter files… the list goes on and on.
Okay, so what has trump supposedly done! Just say it without innuendo, what was anti constitutional, in the lamguage of a regular guy…
It took a lot of courage for you to post this and you are dead nuts on.
Inspectors General’s jobs was to root out instances of fraud, waste and abuse. Too bad they were all fired. Tell me how it’s efficient to fire the people who were doing the job you put in musk and his incels to do? Now that, strikes me as fraud, waste and abuse.
Oh, I forgot to mention. Trump fired the IGs without the 30 days prior notice to Congress, AS REQUIRED BY LAW. But little chance the emperor without clothes has any respect for the law as he now declares HE is the law. Is that okay with Todd and Tom?
Biden is gone. Trump is here with his side kick who wants to run the country like a business. But if the desire of Trump et al is to tame the deficit, why are they cutting the bureaucracy which is only 2% of the total budget. Entitlements and the military are the big expenditures and while the GOP flaps their wings about cuts, they back out every time. The GOP thinks our government sucks and then get elected to prove it.
P.S. And the GOP will continue with the tax cuts for the rich which will add trillions to the deficit. Dumb on dumb. Tariffs?
President McKinley came up with that idea for his Robber Barons . . . thankfully TR got rid of them.
Sorry Dan
I have enjoyed following and contributing to “06880” .
This blog always focused on Westport, our beautiful community and issues that were important and most of the time remained non-politically driven.
Now since the election of President Trump this house like this state has tilted so far left in it’s daily posts that the emphasis and support of “06880” is now Souring” the readership that it and this sState are about to fall of the once great foundation of where “06880” has always done its best work.
I for one and I am sure many other Westport residents can no longer participate and enjoy “06880” as it becomes so politically charged with “Trump” deraningement Syndrome” and supports articles that are tainted with such overly biased retoric!
I realize as should you that when you loose a basketball game you don’t stomp off the court, throw the basketball in the weeds and try to blame the loss on the other team and referees.
Our Democracy is not about to be destroyed! If the many Westporters who subscribe to this belief o ly need to look in the rearview mirror and see what the last four years of a disfunctional and broken Democratic administration in Washington did to our nation.
Enjoyed my time and participation on “06880” , but this ship will founder in these waters without balance.
Best of luck to the future, for Westports future I hope you can find balance. It does not exist here today!
Thanks, Ray, for your honest comment. As always, readers are welcome to submit “Opinion” pieces from all across the spectrum. They just need a Westport hook or angle — in other words, not just “this is what I think.”
For example, the Tesla story was about a Westport woman who traded hers in. This most recent one was about 2 Westport attorneys (one a former Republican state representative, BTW) who participated in a Zoom session with 24 Ukrainian law students.
Hope that helps clarify what I’m looking for.
Isn’t stomping off the court after a loss and throwing the ball into the woods and trying to blame the other team for your actions EXACTLY what happened on 1/6? Surely you don’t actually believe that that day was “filled with love” or was just a “routine” visit to the capitol? Oh gosh, maybe you do.
You mean they weren’t just innocent tourists?
If you support a seditionist, you are a seditionist.
If you support a neo-Nazi, you are a neo-Nazi.
If you support a half-wit (who thought immigrants were eating dogs and cats)… Guess what? You’re a half-wit.
A 99 year old Holocaust survivor, before his recent death, stated: The 11th commandment should read thou shall not be indifferent. 90 million registered voters did NOT in November. Trump got 80 million to Harris’ 79 million. Sit back with your head in the sand, Ray, and you will see the economy collapse and Trump attempt to control each branch of the government. Get involved!!!
After being presented with an extensive list of unconstitutional actions, it takes a Trump acolyte to say just tell me what Trump has done that’s unconstitutional.
Black is white. Lies are the truth and the truth is made up of lies. And what is there isn’t there.
Good jobs Ken and Larry. The world needs to be constantly reminded of what a democratic government is, how it genuinely provides the freedoms we all enjoy, and how fragile it can be.
A list of things you dont like is not a list of breaks with the constitution. Reporters at the white house are not barred from covering news. A disagreement with elements of the judiciary is legal. Weak arguments my friends. But i will always be a westporter first, and as such, willing to listen. I stop debating at threats of political violence… such as antifa or firebombing. Painting a swastika on a car, made in America 100 percent, is not constructive critique.
And ending birthright citizenship by executive order. What’s that, chopped liver?
the inmates are running the asylum.
Hines said Biden saluted the Supremes and said “Yes Sir” when they ruled against his tuition forgiveness. WRONG ‼️
In fact he tried an end run twice. So Jim are you uninformed or a political speaker (liar)?
The comments by Ken and Larry are very sound. It is disappointing, actually scary, that several comments were critical. We all can have differing views about immigration, climate change, the war in the Ukraine, Medicaid and wasteful government spending. What should unite us is the reality that our system of government, a government under the law, is being attacked by Pres. Trump and his people. So many of their actions violate our written laws. As to the Constitution, Trump and his people seek to establish a unitary Presidency in which the President, as the head of the Executive Branch, has substantially complete discretion with respect to the enforcement or non enforcement of the laws passed by Congress and signed into law by Presidents. Even if our Courts rule against Trump ;and his people, damage will have been done. My guess is that Pres. Trump hopes the Courts will support his actions but, in essence, does not really care since he will have accomplished his basic goal of destroying our institutions and system of government. We should all be scared, but not too scared to speak out and take actions.
I’ll just hang around here and wait for someone who objects to this article to tell us what in it was false or incorrect. Without bringing up Hunter or Hillary, or course.
You have two minutes. Starting…now.
You guys are a bunch of scardey cats🤩
I am not amused by the grabbing non whites off the street, without charge, without proof of any crimes, without charge, and deporting them to foreign jails. Oh, that’s right. They had tattoos.
They’re being deported for being here illegally, not for being non-white, you bumbling idiot, you know, against the law? Who tf cares if you’re amused or not. Frankly, your posts make you sound like a lunatic, so far devoid of any rational or critical thought that you are the one who is actually “amusing” to any rational reader.
Good one ‼️🇺🇸💣
how many local business are hiring undocumented workers ??
Most of those being processed for deportation are non-White. Further, many of those being picked up by ICE are awaiting asylum hearings, here legally. 11 million undocumented. A big bus and a big tab. Ronnie had the right idea.
In your head that’s the case but Trump has not presented a single shred of evidence to the American people that they are here illegally. Remember due process? But when they’re out of coherent ammo, you can always count on the trump crowd to make personal attacks.
Do you feel the same way about green card holders who dare to protest against a foreign government? I would hope so but I won’t hold my breath.
Here we have liberal guy who is more worried about due process for ms 13 members and could give a shit about US citizens having to deal with out. Crazy!!
I’m worried about due process, period. Due process in America protects “any person” here. You know what “any” means, right? Look, I don’t like the ghost runner but that’s the rule. Deal with it.
Apologies to Dan for exceeding the limit.
Read the Patriot’s Act, kindly sir, It remains the law of the land. You can kiss your 4th, 5th and/or 6th amendment goodbye, they departed following 911.
@DWoog, I thought there was a three comments per thread rule?
Put down your drinks and go find something else to be mad about.
5 comment limit. I’m letting this one go on a bit longer.
To what end, Dan? Uplifting Ukrainian morale?
Do we have any Constitutional Attorneys, reading this blog, who can elaborate and opine on the aforementioned issues and concerns?
I’d like to hear from a few accountants (CPA’s preferably) who can opine on why/what to do about the fact that the country is going bankrupt while Congress is unable to agree on and stick to a budget. Then I would like to hear from a few business turnaround experts who have successfully rescued a company from bankruptcy by adjusting its infrastructure to align with its incoming revenue. Perhaps their insight might be applicable. I would prefer government experience but I’m afraid no one’s ever done it.
I charge $500 a hour.
“There are none so blind as those who will not see”
This thread is closed to comments. It was hijacked by someone using a fake name. His comments have been removed, along with those in reply to him.