Dems hammer Trump for Nixon-style 'massacre'

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/317028-dems-hammer-trump-for-nixon-style-massacre

Dems hammer Trump for Nixon-style 'massacre'
By Mike Lillis - 01/31/17 07:23 AM EST


House Democrats are wasting no time in denouncing President Trump for firing the nation's top law enforcer after she refused to carry out his directives barring refugees and those traveling from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country.

The White House said former acting Attorney General Sally Yates "betrayed" the Justice Department at the threat of national security. She was ousted late Monday night.

But Democrats see a more sinister motive, warning that Trump is adopting a tyrannical approach that politicizes the Justice Department and will discourage federal employees from upholding their constitutional duties across all agencies.

The lawmakers are comparing Yates's firing to President Nixon's 1973 purge of an independent prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal. The ouster of Archibald Cox sparked the resignation of two top administration officials — Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus — in an episode known as the "Saturday Night Massacre."

“President Trump has commenced a course of conduct that is Nixonian in its design and execution and threatens the long-vaunted independence of the Justice Department," said Rep. John Conyers (Mich.), senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

"If dedicated government officials deem his directives to be unlawful and unconstitutional, he will simply fire them as if government is a reality show."

He is hardly alone. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) hailed Yates's "courage" and accused Trump of acting recklessly "to get the answer he wants." Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), whose district is heavy with federal workers, said the firing represents "an alarming step for an administration already raising serious questions about its competence to govern." And Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) warned that Trump has set a "dangerous" precedent in ousting an official who simply disregarded an order that "is very likely unconstitutional."

“President Trump has now put his Cabinet on notice: if you adhere to your oath of office to defend the Constitution, you risk your job," said Leahy, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee.

more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/317028-dems-hammer-trump-for-nixon-style-massacre