Former Army lawyer and New York Times columnist David French said that the judicial branch isn't going to save the country, but it's certainly protecting it for now.
Such was the case on Thursday, when GOP-appointed Judge Richard Leon issued a scathing ruling in Sen. Mark Kelly's (D-Ariz.) lawsuit against the Pentagon, which sought to demote him for appearing in a video in which he reminded soldiers that they do not have to carry out unconstitutional orders.
French recalled former top Trump aide Corey Lewandowski, who now helps run the Department of Homeland Security, when he said, "You should take Trump seriously but not literally." French said that we should do both.
Trump "wishes that his political opponents be prosecuted; he wishes to suppress their free speech. And thank goodness for a judiciary that is independent and is able to see this for what it is, and it's pure authoritarianism. And the judge is exactly right to cut it off at the knees," French explained.
While it may have saved Kelly, that doesn't mean the judiciary will save everyone, French said.
"It does give me hope because it gives us a chance think about the judiciary as like a rear-guard action for a retreating army," he continued. "The judiciary cannot save the country. That's up to the American people. It's up to us as to who we elect as leaders at the end of the day. But if we elect a rogue leader, as has happened, the judiciary can keep them confined within a box for a while."
So, the judiciary, he said, is, in a way, "keeping the hope, the spark of hope alive."
"It's up to the American people to fulfill our responsibilities. Because the bottom line is our Constitution is drafted in such a way as that it can restrain rogue presidents, it can restrain rogue legislatures, it can even restrain rogue populace for a short while. But ultimately, the people get what they want. And that's why the conversation about elections gets so important," he closed.
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