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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| DOJ seeks new emergency powers amid coronavirus pandemic |
| 2020-03-22 |
| [Politico] The Justice Department has quietly asked Congress for the ability to ask chief judges to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies ‐ part of a push for new powers that comes as the coronavirus spreads through the United States. Documents reviewed by POLITICO detail the department’s requests to lawmakers on a host of topics, including the statute of limitations, asylum and the way court hearings are conducted. POLITICO also reviewed and previously reported on documents seeking the authority to extend deadlines on merger reviews and prosecutions. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the documents. The move has tapped into a broader fear among civil liberties advocates and Donald Trump’s critics ‐ that the president will use a moment of crisis to push for controversial policy changes. Already, he has cited the pandemic as a reason for heightening border restrictions and restricting asylum claims. He has also pushed for further tax cuts as the economy withers, arguing that it would soften the financial blow to Americans. And even without policy changes, Trump has vast emergency powers that he could legally deploy right now to try and slow the coronavirus outbreak. The DOJ requests ‐ which are unlikely to make it through a Democratic-led House ‐ span several stages of the legal process, from initial arrest to how cases are processed and investigated. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #9 Oops, I see Alan beat me to it. Agreed: the Shitshow + Swamp is orders of magnitude deeper and worse than the Augean Stables. |
| Posted by: Lex 2020-03-22 17:54 |
| #8 Barr's doing his best. Not Hercules but this ain't mythology class. |
| Posted by: Lex 2020-03-22 17:52 |
| #7 To all those who complain about Barr and others cleaning up the swamp I support you, but, I would just say that the swamp is huge and has been building its defenses for a long, long time. There is only so much that can be done quickly and politics is the art of the possible. My first college paper in political science back in the '60s showed me that the swamp existed back then. It's had 50 years to accumulate more sludge and toxic waste and parasites. Hercules and the Augean stables are nothing compared to that. Let's wish them all the best and celebrate whatever victories they have. I'd rather try to empty the Great Lakes with a teaspoon. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2020-03-22 17:49 |
| #6 Has Barr done anything with his existing powers to clean up the swamp? |
| Posted by: charger 2020-03-22 15:39 |
| #5 No! Just no! Trusted Bush with the Patriot Act, then we got Oblowme. Fool me once ... |
| Posted by: SR-71 2020-03-22 07:51 |
| #4 they're a cheap date - it sold for $1 |
| Posted by: Frank G 2020-03-22 04:54 |
| #3 ^They share their plans with Newsweek? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2020-03-22 04:38 |
| #2 /\ Newsweek - Inside the Military's TOP SECRET Plans If Coronavirus Cripples the Government |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2020-03-22 04:22 |
| #1 So now more control requested. Many believe something more is going on here. So say we have martial law. Total lock down. Troops deployed. The swamp has been attacking Trump from even before he ran for office. Many in the military have said our government is capable of anything. So this would be the perfect time to have a coup. Removal of Trump, Pence and even the senate leadership. Leaving who next in line?. I smell a democrat. |
| Posted by: Dale 2020-03-22 04:14 |