Dan Goldman Slams GOP: 'They Are Perfectly Happy For Donald Trump To Become A King, A Dictator'

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During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) denounced Congressional Republicans' reconciliation package.

Transcript

00:00The gentleman from New York is recognized.

00:01Move to strike the last word. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:04One of the little known passages, sections, that snuck into this bill is the very last one,

00:14which is Section 70303, called Restriction of Funds.

00:20What it does is it makes it much, much more difficult for a judge to enforce a contempt order.

00:31Huh. Wonder why the Republicans are trying to do that.

00:36As two judges have threatened to hold the administration in contempt of court for defying court orders,

00:45now the Republicans, rather than encourage the President of the United States to follow the rule of law,

00:54to follow court orders, including a unanimous nine-to-nothing Supreme Court ruling,

01:01are actually trying to make it easier for the President to violate court orders and violate the law.

01:09And this is the Judiciary Committee.

01:11Most of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are lawyers themselves.

01:17Their entire careers have been around abiding by the rule of law.

01:24And now, rather than hold the President accountable,

01:30uphold our Constitution,

01:31uphold the fundamental rule of law that undergirds our entire system,

01:36no, they are trying to limit the ability of courts to enforce contempt orders.

01:46Now, contempt orders are just simply orders by a judge holding someone in contempt

01:53when they do not follow a court's order.

01:57So, when, for example, the administration continues to fly people who have had no due process to a terror prison in El Salvador

02:10after a judge has said,

02:14don't fly anyone there,

02:16that's a violation of a court order.

02:19And if that judge wanted to enforce that order,

02:21he would hold the administration in contempt.

02:24And if they do not comply with that,

02:27there are escalating penalties,

02:29financial,

02:30even potentially jail.

02:32So, that is what's going on right now.

02:36And the Kilmar Abregu-Garcia case is the best example of this

02:39because the Supreme Court has ruled unanimously.

02:43And let's be real.

02:45This is not a five-to-four decision

02:48that is hyper-partisan.

02:50This is the three Republican justices that Donald Trump appointed to the Supreme Court

02:56and two others who are so far to the right of them,

02:59they're off the reservation,

03:01agreeing that the administration violated due process

03:06and needs to facilitate the return of the person who was,

03:10they admit, mistakenly removed.

03:12What does Donald Trump say last night?

03:14I have the power to return him,

03:19but I am not going to.

03:22That is direct defiance of a Supreme Court order,

03:25a nine-to-nothing Supreme Court order.

03:28And you would think

03:29that my congressional friends on the other side of the aisle

03:33who take an oath to uphold the Constitution,

03:38who understand

03:39that Marbury v. Madison establishes

03:42that it is the courts,

03:44not the president,

03:46who gets to interpret the laws.

03:49It is the courts,

03:51not the president,

03:52who gets to determine

03:54whether someone should be deported or not.

03:58You would think that they would say,

04:00huh, let's make sure

04:02that our president is actually following court orders.

04:06Because if he's not following court orders,

04:10then why would anyone else follow court orders?

04:14And our entire system breaks down.

04:18That is clearly what Donald Trump wants to do.

04:20He wants to be a king

04:21who gets to make all of these decisions himself.

04:25He has already grabbed,

04:28willingly,

04:29all of Congress's power

04:31as a check and a balance

04:33on the executive branch.

04:34Now he's going after the courts.

04:37But instead of trying to uphold

04:40our system of checks and balances,

04:43my Republican colleagues

04:44want to make it easier

04:47for Donald Trump

04:48to disregard court orders.

04:51They are perfectly happy

04:53for Donald Trump

04:54to become a king,

04:56a dictator.

04:58And it is shameful

04:59that they put this clause in there

05:01to make it easier

05:02for him to defy court orders.

05:05And I yield back.

05:06Gentleman yields back.

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