Last night, the American Constitution Society issued a press release formally calling upon the Federalist Society to join them in taking a public stance against the Trump administration’s repeated flirtations with firing Robert Mueller. At a certain point, ACS reasons, threatening to undermine the Department of Justice whenever they sniff too close to the White House becomes a rule of law matter.
On behalf of its thousands of members nationwide, the American Constitution Society calls on the Federalist Society and its members in a public letter to join in a united effort to avert a constitutional crisis relating to Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Since the Founders never contemplated Washington bad-mouthing Edmund Randolph for recusing himself in that cherry tree case, this should be a no-brainer for FedSoc. Alas, the venerable institution has not jumped at the opportunity to stand up for the premise that a president should not be above the law. After all, their annual conference featured speeches railing against the “pattern of lawlessness” of the Obama administration. Apparently, making recess appointments to the CFPB is a much more egregious breach of law than “threatening to obstruct justice.”
No one really expects FedSoc to sign onto the ACS letter. That would require the group to publicly defy a president promising to put every member on a federal bench by 2019, no matter what awful skeletons they have in their closets. In some cases, actual skeletons. Principles are one thing, and an intellectually captive chief executive hurtling a gravy train into the last vestiges of the New Deal are yet another.
In short, ACS shouldn’t hold their breath for FedSoc to publicly join their cause. But FedSoc’s managed to reaffirm their enthusiasm for eliminating affirmative action in the last 24 hours. So they’ve got their priorities straight.
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.