In the weeks since Donald Trump returned to office, Democrats and legal scholars have warned that he’s provoking a constitutional crisis by trying to expand his power and ignore laws that stand in his way.
On Wednesday, the White House had a new response to that. It’s not the president who is causing the problem, said press secretary Karoline Leavitt, it’s the judges who are blocking some of his agenda by saying it’s illegal.
(February 10, 2025)
In the last 21 days, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed alleging that the administration’s actions violate the rule of law and are contrary to the Constitution or laws of the United States. The list grows longer every day.
These actions have forced affected parties to seek relief in the courts, which stand as a bulwark against these violations. We support our courts who are treating these cases with the urgency they require. Americans know there is a right way and a wrong way to proceed. What is being done is not the right way to pursue the change that is sought in our system of government.
These actions do not make America stronger. They make us weaker.
(February 10, 2025)
Tracking the Trump administration’s failure to follow the judiciary’s orders.
(February 10, 2025)
There is no universally accepted definition of a constitutional crisis, but legal scholars agree about some of its characteristics. It is generally the product of presidential defiance of laws and judicial rulings. It is not binary: It is a slope, not a switch. It can be cumulative, and once one starts, it can get much worse.
After President Trump left the White House in 2021, critics of his norm-breaking use of executive power implored Congress to tighten legal limits on when presidents can unilaterally reshape American government with the stroke of a pen. But lawmakers largely did not act.
Before his departure, the president released a three-minute recorded video message saying he was cooperating only to prevent bloodshed between the secret service and law enforcement.
[Sound bite: President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean-English)]
“I have agreed to appear before the CIO, despite the investigation being illegal, to prevent bloodshed.
The embattled president had been holed up in his fortified residence for weeks surrounded by his Presidential Security Service team, evading arrest as he faces several probes and an impeachment trial.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is working with police and the defense ministry to investigate Yoon, first attempted to detain him earlier this month, but it failed after an hours-long showdown in which soldiers and members of the presidential security detail blocked some 80 police and investigators from approaching the presidential compound.
Südkoreas Ermittlungsbehörden haben am Mittwoch Präsident Yoon Suk Yeol verhaftet.
Er steht im Zusammenhang mit der Ausrufung des Kriegsrechts am 3. Dezember im Verdacht des Hochverrats.
The acting president’s remarks come after a second warrant was issued last Tuesday, allowing the president to be detained for questioning about the martial law incident for up to 48 hours.
The letters were sent by the CIO two weeks after it obtained warrants to search the presidential residence in Yongsan District, central Seoul, and take Yoon into custody over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.
A CIO-led attempt to execute the warrant on Jan. 3 failed in the face of resistance from a combined force of 200 PSS and military personnel who blocked investigators and police from gaining access to the presidential residence.
Nach dem Verfassungsgerichtsgesetz soll im Falle der Abwesenheit des Angeklagten ein neuer Termin festgelegt werden. Sollte er auch den neuen Termin versäumen, kann die Verhandlung ohne ihn laufen.
(January 8, 2025)
Eighteen People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers who broke through police barricades to vote in favor of repealing martial law have since been labeled traitors. So too have the 12 alleged lawmakers who supported President Yoon‘s impeachment. Recently, acting President Choi Sang-mok faced similar accusations after appointing two Constitutional Court justices. But this raises a critical question: Who is betraying whom?
Without the actions of those 18 lawmakers, the PPP would remain tarnished by its complicity in shielding martial law. Without Choi’s decision, the impeachment trial could have descended into a legal quagmire, leaving the nation paralyzed.
The Ministry of National Defense reportedly conveyed to the Presidential Security Service (PSS) on Jan. 3 that deploying the 55th Guard Corps to block the arrest was inappropriate. On Thursday, the PSS reportedly responded that it „understood“ the ministry’s position.
A ministry official said soldiers from the 55th Guard Corps would not be deployed again to obstruct similar attempts to execute the president’s arrest warrant. However, the ministry clarified that it was not considering withdrawing the battalion from its assignment under the PSS.
Es gab kritische Stimmen, nach denen beim ersten Versuch der Verhaftung von Yoon am 3. Januar zu wenig Personal im Einsatz gewesen sei. Demnach wird damit gerechnet, dass beim zweiten Versuch das Einsatzpersonal stark aufgestockt wird.
(Update: 2025-01-08 15:45:31)
Die Verteidiger machten zugleich deutlich, dass sie nicht akzeptieren würden, sollte ein solcher Befehl beim Bezirksgericht Seoul West beantragt werden. Denn nicht dieses Gericht, sondern das Bezirksgericht Seoul Zentral sei das zuständige Gericht für das Büro für Korruptionsermittlungen gegen hochrangige Beamte (CIO).
(Update: 2025-01-08 15:45:43)
Das Bezirksgericht Seoul West hat einem weiteren Antrag auf einen Haftbefehl gegen den suspendierten Präsidenten Yoon Suk Yeol stattgegeben.
Das Büro für Korruptionsermittlungen gegen hochrangige Beamte (CIO) gab diese Bewilligung am Dienstag bekannt. Der erste Haftbefehl war am Vortag abgelaufen.
The CIO told reporters that its investigators were confronted by around 200 secret service officials and troops, who formed a human wall some 200 meters ahead of Yoon’s residence.
A few CIO prosecutors were eventually allowed to approach the residence to present the arrest warrant to secret service chief Park Chong-jun around 10:10 a.m., but he denied access to the residence, citing presidential security regulations.
About 100 officials from the CIO and the police had been in the presidential compound during the standoff.
Die Entscheidung traf das Büro für Korruptionsermittlungen gegen hochrangige Beamte (CIO) am Freitagnachmittag.
Das CIO begründete die Entscheidung mit der fortgesetzten Auseinandersetzung mit dem Sicherheitsdienst des Präsidenten. Daher gehe das Büro davon aus, dass die Vollstreckung des Haftbefehls de facto unmöglich sei.
Wegen der Besorgnis über die Sicherheit der vor Ort eingesetzten Mitarbeiter stelle es die Vollstreckung ein, fuhr das Büro fort.
According to Spiegel, SPD members of the Bundestag in a recent meeting joined local and regional politicians in voicing doubts over Scholz’s chances to succeed and called for Pistorius to step in.
The comments were made on Tuesday at a meeting of the Seeheimer Kreis (Seeheim Circle), a conservative wing of the SPD which claims to be aiming at “a modern and pragmatic policy,” the German newspaper reported
Die politischen Turbulenzen in Berlin wirken sich auch auf die Parteien in München aus. Während die FDP demonstrativ Gelassenheit zeigt, geben sich die Grünen kämpferisch – und der OB rückt von Olaf Scholz ab.
Mr. Scholz vowed to keep governing until the end of the year and then to demand a confidence vote in Parliament in January, a test he may fail. That would open the way for early elections, a rarity in Germany since World War II, possibly in March.
…Als Politikwissenschaftlerin kann man natürlich nicht geheim halten, dass das alles hochinteressant und spannend ist und man sich darüber freut, das beobachten zu können. Als Bürgerin des Landes gebe ich aber auch offen zu, dass das bewegende Zeiten sind und weitreichende Zeiten, und insofern ist es ein gemischtes Gefühl, mit dem man auf das schaut und sich schon fragt, wenn wir in den USA gestern früh anfangen und hier in Deutschland, in Berlin gestern Abend enden, was so an einem einzigen Tag alles an Bewegungen stattfinden kann und uns jetzt über Monate, womöglich Jahre beschäftigen wird. …
The Biden administration was caught off-guard by the decision on Election Day, The Times of Israel cited a U.S. source. “Minister Gallant has been an important partner on all matters related to the defense of Israel. As close partners, we will continue to work collaboratively with Israel’s next minister of defense,” the NSC spokesperson told TOI.
Israel Katz, currently the foreign minister, will become defense minister. Gideon Sa’ar will replace Katz as foreign minister, the prime minister’s office said Tuesday. Neither has extensive military experience, though Katz has served in the cabinet throughout the war.
The move came as voters in the United States, Israel’s most important ally, voted for their next president. Gallant is a close interlocutor for the US administration, and has been said to have daily conversations with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Das Aussendepartement hat den israelischen Vorstoss in einen UN-Stützpunkt verurteilt.
Zuvor hatten israelische Panzer das Tor zu einer Unifil-Einrichtung durchbrochen, über ein Dutzend Blauhelme wurden verletzt.
Auch der Papst hat dazu aufgerufen, die «Friedenstruppen zu respektieren».
(Issued on: 13/10/2024 – 22:57)
„In a deeply worrying incident that occurred today, the entrance door of a UN position was deliberately breached by IDF armored vehicles,“ he added in a statement.
At least five peacekeepers have been wounded in recent days as Israel targets Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
According to the Mission, at about 04:30 (local time), while peacekeepers were in shelters, two IDF Merkava tanks destroyed the main gate and entered the position.
“They requested multiple times that the base turn out its lights,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The tanks left about 45 minutes later after the Mission protested through its liaison mechanism, saying that IDF presence was putting peacekeepers in danger.
At around 06:40, peacekeepers at the same position reported the firing of several rounds 100 metres (about 110 yards) north, which emitted smoke.
“Despite putting on protective masks, fifteen peacekeepers suffered effects, including skin irritation and gastrointestinal reactions, after the smoke entered the camp,” UNIFIL reported.
The affected peacekeepers are receiving treatment.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on the United Nations to immediately pull its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon from areas where Israel is battling Hezbollah, saying that the terror group is using the international troops as “human shields.”
Netanyahu’s comments came as the UN peacekeeping force said two Israel Defense Forces tanks had entered a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon position Sunday.
The Senate will vote on these resolutions when it reconvenes in November. Let me explain why these arms sales must not proceed.
Israel clearly had the right to respond to Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack on October 7th, which killed 1,200 innocent Israelis and took hundreds of hostages. But Prime Minister Netanyahu’s extremist government has not simply waged war against Hamas. It has waged all-out war against the Palestinian people, killing more than 41,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 95,000 – 60 percent of whom are women, children, or elderly people. Netanyahu has bombed hospitals and schools, starved children, destroyed infrastructure and housing stock, and made life unlivable in Gaza. The United States must end its complicity in this atrocity.
Sending more weapons is not only immoral, it is also illegal. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act lay out clear requirements for the use of American weaponry – Israel has egregiously violated those rules.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and a pair of his Senate colleagues on Wednesday formally introduced resolutions aimed at blocking a series of proposed arms sales to the Israeli government as it bombards Gaza and Lebanon, deepening humanitarian crises there and pushing the region to the brink of all-out war.
The six Joint Resolutions of Disapproval, five of which were backed by Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), would together prevent the sale of $20 billion of U.S. weaponry to Israel. The Biden administration approved the massive sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions, tank ammunition, F-15 fighter jets, and other military equipment last month.
“You’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop,” he said. Soon the students would flood into a campus administration building.
That scene played out 60 years ago at the University of California, Berkeley. The words were directed at the university leadership, and referring to its restrictions on campus political activity. But the speech, from the student leader Mario Savio, and the sit-in that followed could have happened yesterday.
We raise our hats out of respect for them, as these protests in the universities and streets of the western world and the Global South keep the flame of hope burning in the souls of our people who long for freedom and justice.
These protests indicate profound, radical changes that separate an ageing American generation that blindly supports Israel and a new generation that promotes justice in Palestine and demands an end to the Israeli occupation and to the war on Gaza.
They represent the future of America and its bright face, the emergence of which we have long awaited.
(20.03.2024)
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke virtually to Republican senators during a closed-door meeting Wednesday and found a welcome reception.
But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declined a request by Netanyahu to address the Senate Democratic caucus, a spokesperson for Schumer said, adding: “Sen. Schumer made it clear that he does not think these discussions should happen in a partisan manner. That’s not helpful to Israel.”
(20.03.2024)
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer convened a meeting Tuesday with executives from major American Jewish organizations to defend the lightning rod speech he gave last week calling for early elections in Israel to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“There was a fundamental question of whether he would backpedal or defend himself, and he very clearly defended himself,” said one the executive on the call Schumer held with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
(19.03.2024)
It was here, he recalled, inside this hulking red brick school deep in south Brooklyn, where at 16 he was glued to his transistor radio to hear breaking news of the Arab-Israeli War of 1967. It was where he idolized Sandy Koufax, the Jewish pitcher for the Dodgers who refused to play on Yom Kippur, and learned it was cool to be proud of his heritage.
And on Sunday, Mr. Schumer, the New York Democrat, majority leader and highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States, returned to explain how his upbringing in Jewish Brooklyn in the shadow of the Holocaust prompted him to deliver a politically risky speech that brought about a watershed moment in the politics of U.S.-Israeli relations.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a briefing with reporters on Monday that Netanyahu „did raise his concerns about a variety of things that have come out in the American press.“
Sullivan added that from Biden‘s perspective „this is not a question of politics. It‘s not a question of public statements. It‘s a question of policy and strategy.“
One source said the fact that Netanyahu aired his grievances with Biden helped to somewhat clear the atmosphere.
Die «Rheinische Post» beruft sich dabei auf einen Brief der Ausschussvorsitzenden Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) an Bundestagspräsidentin Bärbel Bas (SPD). Darin heißt es demnach, an der fraglichen Sitzung hätten insgesamt etwa 105 Personen teilgenommen, «darunter zahlreiche Vertreterinnen und Vertreter der Bundesregierung und der Landesvertretungen».
«Es ist also nicht zwingend, dass die Informationsweitergabe aus dem parlamentarischen Raum erfolgt ist», schreibt die FDP-Politikerin demnach weiter. Sie bittet Bas, eine Ermächtigung zur Strafverfolgung wegen Verletzung des Dienstgeheimnisses und einer besonderen Geheimhaltungspflicht zu erteilen.
“I spent two months thinking about this and wrestling with it,” Schumer told me in an interview Friday. Far from being an attack on Israel, Schumer said, it was an attempt to shore up support for the Jewish state, particularly among young Americans who have known Israel only under Netanyahu’s leadership.
(15.03.2024)
But sometimes in Washington, the most telling indicator is not a public statement but the absence of one. Mr. Biden could have asked Mr. Schumer to hold back, so that he did not endanger the president’s future ability to deal with Mr. Netanyahu, with whom he now barely speaks. He could have said the United States should not express an opinion on the inner workings of Israel’s democratic processes. He did none of that.
Lawmakers and aides who have spoken with Mr. Biden in recent weeks say his anger at Mr. Netanyahu is now eating away at his reluctance to go public with his critiques.
What they are saying: „I‘m not going to elaborate on his speech,“ Biden said in response to a question at the top of his meeting with the prime minister of Ireland at the White House.
„He made a good speech, and I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans,“ Biden added.
(14.03.2024)
Behind the scenes: Schumer told senior White House officials on Wednesday that he was going to give a speech about Israel, but he didn‘t give them a copy of the speech or ask for their permission, U.S. officials told Axios.
(…)
„I don‘t know if people in Israel really understand how big of a step it is for him to do this,“ one U.S. official said.
(14.03.2024)
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., delivered an address on the Senate floor to call for a two-state solution amid the conflict in Gaza and new elections in Israel.
Netanyahu sei „vom Weg abgekommen, indem er sein politisches Überleben über die besten Interessen Israels gestellt hat“. Die vom israelischen Regierungschef eingegangene Koalition mit weit rechts stehenden Extremisten habe zur Folge, dass Netanyahu „zu sehr bereit“ sei, „die zivilen Opfer im Gazastreifen zu tolerieren“. Dieses Handeln lasse die weltweite Unterstützung für Israel auf einen Tiefstand sinken. Das Land könne aber nicht überleben, wenn es zu einem „Paria“ – einem Ausgestoßenen – werde, warnte Schumer.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s warning that Israel risked becoming a “pariah” and his call for new elections marked a momentous moment in modern US-Israel relations.
(14.03.2024)
„As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past,“ he said.
„At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government,“ he said.
(…)
He also called for a two-state solution.
(…)
Schumer also called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to step aside.
As the first major political shakeup since the war‘s outbreak and Gantz‘s subsequent entry into the emergency government, Sa‘ar‘s departure may signal broader realignments within Israeli politics. Pundits also questioned whether the move signaled Sa‘ar‘s belief that elections may take place even before the war is over.
Sa‘ar, a former minister in the Likud party, left after multiple disagreements with Prime Minister Netanyahu. His right-wing faction united with Gantz‘s center-left Blue and White party ahead of the 2022 elections under the banner of the National Unity party.
Opening its main nightly news broadcast, Channel 12 said that the statement came from “the most senior Israeli political source you can imagine,” indicating this was Netanyahu himself, and added that the US report had left the prime minister “fuming.”
CNN quoting a US intelligence report, says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s viability as a leader is “in jeopardy”.
“Distrust of Netanyahu’s ability to rule has deepened and broadened across the public from its already high levels before the war, and we expect large protests demanding his resignation and new elections,” the report said. “A different, more moderate government is a possibility.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Gantz, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, as the US seeks to ratchet up pressure on the Netanyahu government to allow more aid into Gaza. Those calls have gone largely unheeded as the humanitarian crisis deepens and ceasefire talks have yet to reach a breakthrough.