Contrarians Combat Trump’s Wrongdoing at Home and Abroad
Fighting on all fronts: Publisher's Roundup 57
Two very different Trump transgressions occupied my week: the illegal war on Iran and the unlawful demolition of the Kennedy Center. I coauthored a bipartisan Contrarian exposé of the former and filed for emergency relief to stop the latter. And though the devastation of the Iran war cannot be compared with the destruction of the Kennedy Center, I was struck by what we can learn from — and do about — each.
On Iran, there is much to say, as I explained in my Contrarian essay with Republican luminaries who formerly served in senior roles in all three branches of the federal government. The war is grossly illegal. But there is, alas, little to be done in my preferred venue for action, the courts. They have erected strict barriers to suing in this area. (My colleagues and I did come up with one idea I am trying to develop into a case; stay tuned for that in future weeks.)
I was, however, able to take action on a domestic legal violation by seeking expedited relief in our Kennedy Center case to stop the destruction of that cultural treasure. We first brought this matter on behalf of Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) with Nathaniel Zelinsky and other colleagues at Washington Litigation Group to reverse Donald Trump’s attempt to add his name to the Kennedy Center. Now we’ve amended it to stop the plans to close and demolish the Kennedy Center, and we are asking for rapid review from the court, as we explained on the Contrarian YouTube channel. You make all that possible with your paid subscriptions.
Different as they are, these topics do share touchpoints. Above all, both exhibit profound contempt for the rule of law. In the case of Iran, the Constitution gives Congress the power to take this kind of action, pure and simple. There is no excuse for failing to get congressional authorization, and no president has ever tried something of this scope and scale without doing so.
Of course, it is true that presidents of both parties have committed offenses against the text of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, but assembling those lesser transgressions into a single justification will not fly.
And then there’s the matter of the UN Charter, which the U.S. Senate ratified in 1945. That means it has been and continues to be the “law of the land.” The president is required to follow it. Instead, the Trump administration has grossly violated it, including by openly calling for regime change, carrying out the assassination of a foreign leader, and launching a war of aggression in the absence of an imminent threat.
There’s much more that I, along with Judge J. Michael Luttig (Article III), former Sen. John Danforth (Article I), expert ethics attorney Richard Painter (Article II), and others outline in our essay, which I hope you will read.
Though hardly comparable, we cannot ignore the illegalities occurring here at home, like what has happened with the Kennedy Center. Even renaming it (the subject of our pending case) was a flagrant violation of a clear dictate of Congress — and shutting it down for demolition and remodeling, as Trump proposes to do despite Congress ordering it be a “living memorial” to the slain president, would be, too.
And that’s not to mention the devastating impact on the other statutorily mandated purposes of the Kennedy Center. That includes serving as an arts hub for the nation. According to the law, the Kennedy Center Board must “present classical and contemporary music, opera, drama, dance, and other performing arts from the United States and other countries” and serve as a leader in “arts education and policy,” among other functions.
The risk of losing the Kennedy Center as we know it is too great to ignore. It may never recover, particularly if Trump largely demolishes it. That is precisely why, with your support, we have amended our complaint and are challenging this blatantly illegal effort in court with full force, alongside our outstanding co-counsel. We are hopeful that the court will intervene to halt this repeated sidestepping of Congress and to protect a storied institution that belongs to the American public, not Donald Trump.
No, it’s not the same as stopping an illegal war. That was up to Congress — and the president’s party again failed us this week. But it is an important initiative to maintain the rule of law, protect Congress’s role under Article I, and keep the fight moving forward where we can. We’ve done that in 265 cases and matters to date — and we are going to keep going (including with that litigation idea we’re developing related to the Iran war). That is thanks to your paid subscriptions, and so of course is all of our scintillating Contrarian coverage. See for yourself in this week’s roundup put together by my wonderful colleagues.
An Illegal War
Trump Brings America Closer to a Quagmire in Iran
Brian Katulis diagnosed Trump’s second-term foreign policy as “strikes without strategy” and wrote on what America must now do to avoid another forever war. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there, and it will likely lead you astray.”
Operation Epic Fury and the Law
Brian Finucane took us inside the illegality of Trump’s operation in Iran — and what it will take to hold him to account under the Constitution, the War Powers Resolution, and international law. “There is no silver bullet solution to the problem of a president bypassing Congress to enact force unilaterally.”
Trump’s Avoidable, Deadly, Costly War with Iran
On the podcast this week, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) asked: Where is the intelligence or evidence that an attack from Iran was imminent? They’ve seen none. See also: Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) condemning what he calls “ a War of Choice,” and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) on “funding an Unconstitutional War.”
Trump and Hegseth Want AI Without Rules
Tom Malinowski wrote on Anthropic’s principled stand against weaponized AI, which got it fired by Trump’s DOD — and in the process showed a legislative and political path forward for Democrats. “Support for AI safety rules is one of the few causes that unites Americans across party lines.”
Selling Out / Cashing In
The Paramount/Warner Bros. Merger Is Not What a Free Press Looks Like
Neera Tanden condemned the Ellisons’ plan to increase a Trump-friendly media monopoly that has already compromised CBS News — and outlined how state attorneys general can stop it.
An Illegal, Unjustified War Underscores Danger of Media Consolidation
Jen Rubin wrote on how, on the advent of Trump’s deadly operation in Iran, the stakes of the journalism crisis grow even higher. “Major news events — including complex wars — highlight the danger in allowing a few MAGA billionaires to control our news.”
On this week’s “Offsides,” Pablo Torre and Jen dissected the insider trading pandemic rocking sports and politics. “When you have a market that is telling you, here’s what the future is like, but that future is literally being shaped by money … you’re not only creating a vector for corruption and quid pro quo and insider trading stuff, you’re also fundamentally creating a dystopia.” See also: Who’s Feeling Lucky?, Meghan Houser’s deeper dive on the ascendance of prediction markets.
Science & Healthcare
The Silent Starvation of American Science
Jeff Nesbit wrote on the invisible impoundment of science funds that is doing exactly what Trump’s sweeping budget cuts were designed to do — without the messy public debate.
Why We Fight for Science When Everything Is Going Sideways
Colette Delawalla put the administration’s war on scientific innovation in urgent context and offered ways we can all defend something that is at the heart of “the great experiment of American democracy.” (Including a National Day of Action today, March 7!)
Where U.S. Athletes Always Lose: Healthcare
As we said goodbye to the Winter Games, Megan Armstrong wrote on what else American athletes left behind in Milan Cortina: a standard of healthcare many of their peers take for granted. “The human body can be miraculous, but it can also be unexpectedly cruel. The system shouldn’t be even crueler.”
Elections
How are Black Americans Engaging with Elections Now?
After major Democratic wins in Tuesday’s primaries, Democratic pollster Terrance Woodbury joined April Ryan to dig beneath the headlines and look ahead to the midterms. “What I keep warning Democrats is not to take [Black] voters for granted.”
Every Expansion of Democracy Has Faced Backlash
Diamond Brown and Melody Dodoo wrote on the SAVE Act: the latest chapter in a long history of institutions and actors mobilizing to contain Black political power, “offered in the name of ‘election integrity’ but engineered as instruments of exclusion.”
NC Voters Oust Politically Unfaithful Officials
Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, joined Jen to discuss how Democrats pulled off state-level and local victories — and how to keep the momentum going. “I think the sky’s the limit for what North Carolina can do in November.”
Fighting back
The Contrarian Covers the Democracy Movement
This week we saw protests against war and ICE in Oregon and California, in Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, found a new protest song, and more. Check out the State Up for Science National Day of Action this Saturday, find other protests in your area at mobilize.us, and see other things you can do right now in our weekly Calls to Action. And, as always, send us your resistance photos at submit@contrariannews.org.
Democracy Rises and Falls with Women’s Movements and Mobilization
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf marked the beginning of Women’s History Month with “a state of the state for women,” highlighting feminist perspectives on the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, the downward spiral of reproductive rights at home, the affordability crisis — and how women are on the front lines of resistance.
Rev. Jackson’s Legacy Demands More: Disturb the Comfortable Anyway
Michael Franklin spoke with Dr. Joe Leonard Jr. on the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy — and the standard it sets for those who inherit it. “The question is not whether older leaders will keep telling stories. They will. The question is whether younger leaders will treat those stories as nostalgia — or as instruction.”
Cartoons, Culture & Fun Stuff
This week, our cartoonists took on the many ways “Operation Epstein Fury” doesn’t add up (A Chicken In Every Pot, In Two Weeks, Nick Anderson; Flyover Country, RJ Matson; Those Numbers Are Way Up, Michael de Adder) and why A.I. won’t be fixing anything (Tom the Dancing Bug, Ruben Bolling).
Meredith Blake wrote on two essential-viewing, Oscar-nominated documentaries: The Devil is Busy, which follows a clinic worker on the front line of America’s abortion war in Georgia; and The Alabama Solution, which bears witness to conditions in the countries’ deadliest prisons via contraband cell phone footage taken by incarcerated men.
Pistachio and Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Marissa Rothkopf Bates gave us a cake dedicated to “Cricket, soon-to-be former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s former dog, who deserved so much better from her. As we all did.” (It’s delicious.)
And last but never least, meet Tanner! Daryn Dickens’s cockapoo enjoys sleeping, belly rubs, and any time people come over.
This is the first I've heard of plans to demolish the Kennedy Center. What's next? The Lincoln Memorial? Thanks for being on top of it and fighting to reign in this mad king!
Thank you, Norm. While protecting the Kennedy Center might not seem as consequential as stopping an unlawful war might be, every blow for the rule of law against the lunacy that now overwhelms the Oval Office, is a victory we need.