By Rita Cook
Correspondent
Texas Metro News
WASHINGTON DC – When White House official Stephen Miller made the “plenary authority” reference to Pres. Donald Trump power’s last week, he immediately stopped talking and shut down.
It was during a live interview with CNN.
The CNN interviewer tried to get him to respond and while he was blinking, he did not say another word.
They had to cut to a commercial.
People have referred to Miller as “glitching.”
Unless Miller is a robot and someone unplugged him, it was the oddest interview I have seen in some time.
Was he accidentally saying the quiet part out loud?
Plenary authority refers to a power that is full, complete, and unrestricted in its scope.
Miller was using the term referring to the various National Guard deployments in U.S. cities.
When CNN came back after the commercial break Miller kept talking acting as if his glitch never happened.
He said, “I was making the point that under federal law, Section Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the president has the authority anytime he believes federal resources are insufficient to federalize the National Guard to carry out a mission necessary for public safety.”
The truth is, Trump does not have this authority because if he did that would give himsupreme power over the military. And, while the president is referred to as the commander in chief the United States has checks and balances
In fact, our founding fathers created a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch/person from becoming too powerful. Thus, the three distinct/independent branches: the legislative (Congress), the executive (the President), and the judicial (Supreme Court and federal courts).
The Declaration of Independence stresses the right of the people to “alter or to abolish” a government that becomes destructive to the people’s rights. It seems the writers believed that ultimate sovereignty resides with “We the People.”
And, unless I jumped into a timeline where the constitution changed and I have not read the new one, the US military swore an oath to protect the constitution, not the executive branch.
The Insurrection Act Section 252 of Title 10, Chapter 13 states “Use of militia and armed forces to enforce Federal authority,” allowing for presidential deployment of military for law enforcement if domestic violence or obstructions hinder federal law execution, which some say last week happened in Chicago.
The federal agent’s cars were blocked in by 10 vehicles and the agents had to exit their vehicles. One of the vehicle’s passengers who rammed the agent’s vehicles was also armed with a semi-automatic weapon. Weapons were deployed and defensive shots fired.
It was said in this incident—armed assault on agents, local police refusal to assist, and escalating crowd—could demonstrate an insurrection since police in Chicago were apparently told to stand down.
Either way, there are limitations to plenary power.
Consider the Posse Comitatus Act, which is a federal law from 1878.
BrennanCenter.Org explains “The Posse Comitatus Act bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement except when expressly authorized by law. This nearly 150-year-old law embodies an American tradition that sees military interference in civilian affairs as a threat to both democracy and personal liberty. However, recent events have revealed dangerous gaps in the law’s coverage that Congress must address.”
Tensions are high and if we are going to remain one country, we need to stop allowing political divide and strong egos daring the other side to make a move.
For the good or the bad depending on your politics, this is not the time to dare Trump and his administration to do anything that could even be “considered” an insurrection. This is the time to come together and vote out politicians who are part of the problem on either side of the aisle.
If we do not act now as one unified United States then the executive branch’s plenary power is going to take away your rights while people are still scratching their heads trying to figure out the definition.
Rita Cook is a world traveler and writer/editor who specializes in writing on travel, auto, crime and politics. A correspondent for Texas Metro News, she has published 11 books and has also produced low-budget films.
