BREAKING: A federal judge slams Donald Trump with an embarrassing defeat by ruling that he illegally fired two Democrats on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
And it gets even better…
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that the terminations are now rendered “null and void.” He stated that the PCLOB’s oversight “responsibility” of crucial counterterrorism activity makes it “incompatible” with a presidential firing on a whim.
The PCLOB was founded after the 9/11 Commission Report to ensure that counterterrorism efforts didn’t completely trample the civil liberties of Americans.
Trump fired Travis LeBlanc and Edward Felten, two of the only three Democrats on the PCLOB. He also fired the third Democrat, but her term was set to expire so she wasn’t included in the legal challenge.
Judge Walton stated that the board’s purpose and the manner in which it’s structured “clearly indicate” that Congress intended for it to be insulated from at-will terminations by the president.
“To hold otherwise would be to bless the President’s obvious attempt to exercise power beyond that granted to him by the Constitution and shield the Executive Branch’s counterterrorism actions from independent oversight, public scrutiny, and bipartisan congressional insight regarding those actions,” wrote the judge.
This ruling means that LeBlanc and Felton will remain on the board at least until their terms end, barring a successful appeal from the administration or an overruling decision from a higher court.
Americans can sleep a bit more soundly tonight knowing that Democrats will safeguard their civil liberties against MAGA fascists.
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