August 28, 2019

Okay, Speaker Pelosi, it's time. Now he's openly urging his aides to break the law, he'll "pardon them later." Via the Washington Post, this may be predictable, but it's just nuts:

President Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land and disregard environmental rules, according to current and former officials involved with the project.

[...] Trump has repeatedly promised to complete 500 miles of fencing by the time voters go to the polls in November 2020, stirring chants of “Finish the Wall!” at his political rallies as he pushes for tighter border controls. But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed just about 60 miles of “replacement” barrier during the first 2½ years of Trump’s presidency, all of it in areas that previously had border infrastructure.

Actually, King Don, you promised them a wall paid for BY MEXICO. No one in their right minds believed you.

The president has told senior aides that a failure to deliver on the signature promise of his 2016 campaign would be a letdown to his supporters and an embarrassing defeat. With the election 14 months away and hundreds of miles of fencing plans still in blueprint form, Trump has held regular White House meetings for progress updates and to hasten the pace, according to several people involved in the discussions.

To get this done in time for Trump's election reality show, they're:

  • Waiving environmental impact studies.
  • Not vetting the contractors.
  • Ignoring landowners' rights.

When aides have suggested that some orders are illegal or unworkable, Trump has suggested he would pardon the officials if they would just go ahead, aides said. He has waved off worries about contracting procedures and the use of eminent domain, saying “take the land,” according to officials who attended the meetings.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pardon you,” he has told officials in meetings about the wall.

Of course, they actually have to pay for attorneys and go through a long, drawn-out trial first, but anything for the Mad King!

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