Donald Trump overrode Governor Gavin Newsom to federalize the California National Guard to police the streets of Los Angeles. Protests over ICE’s deportation tactics are growing, prompting the Trump administration to leverage extreme authority over the protests, with Pentagon head Pete Hegseth warning that he will call in the Marines if necessary. All of this calls into question the limits of presidential authority in domestic civil disturbances and whether Posse Comitatus is still the law of the land. While it’s still on the books, it has been effectively gutted over the past 30 years by multiple administrations through procedural changes to the U.S. Code that have gone largely unnoticed. 

Access the episode resources.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:52

Chapter One: Defining Presidential Authority. 00:03:15

Chapter Two: Timeline to Total Authority. 00:09:45

Chapter Three: Handing the Keys to the “Fascist in Chief.” 00:16:08

Epilogue: De Facto Nullification of Posse Comitatus. 00:18:48

Post Show Musings: 00:21:01 

Resources

Public Intelligence: DoD Directive 3025.12 Military Assistance for Civil Disturbances (MACDIS)

Department of Defense: DoDI 3025.21, February 27, 2013, Incorporating Change 1 on February 8, 2019

Gov Info: Federal Register, Volume 78 Issue 71 (Friday, April 12, 2013)

Department of Defense: DoD Directive 3025.12 

AP News: What to know about the protests over Trump's immigration crackdown in LA and other cities

POLITICO: Newsom blasts deployment of National Guard to LA as ‘purposefully inflammatory’

TIME: Trump Sparks Backlash Ordering National Guard to LA Protests

U.S. Code: Positive Law Codification

Legal Information Institute: 19 U.S. Code § 1677 - Definitions; special rules

U.S. Code: uscode.house.gov

The New York Times: Newsom Criticizes Hegseth for Saying Marines Could be Mobilized in California

Legal Information Institute: 18 U.S. Code § 1385 - Use of Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force as posse comitatus

Bonnie Baker: The Origins of the Posse Comitatus

NPR: Trump expands military use at the southern border. Are there legal limits?

UNFTR Resources

Video: LA Protests: Is this the END OF POSSE COMITATUS?

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