Lucy Gellman Photo
Refugees at a Yale vigil protesting Trump’s executive order.
Ed Marcus, a man who has watched and waged political fights for a half century, has a prediction about all the controversies surrounding early actions by President Donald Trump: In the long run, the U.S. Constitution “will definitely hold, and in the short run, it will hold as well.”
Marcus, a former Connecticut state senator and Democratic Party chairman, made that prediction Tuesday during an appearance on WNHH radio’s “Legal Eagle” program.
Marcus, the founder of the Marcus Law Firm, arrived for the radio show about 12 hours after President Trump fired his acting attorney general, Sally Yates, after she refused to enforce his executive order that closed America’s borders for 90 days to those primarily from Muslim countries. Marcus agreed with critics who call some of his initial executive orders unconstitutional.
Marcus said there are enough people in Congress to take on the job to protect the nation against such measures from Trump. What needs to happen, he said, “is only a shift of three Republicans ” in the Senate to the other side. He said elected officials are acutely aware of “the outpouring of people who took to the streets all across America without too much organization, all totally against what Trump is doing.” As for the courts, he noted five federal judges have already ruled against Trump’s immigration order.
It may take some time, but Marcus said the appeals courts would also agree with those seeking to stop the order. “It will ultimately go to the Supreme Court. Maybe one or two will have a conscience. You never know, but maybe.”
The mass demonstrations in the streets across the nation since Trump’s election will have an impact, Marcus said. “All these hundreds of thousands of people might get him to change what he is doing.”
Marcus with “Legal Eagle” host Marcia Chambers at WNHH radio.
He said multiple lawsuits will be brought against Trump and his administration on various legal grounds, perhaps up to 25 lawsuits. The courts, he said, are a serious check on the president’s actions.
As for the president taking the unprecedented step of putting Stephen Bannon, a political operative, on the National Security Council, Marcus said, “It is unheard of … There is no rhyme or reason to what Trump is doing. He is satisfying the far right. And if he intends to run again, his chances are 1 out of 100 that he will be reelected,” if he manages to stay that long.
Marcus — one of the first political observers in Connecticut to publicly predict the downfall of former Gov. John Rowland on corruption charges — predicted that Trump will resign or be impeached before his term is over.
Click on or download the above sound file to hear the full WNHH interview with Ed Marcus.
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