While you were enjoying the second weekend of summer, the president and his allies were waging a sustained campaign to suggest the law does not apply to him. Things kicked off with the (probable) leak of a letter Trump's legal team sent to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, published by The New York Times, in which we learned that Trump essentially has unlimited power and authority—you know, like a king. The letter suggested that:

Trump cannot, by virtue of being president, obstruct justice.

Trump can "terminate the inquiry" into himself and his associates at any time, for any reason.

Trump can pardon himself or his associates at any time, for any reason.

Trump does not need to testify, even if subpoenaed.

Trump cannot be indicted.

Does this sound like the elected president of a democratic republic to you? The key is that his lawyers probably don't even believe some of this, at least as it relates to the Constitution of the United States. Initially, it was part of their efforts to prevent his having to sit for an interview with Mueller, which they became convinced would end in disaster. Now, if indeed it was their leak, it appears to be part of a sustained public relations campaign to get his section of the country rallied behind the idea that the president can do whatever he wants because he is the president.

In fact, it's now a secondary concern whether Trump did indeed do what he's accused of. Rudy Giuliani's interview on This Week with George Stephanopoulos Sunday brought that beyond all doubt, as Giuliani declared that four out of every five Trumpian motives were probably legal:

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Giuliani to @ThisWeekABC: "For every one these things he did, we can write out five reasons why he did it. Four of them are completely innocent, and one of them is your assumption that it's a guilty motive, which the president would deny." https://t.co/3jLhIMelu4 pic.twitter.com/FO6rTd8M2T — ABC News (@ABC) June 3, 2018

That's a pretty good percentage for anything—except when it comes to breaking the law. Giuliani also leaned into the idea the president can pardon himself:

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JUST IN: Does Pres. Trump have the power to pardon himself?



"He's not, but he probably does," Rudy Giuliani tells @GStephanopoulos. "He has no intention of pardoning himself, but that doesn't say he can't." https://t.co/IEUEWnjQqe #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/IE1AocigYl — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 3, 2018

And then the real darkness descended, as Giuliani declared in an interview with HuffPost that the president could have shot then-FBI Director James Comey in the Oval Office and not be prosecuted for it:

Giuliani said impeachment was the initial remedy for a president’s illegal behavior―even in the extreme hypothetical case of Trump having shot former FBI Director James Comey to end the Russia investigation rather than just firing him.

“If he shot James Comey, he’d be impeached the next day,” Giuliani said. “Impeach him, and then you can do whatever you want to do to him.”

This is a grotesque echo of Trump's campaign declaration that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any of his supporters. In fact, it depends on the idea that those same supporters will continue backing him as he runs roughshod over the rule of law and insists that there are no limits to his power.

There was also an appearance from "Judge Jeanine" Pirro, who hosted the wife of disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich—whom Trump floated pardoning last week. Everyone seemed to agree that Blago was just misunderstood when he was convicted on 17 counts of corruption for selling a Senate seat:



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Of Rod Blagojevich, Judge Jeanine says there are "many who feel, and maybe even the president, that the guy was just kind of practicing politics." He. Tried. To. Sell. A. Senate. Seat. He was convicted on 17 corruption charges and impeached 117-1. https://t.co/yrFNR6MVh8 — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 4, 2018

It's just politics, you can almost hear them saying of whatever Trump is inevitably charged with. Never mind that this is the same guy who said he would Drain the Swamp because he was so rich he couldn't be corrupted. And this festival of excuse-making and rationalizing and groundwork-laying would not be complete without various appearances from the president himself, who proudly announced Monday morning that he can pardon himself whenever he wants—but why would he?

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As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself, but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong? In the meantime, the never ending Witch Hunt, led by 13 very Angry and Conflicted Democrats (& others) continues into the mid-terms! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2018

Of course, he answers the question in the same tweet. When Trump is charged and he moves to pardon himself, he will claim the investigation was politicized by the 13 Angry Democrats—never mind that Robert Mueller and the man he reports to, Rod Rosenstein, are both Republicans. The latter was appointed by Trump. You know he will take this line because it is the line Trump and his associates took when he pardoned Dinesh D'Souza last week.

The imperial stage of this presidency has well and truly begun. The president, his legal team, and his outside allies continue to pay lip service to the idea he has done nothing wrong, but their attention has largely shifted to laying the groundwork for his escape from culpability once he is found out. This is the culmination of their sustained efforts to undermine the rule of law and declare Donald Trump to be above it.

The authoritarian movement that this president began during his campaign is approaching its natural conclusion, as Dear Leader runs up against limitations imposed on him by our democracy and declares they do not apply because there can be no limits on his authority. The signs are that his supporters will back him no matter what: He enjoys the support of 87 percent of Republicans, the highest of any president among members of his own party except George W. Bush following 9/11. That support is similarly reflected in the ethno-nationalist fervor of his rallies.

If the president believes he can do as he wishes because he has unlimited authority, and a section of the nation backs him simply because he is the authority, you are dealing with an authoritarian movement that could support a tyrant. The alarm bells should be ringing.



Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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