The first lawsuits challenging the legality of President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration began rolling in on Friday, and lawmakers say more are likely to follow. “Americans deserve to know the true basis for President Trump’s unprecedented decision to enact emergency powers to pay for a border wall,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement. Given the extraordinary nature of Trump’s plan ― not to mention the extraordinary nature of his presidency ― legal scholars have raised concerns that Trump could take advantage of a national emergency declaration and expand its scope far beyond his border wall. In December, the Brennan Center for Justice identified 123 different statutory powers that may become available to Trump in the event he declares a national emergency. Those include letting the federal government seize private vessels at sea, assuming control of internet traffic, deploying the military as a domestic police force and dozens of other actions unrelated to the national emergency he’s claiming.

Source: Huffington Post February 15, 2019 19:19 UTC