Compared To FDR, President Trump Is A Crisis-Time Civil Liberties Champion – By Burton W. Folsom (The Federalist) / April 22 2020
Has President Donald Trump, by encouraging governors to close much of the American economy, gone too far? Is the Constitution in jeopardy?
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington has accused President Trump of supporting “illegal and dangerous acts” during the Covid-19 crisis. As a free society, our country should indeed discuss constitutional abuses of power during times of national emergency.
After World War I, for example, the Supreme Court, in Schenck v. United States, argued that restrictions on free speech were justified during wartime. But where should the line be drawn? Has President Donald Trump, by encouraging governors to close much of the American economy, gone too far? Is the Constitution in jeopardy?
If we compare President Trump’s actions with those of President Franklin Roosevelt during World War II, we can see a stark contrast in how these two men approached civil liberties during a national emergency.
FDR: The Original Surveillance President
President Roosevelt stomped like a herd of elephants on the civil liberties of foes, and sometimes friends, before and during World War II. This was especially true in the areas of wiretapping, income tax audits, and the internment of loyal Japanese-Americans.
In December 1939, the Supreme Court in Nardone v. United States barred federal officials from using wiretaps in law enforcement. Robert Jackson, who became attorney general one month later, therefore ordered an end to wiretaps for gathering evidence.
Roosevelt was upset with this ruling and tried to get Congress to pass a law endorsing limited wiretaps in national defense. When that failed, Roosevelt told Jackson the Supreme Court surely did not want to stop wiretaps if the nation were in danger. He ordered Jackson to wiretap “persons suspected of subversive activities against the Government of the United States.”
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