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Trump releases unlawful 5-page memo

Bucky said:
Liberals aren't asking for any help.... dude.
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In fact they are actively refusing any help, rather choosing to fiddle while their cities burn.
 
eohrnberger said:
In fact they are actively refusing any help, rather choosing to fiddle while their cities burn.
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Trump represents the darkness that must be removed from office otherwise we risk......
 
Bucky said:
Trump represents the darkness that must be removed from office otherwise we risk......
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We can see the 'darkness' falling on the Democrat controlled cities burning from the application of their Democrat leader's political ideologically driven into their public policies.

In comparison to those consequences, I think Trump is the risk I'd rather take, than having those very same political ideologically driven public policies go nation wide.
 
Fletch said:
Right. I was responding to another poster and my post had nothing to do with Trump. You would know that without me having to tell you if you would:

Read more. Cackle less.
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Posting the same stupid 4 words doesn't make you look smart, except to idiots who don't know what this thread is about. It's about Trump. You know - the guy you adore.
 
Bucky said:
Because it is illegal.
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Please elaborate how the executive branch making decisions on federal funding under their direct control is 'illegal'.
 
TheDoctorWasIn said:
Federal funding for states is not under the direct control of the Executive branch.

This is pretty basic civics.
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Not speaking of the funding which congress passes. Clearly that isn't the purview of the executive branch.

Is it not the DOJ's funding support, grants, of state and local police forces?
Wouldn't that place this in the executive branch's control?
 
eohrnberger said:
Not speaking of the funding which congress passes. Clearly that isn't the purview of the executive branch.

Is it not the DOJ's funding support, grants, of state and local police forces?
Wouldn't that place this in the executive branch's control?
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Every penny spent by the US Government must first be passed by Congress.
 
TheDoctorWasIn said:
Every penny spent by the US Government must first be passed by Congress.
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Congress authorizes the budget for the DOJ.
The DOJ allocates from their budget grants to state / local LEOs.
Isn't this the case?

It's rather academic, really, since the direction from the president isn't going to illegal, it'd be a waste of time, and would be sure to be challenged in court.
It'll probably be challenged in court legal or not, anyway.
 
eohrnberger said:
Congress authorizes the budget for the DOJ.
The DOJ allocates from their budget grants to state / local LEOs.
Isn't this the case?

It's rather academic, really, since the direction from the president isn't going to illegal, it'd be a waste of time, and would be sure to be challenged in court.
It'll probably be challenged in court legal or not, anyway.
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The DoJ allocates grants to local law enforcement according to the law passed by Congress.

The executive does not have the power to ignore those laws.
 
TheDoctorWasIn said:
The DoJ allocates grants to local law enforcement according to the law passed by Congress.

The executive does not have the power to ignore those laws.
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Agreed. The executive branch does not have the power to 'ignore' congress' fiscal allocations.

Within congressional budget allocations, however, does the executive branch not have discretion?

I do believe they would, as congress isn't going to micro-manage the budgets of individual departments or programs within the executive branch.

The Executive Budget Process: An Overview
Michelle D. ChristensenAnalyst in Government Organization and Management
July 27, 2012

Reallocation of Budget Authority: Transfers and ReprogrammingAgencies may also possess limited authority to reallocate funds during budget execution, eitherby transfers or by reprogramming.
Transfers typically involve a shift of budgetary resources fromone appropriations account to another, while reprogramming involves a shift of budgetaryresources from one project or purpose to another within an appropriations account.3
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42633.pdf - 8th page of PDF
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Further, from the OP's citation:

According to the memo, federal agencies will be given two weeks “to submit a report to the Director of OMB detailing all federal funds provided to Seattle, Portland, New York City, Washington, D.C., or any components” of those four cities -- all of which have Democratic mayors who have criticized the president in the past.

Legal experts and former White House officials agree that Trump’s directive was unlikely to survive legal scrutiny. “This is a campaign document coming out of the White House,” Sam Berger, a former senior official at OMB, told The Washington Post. “Any actual restriction on funding in court will immediately be sued and almost certainly struck down.”

The memo instructs Barr to identify “anarchist jurisdictions,” where elected officials have “permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures.” The memo does not explain what “reasonable measures” means in this context.

After Barr has identified these places, the memo says, Vought then has 30 days to direct “heads of agencies on restricting eligibility of or otherwise disfavoring, to the maximum extent permitted by law, anarchist jurisdictions in the receipt of federal grants.”
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So far, no action has been taken, only a request for what might be done and if action is taken, whatever action will be within the executive branch's interpretation of the law. Congress may have a differing interpretation of the law, in which case, in the proper order of things, a court and a judge will be the arbitrator of these differing interpretations of the law. :shrug:

So the question still stands, and is expanded to include:
  1. What is illegal about the executive branch Transferring and Reprogramming congressional allocated budgets?
  2. What illegal action has been taken to date?
 
eohrnberger said:
So the question still stands, and is expanded to include:
  1. What is illegal about the executive branch Transferring and Reprogramming congressional allocated budgets?
  2. What illegal action has been taken to date?
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1. That depends on where the money is coming from, and the laws and regulations regarding those particular programs.

The President does not have a general power to transfer funding. Any such power would stem from the laws passed by Congress, which are generally specific to the programs in question.

2. Since no actions at all have taken place, none.
 
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