Ex-prosecutor horrified by Trump's newest abuses: 'Eradication of the rule of law'

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann refused to mince words on MSNBC in warning about the dangers of President Donald Trump's aggressive use of the military for law enforcement, from ordering summary strikes on boats in international waters believed to be running drugs, to sending in forces to keep order in U.S. cities around the country.

These actions are illegal, he said — and wildly dangerous for American rights.

"The question is going to really be for the courts, how much are they going to say, you know what? That is not a good faith determination when you are saying, for instance, what's happening in dropping bombs on Venezuelan boats, that there is no armed conflict, there is no imminence, there is no self-defense," said Weissmann. "None of the things that would justify that."

"And it's going to be even more salient when it comes onshore," he continued. "And we're talking about attacks that are happening in Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago. And you have this sort of this quote from Stephen Miller about 'unleashing' law enforcement. You know what is the leash in this country? The Constitution of the United States. That is something that you have to adhere to. There's no 'unleashing' and getting around that just by saying black is white."

"You've already alluded to this, but I'm going to invite you to say a little bit more on — last yesterday, Trump told the generals that they were authorized to, quote-unquote, 'handle the enemy within,'" said anchor Melissa Murray. "And now he's claiming these powers against enemies abroad. What's the link here? How do we bring all of this together?"

"I really think about it as an eradication of the rule of law and a very cynical view that Americans' sort of political view that they will think, you know what? As long as I want to get rid of immigrants that are vilified as being rapists and murderers, and as long as I'm going after drug dealers, that it's okay to have these kind of violations," said Weissmann. "And I think, by the same token, as The New York Times has pointed out, are Democrats going to be reluctant to criticize this on the theory that they'll look weak on crime?"

"As somebody who's been in law enforcement for over 20 years, you know what? You can be really strong on crime and you can want to prosecute it, and you can also obey the law when you do it," he added.

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