President Donald Trump might have just stumbled into a "perfect storm" that could lead to a federal court smackdown against his planned UFC cage match on the White House South Lawn, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance told MS NOW's Alex Witt on Monday.
This comes as a lawsuit filed by two local activists, including a Vietnam veteran, details the appearance of corruption surrounding the event, as well as its defacement of public property and violation of multiple regulations and the constitutional separation of powers.
That complaint, noted Vance, tears at the heartstrings on top of it all: "If you don't mind, I'lljust read you two sentencesthat explain where we are. Mr.Romano writes 'One of the mostmoving and powerful aspects ofthe Vietnam Veterans Memorialis its quiet tranquility. Thattranquility both honors thefallen, the fallen, and allowsthose who have come to paytheir respects an opportunity to reflect and remember withoutinterruption.'"
This, she noted, is part of a "forceful case" that the UFC event will desecrate these sites, which gives them legal standing to challenge it.
"Can I ask you on a bigpicture level, Joyce, what isthe point of having rules, ofhaving laws that requirecongressional approval if theyare treated as mere suggestions?" asked Witt.
This sort of brazen defiance of the law, Vance replied, is "the modus operandi forthis administration" as they do all they can to "plowpast laws and regulations thatdon't suit them, acting on theassumption that no one will getin their way, that Congresswill continue to be supine,that the courts won't interfere."
Unfortunately for them, Vance said, the lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta — a jurist who has a long history with Trump.
"They havea jurist who has shown apronounced ability to look atthe facts and the law and tryto hold the administrationaccountable," said Vance. Mehta, she continued, is the same judge "whopermitted the civil case aroundJanuary 6th to move forward,finding that the First Amendment might not cover thesort of language of incitementDonald Trump used that morningof the insurrection."
The upshot, she concluded, is "thismay be the perfect storm thatDonald Trump fears about totake place here."