Durbin Demands Immediate Hearing On Trump's Dangerous Military Deployment Threats To Chicago And Other Cities

Durbin Demands Immediate Hearing On Trump's Dangerous Military Deployment Threats To Chicago And Other Cities

Sen. Durbin to Grassley: "The President's threats to unlawfully and unnecessarily deploy the military to police our communities is a grave threat to the very foundations of democracy and the rule of law in our country… These far-reaching implications for our democracy, our communities, and the rule of law require immediate consideration by this Committee"

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today requested for Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to immediately schedule a committee hearing on President Trump's threats to deploy the military to Chicago and other American cities, given the serious implications for federalism, constitutional rights, and federal laws within the Committee's jurisdiction.

In a letter to Chairman Grassley, Durbin began with the hearing request, writing: "I request that you immediately convene a Judiciary Committee hearing on President Trump's threats to deploy the military to Chicago and other American cities. Reports indicate that the Pentagon has been planning this dangerous, unwarranted, and unconstitutional military deployment at Trump's direction "for weeks." These threats come as the Administration has already deployed American troops unlawfully and unnecessarily against their fellow Americans in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C."

Durbin then cited serious Constitutional concerns falling within the Committee's jurisdiction, writing: "Domestic deployment of the military into American communities raises serious issues within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee that warrant an immediate hearing. The founders of this nation understood that an unchecked military turned inward on its own people is a grave threat to ordered liberty. These liberties include the rights of speech and assembly safeguarded by the First Amendment and the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures secured by the Fourth Amendment. To protect against threats to these liberties posed by the improper use of the military in domestic affairs, our founders included two core principles within the structure of our government. These are the principles of federalism, enshrined in the Tenth Amendment, and civilian control over the military, with a clear dividing line between military operations and civilian law enforcement, a principle that is enshrined in the Constitution and is also codified in the Posse Comitatus Act."

Durbin concluded by underscoring the threats to democracy and rule of law warranting examination by the Committee, writing: "The President's threats to unlawfully and unnecessarily deploy the military to police our communities is a grave threat to the very foundations of democracy and the rule of law in our country. As officials within the Department of Defense itself recently underscored, American military forces operating in U.S. communities can have 'far-reaching social, political, and operational effects.' These far-reaching implications for our democracy, our communities, and the rule of law require immediate consideration by this Committee."

Click here for a PDF copy of the letter to Chairman Grassley.

Since President Trump began threatening to deploy the military to Chicago and reportedly use the Naval Station Great Lakes, Durbin has joined Illinois Democratic Members of Congress in a letterdemanding the President and the Pentagon suspend plans for the deployment.

Durbin took to the Senate floor yesterday to deem the threats "dangerous, illegal, and unconstitutional" if they come to fruition.

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