Autocratic legalism: How dictators do the rule of law

Autocratic legalism uses existing legal institutions and procedures to systematically dismantle democratic norms while maintaining the facade of lawfulness. Experts believe that most modern democratic decline now occurs through gradual legal manipulation rather than military coups or sudden authoritarian takeovers. Authoritarian leaders are legally given power but then use it to dismantle democracy. Hitler and Mussolini gained power legally, and then dismantled democracy to install their dictatorships. Like Hitler and Mussolini, Trump uses autocratic legalism to wreck democracy. He differs by coming to power via elections, not appointment to power by incompetent broken governments.

Slate reports that our MAGAfied and weaponized DOJ (Department of Justice) engages in autocratic legalism. When the DOJ got caught blatantly lying to the court, it only acknowledged "errors" after plaintiffs exposed the deception through discovery. The DOJ expressed "regret" for "unintended ambiguity" rather than admitting deliberate misrepresentation. So, not only is MAGA fabricating evidence to deceive federal courts, is says fuck you to the court when it gets caught.

For those interested, the DOJ fabricated evidence that convinced a 9th Circuit Court panel to allow Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Portland. In sworn testimony, DOJ attorney Robert Cantu falsely claimed that 115 Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers—nearly 25% of the agency's total workforce—had been deployed to Portland to protect an ICE facility during protests.

Unintended ambiguity my ass. What a cynical liar.