President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that he has activated the National Guard in California, New York and Washington state. Although the administration insists that the deployment — funded by FEMA — is not martial law, Trump said at a briefing, “I’m a wartime president. This is a war.”
Trump’s critics fear that the president will use the coronavirus crisis to push for controversial policy changes.
The U.S. military is preparing forces to assume a larger role in the coronavirus response, including the controversial mission of quelling “civil disturbances”, according to Newsweek.
The Justice Department is pushing for emergency powers, asking Congress to let chief judges detain people indefinitely without a trial during emergencies as the coronavirus spreads throughout the U.S., Politico reported.
At least 7,300 National Guard members had been deployed to help in the coronavirus response in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico as of Sunday morning. Six members of the National Guard have tested positive for COVID-19, The Hill reported.
The DOJ wants lawmakers to allow emergency powers on a host of topics, including the statute of limitations, asylum and the way court hearings are conducted, according to Politico. The DOJ requests are unlikely to make it through a Democratic-led House.
In one document reviewed by Politico, the DOJ asked Congress to give the attorney general power to ask the chief judge of any district court to pause court proceedings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation.”
Trump has already invoked the pandemic as a reason for increasing border restrictions and restricting asylum claims. He has also pushed for more tax cuts saying it would soften the financial blow to Americans.
The request to allow judges to pause court proceedings has potential implications for habeas corpus — the constitutional right to appear before a judge after arrest and seek release. It would apply to “any statutes or rules of procedure otherwise affecting pre-arrest, post-arrest, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial procedures in criminal and juvenile proceedings and all civil process and proceedings,” according to draft legislative language the DOJ shared with Congress.
“So that means you could be arrested and never brought before a judge until they decide that the emergency or the civil disobedience is over,” said Norman L. Reimer, executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “I find it absolutely terrifying. Especially in a time of emergency, we should be very careful about granting new powers to the government … That is something that should not happen in a democracy.”
Trump has declared the coronavirus crisis a national emergency.
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The DOJ also asked Congress to pause the statute of limitations for criminal investigations and civil proceedings during national emergencies and for one year following the end of the national emergency, according to the draft legislative text.
It also wants to be able to force people to have hearings over video rather than in person and without defendants’ consent, according to the draft legislative text. “If it’s not with the consent of the accused person, it’s a terrible road to go down. We have a right to public trials. People have a right to be present in court,” Reimer said.
What role will the military play in keeping order in the U.S.? Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, head of the National Guard Bureau, cautioned against federalizing the state-based National Guard. He argued that the states keep “decisions at their level,” out of federal hands. The 450,000 strong National Guard is “ready when their governors call,” he said
