Trump White House Ballroom Construction ‘Absolutely Illegal’

On MSNBC’s “All In” Tuesday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said President Donald Trump’s decision to demolish part of the existing East Wing to make way for the ballroom was “absolutely illegal.”

Host Chris Hayes said: “In the grand scheme of everything that’s being done, and especially in the context of these, what seem to me to be extrajudicial killings, the destruction of the East Wing is not as morally significant. But I wonder if you had the same thing, I just saw it for myself and for other people, there was really something visceral about those images that landed. I wonder if you or other coworkers or other people you talk to have had this. same reaction. »

Murphy said: “Well, look, there’s a lot of history that happened in the East Wing, and it was just destroyed without any conversation in the American public, without any consent from Congress. It was absolutely illegal. And yes, that visual is powerful because you’re basically watching the destruction of the rule of law happen as these walls come down. It’s just a symbol of how cavalier he is and acts every day in new and illegal ways. This is the story with the murders in the Caribbean as well. The president simply does not believe that no law applies to him, that he can destroy federal property, that he can steal from American citizens, that he can kill with impunity, that he can throw anyone in jail. We no longer live in a functioning democracy. It’s not too late to save it, but it’s just important to recognize that we don’t We are not about to lose our democracy. We lose it every day. We are not a functioning nation with the rule of law. And these toppled walls in the east wing are a rather brutal reminder of that.

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