Society Featured in PBS Frontline
Board Members Peter Keisler and J. Michael Luttig appear in the PBS Frontline documentary “Trump’s Power & the Rule of Law,” which examines the expanding scope of presidential authority and its impact on American democratic institutions.
A former Acting Attorney General under George W. Bush, Keisler offers sharp commentary on the recent erosion of legal norms and constitutional boundaries. Speaking about the mass pardons issued for those convicted in the January 6 attack, Keisler observes:
“There’s really no way to understand that decision except as an effort to protect people who had committed serious crimes simply because they committed those crimes in the course of supporting the president’s effort to stay in power” (Timestamp: ~19:48)
Later in the program, he addresses the executive orders targeting major law firms that represented Trump’s opponents:
“These orders are certainly unlawful, and a judge has already said so. But it’s very difficult for courts to really remedy the situation. Because, at the end of the day, even when a court says that an order like this is unlawful, everybody still knows that the law firm is persona non grata, in fact, toxic inside the administration.” (Timestamp: ~59:43)
Keisler and Luttig join other legal figures in the documentary in raising concerns about efforts to politicize law enforcement, consolidate executive authority, and diminish the independence of institutions central to the rule of law.