D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued the Trump administration in an attempt to halt the deployment of the National Guard.
“These unprecedented, unlawful actions have subjected the District to serious and irreparable harm,” Schwalb wrote in the lawsuit. “The deployment of National Guard troops to police District streets without the District’s consent infringes on its sovereignty and right to self-governance. The deployment also risks inflaming tensions and fueling distrust toward local law enforcement. And it inflicts economic injuries, depressing business activities and tourism that form the backbone of the local economy and tax base.”
I believe Schwalb made a mistake when he complained the mayor never gave consent to send out the National Guard and said “Congress gave the President no role in policing the District.”
Well, um, the president commands the D.C. National Guard. D.C. does not have a governor.
The 1973 Home Act puts the president as commander of the D.C. militia.
The lawsuit appears similar to California’s lawsuit against Trump.
Yes, Schwalb brought up the Posse Comitatus Act.
A California district judge ruled that Trump violated the act when the administration deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles.
Therefore, Schwalb *might* have a point about Trump bringing in the National Guard from other states. The governors command their state’s National Guard for the most part:
Section 502 is the primary statute that authorizes the National Guard to operate in “Title 32 status,” one of the three different duty statuses in which members of the Guard may serve at any given moment. In “State Active Duty status,” Guard personnel carry out a state-defined mission, under state command and control, and with state funding and benefits. By contrast, in “Title 10 status,” the Guard has been “called into federal service,” or “federalized,” by the president. When federalized, Guard forces carry out federal missions under federal command and control, and with federal funding and benefits. Title 32 status occupies a middle ground between State Active Duty and Title 10 status, featuring both federal and state involvement. In this hybrid status, the Guard remains under state command and control but can perform federal missions, is paid with federal funds, and receives federal benefits. Crucially, because Guard personnel in Title 32 status are under state control, they have not been federalized and are not subject to the Posse Comitatus Act. That means they are not barred from participating in civilian law enforcement activities.
Weirdly enough, Schwalb’s lawsuit comes just days after DC Mayor Muriel Bowser instructed police to work with federal law enforcement indefinitely.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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