When in the course of human events...

 The collapse of law into tyranny is an old story...Rome, Othello,  Stalin, Mao come immediately to mind.  We are accustomed to deferring to the President as the directly elected vox populi. But when in the course of human events....

Bill of Rights - 1688 the "Glorious Revolution 1688 CHAPTER 2 1 Will and Mar Sess 2    An Act declareing the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Setleing the Succession of the Crowne

Whereas the late [former] King James the Second by the Assistance of diverse evill Councellors Judges and Ministers imployed by him did endeavour to subvert and extirpate the Protestant Religion and the Lawes and Liberties of this Kingdome. 

... By Assumeing and Exerciseing a Power of Dispensing with and Suspending of Lawes and the Execution of Lawes without Consent of Parlyament. 

The United Kingdom of England and Wales

• The Glorious Revolution (1688):   curtailed the monarch's absolute power.
• The Bill of Rights (1689):   asserted the rights and legislative supremacy of Parliament over the Crown, making the Monarch dependent on Parliament for revenue and unable to suspend laws.

Declaration of Independence

The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

Trump v. United States  Roberts, C.J. for himself and five Justices

"Congress cannot act on, and courts cannot examine, the President’s actions on subjects within his “conclusive and preclusive” constitutional authority. It follows that an Act of Congress—either a specific one targeted at the President or a generally applicable one—may not criminalize the President’s actions within his exclusive constitutional power."

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE KAGAN and JUSTICE JACKSON join, dissenting.

Today’s decision to grant former Presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency. It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law. Relying on little more than its own misguided wisdom about the need for “bold and unhesitating action” by the President, ante, at 3, 13, the Court gives former President Trump all the immunity he asked for and more. Because our Constitution does not shield a former President from answering for criminal and treasonous acts, I dissent.  

Jack Smith today in a closed door session in Congress before the House Judiciary Committee

“The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts,” said Smith, according to a copy of portions of that statement. He maintained that this team found evidence to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power. Smith also said his team found “powerful evidence” in the classified documents case and alleged that the president “repeatedly tried to obstruct justice.”

Trump v. United States

603us1r57_2dp3.pdf

Megalomania

OTHERWISE: Delusional - Trump is just Bonkers 

President for Life - The Atlantic

Donald Trump is trying to amass the powers of a king.

By J. Michael Luttig, Judge, 4th Circuit (retired)

In the normal course of history, the president of the United States is a figure who inspires optimism in the American people. The 47th president prefers to stir feelings of fear, vulnerability, hopelessness, and political inevitability—the sense that he, and only he, can rescue the nation from looming peril. Since his second inauguration, Donald Trump has seized authoritarian control over the federal government and demanded the obedience of the other powerful institutions of American society—universities, law firms, media companies. The question weighing heavily on the minds of many Americans is whether Trump will subvert next year’s midterm elections or the 2028 presidential election to extend his reign.

 

Jamelle Bouie

Opinion | The Man Who Rules the Country Presides Over Nothing - The New York Times

"the work of the White House has been delegated to a handful of high-level advisers. Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, is the de facto shadow president for domestic affairs. As one senior government official told ProPublica, “It feels like we work for Russ Vought. He has centralized decision-making power to an extent that he is the commander in chief.” "

Brett Stephens

Opinion | Bret Stephens on the Fight for the Future of the Right - The New York Times

​Though I tend to think it’s usually a waste of space to devote a column to President Trump’s personality — what more is there to say about the character of this petty, hollow, squalid, overstuffed man? — sometimes the point bears stressing: We are led by the most loathsome human being ever to occupy the White House.