'We should be critical of presidents'

By KEITH COUSINS

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — David Adler said he had to make several revisions while preparing his lecture, “Executive Orders and Executive Power in the Trump Presidency.”

“A few of them happened today,” Adler said. “It’s not easy to prepare for a talk like this.”

Adler, a constitutional scholar and author who is president of the nonprofit Alturas Institute, gave his sixth annual lecture to more than 100 people gathered at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Thursday night. Although he had prepared remarks, Adler said events surrounding the firing of FBI Director James Comey by President Donald Trump prompted him to change course.

“We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis unseen since Nixon,” Adler said.

According to Adler, the firing of Comey this week amounts to a “serious effort” by Trump to

“scuttle” an investigation into the president’s ties to Russian interference in the presidential election. Adler added it was troubling to make such a statement in public because the accusations, if true, amount to a direct assault on the country’s sovereignty.

In addition, Adler said Trump made comments during a televised interview Thursday night that the termination was directly related to the ongoing Russia investigation. That, according to Adler, was an admission to obstructing justice — an impeachable offense.

“That’s about as serious as you can get,” Adler said. “Now we find ourselves in a situation where we have built upon the pile of major constitutional issues that have occurred in just 110 days of Trump’s presidency.”

If the results of the investigation cause the Senate to conclude there was no collusion by Trump or his administration, Adler said there will still be a shadow of doubt cast over the presidency and the Republican party. He then recommended a special prosecutor be called to review the investigation and make an objective conclusion.

“But, stay tuned on all of that, because we could have new news on it by 11,” Adler added.

During a brief Q&A period following the lecture, Adler was asked why he did not mention anything about former President Barack Obama. Adler responded by stating that, at past lectures, he has called into question executive overreach in the Obama administration.

Adler added Democrats have been targets of his criticisms as much as, if not more than, Republicans have.

“We should be critical of presidents regardless of party, regardless of political affiliation,” Adler said. “We shouldn’t cherry-pick.”

Adler’s annual lecture was sponsored by the Idaho Humanities Council, Friends of the Library, CDA-TV and The Coeur d’Alene Press.