CA Attorney General To Trump: 'No One Gets To Ignore The Law'

California Attorney General  Xavier Becerra had some tough words for President Donald Trump regarding his border wall. You see, Becerra wants to argue in court that the border wall will have a negative impact on the environment, and thus should be blocked. In fact, the state is suing the federal government to block the wall construction.

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that President Trump’s proposal to expedite construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border violates laws aimed at protecting the environment.

Becerra announced the legal challenge standing in front of the existing border fencing at Border Field State Park near San Diego, saying the federal government failed to comply with federal environmental laws and relied on federal statutes that don’t authorize border wall projects in San Diego and Imperial counties.

“No one gets to ignore the laws. Not even the president of the United States,” Becerra said. “The border between the U.S. and Mexico spans some 2,000 miles. The list of laws violated by the president’s administration in order to build his campaign wall is almost as long.”

Note the bold quote.

“No one gets to ignore the laws. Not even the president of the United States.”

Unless, of course, we’re talking about immigration laws. After all, San Diego, Riverside, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Bernadino County, San Jose, and Berkeley are just some of the communities that are sanctuary cities, officially giving a middle finger to federal immigration law.

Those laws don’t matter, do they?

Trump doesn’t have the authority to break the law. Being president doesn’t absolve him or make him immune to the laws of the land. That’s why we refer to ourselves as a nation of laws, not a nation of men. No one is above the law.

But don’t offer platitudes about how no one can ignore the law when, in your official capacity as California Attorney General, you routinely ignore communities that are actually under your authority who routinely ignore laws. Hypocrisy may be a core part of American politics, but at least try to be subtle about it.

In this case, while you might have a legal leg to stand on (I’m not a lawyer, so I won’t comment on that), you damn sure don’t have a moral one. So sit down, shut up, and do your bloody job before you start lecturing others on how to do theirs.