The Constitutional Crossroads: How Expanding Executive Power Challenges the Foundations of Democracy

This is my deep dive research using Perplexity.AI research features to understand the implications of Trump’s assertion that he is above the law and my question regarding how other societies have handled similar situations.

Citations:

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/15/us/constitution-crisis-trump-judges-legal.html

[2] https://www.theusconstitution.org/news/usa-the-framers-of-the-constitution-envisioned-an-accountable-president-not-a-king-above-the-law/

[3] https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-saves-country-not-illegal-235741821.html

[4] https://substack.com/home/post/p-157208710

[5] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/trump-v-united-states-can-presidents-get-away-with-anything/

[6] https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-napoleon-quote-immunity-court-judges-b2698977.html

[7] https://economictimes.com/news/international/global-trends/donald-trump-says-if-he-saves-his-country-he-breaks-no-laws-quoting-napoleon-bonaparte/articleshow/118293699.cms

[8] https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/07/justices-rule-trump-has-some-immunity-from-prosecution/

[9] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-post-critics-declaring-law/story?id=118880089

[10] https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/16/politics/video/donald-trump-controversial-quote-country-law-backlash-margaret-talev-digvid

[11] https://verfassungsblog.de/is-the-u-s-president-above-the-law/

[12] https://abovethelaw.com/2024/07/trump-immunity-opinion-textualist-originalist/

[13] https://www.aclu-nm.org/en/news/supreme-court-grants-trump-future-presidents-blank-check-break-law

[14] https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/breaking-down-the-trump-immunity-decision

[15] https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/02/15/trump-courts-musk-vance-judge/78571931007/

[16] https://abovethelaw.com/2025/01/biglaw-firms-introduce-trump-trackers-to-keep-up-with-white-house-executive-orders/

[17] https://hls.harvard.edu/today/are-presidents-above-the-law-50-years-ago-the-supreme-court-said-no/

[18] https://fulbright-chronicles.com/issues/1-1/living-blue-in-a-red-state/

[19] https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-suggests-above-law-ominous-214617618.html

[20] https://nul.org/news/no-one-not-even-former-president-above-law-0

[21] https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/republicans-lawfare-trump-indictments-rcna101221

[22] https://thekingsnecktie.com/2024/11/21/lets-put-trump-above-the-law/

[23] https://freedomhouse.org/article/democracy-no-one-above-law-us-supreme-court-has-responsibility-uphold-principle

[24] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

[25] https://howappealing.abovethelaw.com

[26] https://www.americanprogress.org/article/project-2025-would-destroy-the-u-s-system-of-checks-and-balances-and-create-an-imperial-presidency/

[27] https://www.highereddive.com/news/colleges-international-students-warning-return-before-trump-takes-office-visa/734085/

[28] https://crushthelsatexam.com/deep-dive-donald-trumps-long-history-of-lawsuits/

[29] https://www.bu.edu/articles/2024/supreme-court-grants-trump-broad-immunity-from-prosecution/

[30] https://www.knkx.org/2025-02-10/are-pennies-worth-it-trumps-plan-to-scrap-them-didnt-come-out-of-nowhere

[31] https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/explaining-the-trump-immunity-case-at-the-supreme-court

[32] https://blog.liebatlaw.com/search/label/donald%20trump

[33] https://www.instagram.com/abcnewslive/reel/DGJyYa6xBUv/

[34] https://abovethelaw.com/2024/07/trump-immunity-opinion-textualist-originalist/

[35] https://joycevance.substack.com/p/deep-dive-trumps-motions-to-dismiss

[36] https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-loaded-weapon-of-presidential-immunity-an-international-law-perspective-on-trump-v-united-states/

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Part II

I then asked ‘How have other countries handled similar claims of presidential immunity?’

Citations:

[1] https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/no-immunity-for-heads-of-state-for-international-crimes

[2] https://www.citizensforethics.org/news/analysis/granting-trump-total-immunity-would-make-america-a-global-outlier/

[3] https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-supreme-court-s-presidential-immunity-decision

[4] https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2279&context=ilj

[5] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/4/what-could-the-supreme-courts-immunity-ruling-mean-for-us-foreign-policy

[6] https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/supreme-court-grants-trump-future-presidents-a-blank-check-to-break-the-law

[7] https://maint.loc.gov/law/help/immunity-from-prosecution/index.php

[8] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

[9] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/world/asia/supreme-court-immunity-allies.html

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunity_from_prosecution_(international_law)

[11] https://www.diplomacy.edu/blog/are-international-immunities-of-heads-of-state-and-government-officials-undergoing-a-major-change/

[12] https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S3-5-1/ALDE_00013392/

[13] https://constitution.findlaw.com/article2/article-ii–presidential-immunity-to-criminal-and-civil-suits.html

[14] https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2024/03/donald-trumps-immunity-argument-from-the-standpoint-of-international-law/

[15] https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-loaded-weapon-of-presidential-immunity-an-international-law-perspective-on-trump-v-united-states/

[16] https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB11194

[17] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/08/22/how-other-western-democracies-prosecute-leaders-accused-crimes/

[18] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/heres-when-other-countries-have-prosecuted-former-leaders

[19] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/world/asia/supreme-court-immunity-allies.html

[20] https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/2018-DipConImm_v5_Web.pdf

[21] https://freedomhouse.org/article/us-international-context-prosecuting-former-presidents

[22] https://www.law.virginia.edu/news/202301/can-presidents-be-prosecuted-or-sued-professor-explains-differing-visions-immunity

[23] https://www.cato.org/supreme-court-review/2023-2024/presidential-immunity

[24] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-courts-presidential-immunity-ruling-undermines-democracy

[25] https://www.justsecurity.org/94823/united-states-v-trump/

[26] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeL3Wu2f9UU

[27] https://www.law.nyu.edu/news/forum-president-trump-criminal-immunity

[28] https://journals.law.harvard.edu/jlpp/the-presidential-immunity-decision-robert-delahunty-john-yoo/

[29] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf

Tito Alvarez

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