Dissidence & Defiance

2019

2019-09-16 Trump faced numerous allegations of violating the Constitution’s Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses by keeping ownership of businesses while in office, accepting gifts, and business entanglements with foreign officials.

https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/profiting-off-the-presidency-trumps-violations-of-the-emoluments-clauses/

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/federal-appeals-court-asserts-its-authority-over-trumps-unconstitutional#:~:text=President%20Trump%20has%20been%20sued%20three%20times,Domestic%20Emoluments%20Clause%20Sets%20the%20president’s%20salary

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-court-ducks-opportunity-trump-emoluments-cases#:~:text=In%20January%2C%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20dismissed%20two,governments%20unless%20they%20receive%20permission%20from%20Congress.

2022

2022-12-03 Trump posted that alleged widespread election fraud could justify terminating constitutional rules and suggested either overturning the 2020 election or holding a new one, “So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Parter, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great “Founders” did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63851751

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-claims-grounds-termination-us-constitution-twitter/

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politics/trump-constitution-truth-social

https://archive.ph/u0vZk

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109449803240069864

2024 April

2024-04-16 A judge admonished Trump for juror intimidation in the hush money trial.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/16/trump-new-york-hush-money-criminal-trial

2024-04-30 Trump violated a gag order.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/30/politics/donald-trump-fined-usd9-000-for-violating-gag-order-in-hush-money-case

2024 May

2024-05-06 Trump violated a gag order again. Trump violated ten separate gag orders.

https://www.opb.org/article/2024/05/06/trump-second-gag-order-fine/

2024 July

2024-07-01 Trump argued that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. In 2026, he invoked the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling in arguing for protection regarding “official acts.”

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

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11194

https://abcnews.com/Politics/after-sweeping-scotus-presidential-immunity-ruling-trump-wields/story?id=131541033

https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-grants-trump-broad-immunity-for-official-acts-placing-presidents-above-the-law

https://www.cato.org/blog/trump-v-us-great-power-comes-great-immunity

2024 September

2024-09-10 Trump called the Harris debate “rigged” and attacked ABC for factchecking him.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/11/trump-harris-debate-rigged-abc-should-lose-license.html

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/09/trump-debate-plans-00177885

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/11/trump-debate-winner-fox-00178611

https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/watch/trump-baselessly-claims-debate-with-vp-harris-was-rigged-219169349865

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn9l9500vg7o

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6361528433112

2025 January

2025-01-22 The U.S. Constitution temporarily disappeared from the White House website shortly after Trump’s inauguration, the first of two such incidents reported in 2025.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/government-websites-vanish-trump-constitution-dei-rcna188522

2025-01-28 The Trump administration froze funds that were already pre-approved by Congress; Eric Schmitt said on video he supported this.

2025 February

2025-02-09 JD Vance claimed on social media that judges cannot direct the executive branch’s legitimate exercise of power, “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/10/jd-vance-judges-trump

2025-02-27 The Trump administration targeted legal oversight of military lawyers, stating their enforcement of law were potential “roadblocks” to Trump’s orders.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/politics/pentagon-lawyers-sidelined-jags

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/are-military-lawyers-being-sidelined

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5162069-pentagon-officers-fired/

https://www.execfunctions.org/p/the-decaying-legal-culture-in-the

https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-hegseth-firing-chairman-lawyers-6bead3346b1210e45e77648e6cbc3599

https://www.newsweek.com/how-pete-hegseths-cull-of-military-lawyers-could-hurt-us-soldiers-10819597

2025 March

2025-03-16 After a court ordered a deportation flight turned around, Tom Homan said, “I don’t care what the judges think.” Trump called for the judge’s impeachment, while El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele mocked the ruling on social media, “oopsie, too late” and a laugh-cry emoji.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-admin-ignores-judges-order-bring-deportation-planes/story?id=119857181

https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1901238762614517965?lang=en

2025-03-23 News reports described an “unprecedented degree of resistance” to court rulings and a forceful attack on the American judiciary.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/23/judges-trump-court-rulings

2025 April

2025-04-01 During a press conference, a journalist asked Karoline Leavitt about the Trump administration ignoring judge orders, “So are you saying that it is okay to ignore a judge’s ruling if you don’t like it?”. Leavitt responded, “Uh, who does that judge work for? It was an immigration judge who works for the Department of Justice at the direction of the Attorney General of the United States, whose name is Pam Bondi, who has committed to eradicating MS-13 from our nation’s interior…”

https://www.whitehouse.gov/videos/press-secretary-karoline-leavitt-briefs-members-of-the-media-apr-1-2025/

2025-04-29 A leaked memo confirmed Stephen Miller’s intentions to suspend Habeas Corpus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO7yLHxFdMQ&list=WL&index=6&t=200s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_DjyHY45nI&list=WL&index=5&t=216s

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/habeas-corpus-trump-mass-deportation-arrests-b2996080.html

https://abcnews.com/Politics/wh-trump-suspending-habeas-corpus/story?id=121653587

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DJcp_1DR97c/

2025 May

2025-05-04 When asked whether he was required to uphold the Constitution, Trump replied, “I don’t know”.

2025-05-12 Steve Bannon called out a “Constitutional Crisis”, saying, “If they can hold it together they can control the government for 50-75 years”

2025-05-20 Kristi Noem struggled to explain Habeas Corpus during a hearing.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1948380052635180

2025 August

2025-08-07 Portions of the U.S. Constitution temporarily disappeared from the Library of Congress website for a second time; the White House attributed it to a coding error.

https://takano.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/library-of-congress-erases-parts-of-constitution-from-website-rep-takano-demands-answers

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/8/have-sections-of-the-us-constitution-gone-missing-from-government-website

2025 September

2025-09-09 News outlets reported on a possible Heritage Foundation agenda to change the Constitution.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/us/politics/heritage-foundation-constitution-book.html

https://www.aclu.org/project-2025-explained

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/11/politics/trump-allies-project-2025/index.html

2025-09-21 California Governor Newsom signed a law banning law enforcement from wearing masks, but the acting US Attorney stated they would not comply.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/21/us/california-mask-ban-law-enforcement-newsom

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/essayli-newsom-federal-agent-mask-ban/

2025 October

2025-10-01 The White House posted partisan anti-Democrat shutdown messaging across federal websites (research the Hatch Act and violating it). Messages included “Democrats Have Shut Down the Government” and “The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people”.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/government-shutdown-clock/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2025/10/14/airports-refuse-dhs-video-blaming-democrats-shutdown-not-hatch-act-violation/

2025 November

2025-11-03 Despite court orders, Trump continued delaying SNAP funding, at times proposing partial or no release of funds

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/03/nx-s1-5596121/snap-food-benefits-trump-government-shutdown

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-partially-fund-snap-months/story?id=127138175

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/04/trump-snap-funding-shutdown-food-aid-00635141

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/politics/trump-administration-supreme-court-snap-benefits

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-defies-court-snap-ruling

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/03/g-s1-96296/trump-deadline-contingency-funds-snap

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/03/trump-administration-says-snap-will-be-partially-funded-after-judges-rulings/

2025-11-09 Former U.S. Federal Judge Mark Wolf resigned after his 50-year tenure under the Regan administration, stating he could no longer stay silent about the “White House assault on rule of law” and calling it “deeply disturbing”.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/11/federal-judge-resignation-trump/684845/

https://www.axios.com/2025/11/10/federal-judge-wolf-resigns-trump-letter-atlantic

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/federal-judge-resigns-letter-trump_n_69121c3ae4b0b840aac12569

https://www.notus.org/courts/ronald-reagan-appointed-federal-judge-resign-quit-trump

2025-11-12 Adelita Grijalva was sworn into Congress seven weeks after winning a special election in Arizona and was expected to vote on releasing the Epstein files.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep-elect-grijalva-sworn-months-after-special-election/story?id=127417242

https://grijalva.house.gov/media/press-releases/taking-the-oath-of-office

https://time.com/7333146/adelita-grijalva-johnson-house-swearing-in-epstein-government-shutdown/

2025 December

2025-12-08 The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could significantly expand presidential firing authority. A decision expected in June 2026 could reshape federal checks and balances.

https://www.npr.org/2025/12/08/nx-s1-5626876/supreme-court-trump-ftc-unitary-executive

https://www.fox5dc.com/video/1753194

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/landmark-case-supreme-court-rule-trumps-bid-control/story?id=128073464

2025-12-10 Reuters reported that the Trump administration urged the International Criminal Court to amend the Rome Statute to shield Trump and senior officials from potential war-crimes investigations, while threatening sanctions if the ICC refused.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-threatens-new-icc-sanctions-unless-court-pledges-not-prosecute-trump-2025-12-10/

https://www.reuters.com/world/icc-chief-says-us-sanctions-wont-change-courts-handling-cases-2025-12-01/

https://truthout.org/articles/admin-reportedly-pushing-icc-to-exempt-trump-from-war-crimes-prosecution/

2025-12-20 The DOJ released only a heavily redacted portion of the Epstein files. Reports alleged some files mentioning Trump appeared then quickly disappeared from the DOJ website. Critics accused the DOJ of repeatedly withholding or redacting relevant documents, including a sexual-assault allegation against Trump involving a 13-year-old girl.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405

https://www.newschannel5.com/us-news/crime/epstein-files-stall-lawmakers-blast-doj-over-secrecy-redactions-missed-deadline

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epstein-files-redaction-over-500-pages-entirely-blacked-out/

2026 January

2026-01-26 Despite a judicial warrant, federal agents blocked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from accessing the scene to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/investigations-minneapolis-shooting-death-alex-pretti-129581708

2026 February

2026-02-03 Trump urged Republicans to pursue nationalized elections.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/02/politics/trump-calls-on-republicans-to-nationalize-future-elections

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-gop-leader-john-thune-says-disagrees-trump-congress-nationalize-rcna257260

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/republicans-ought-to-nationalize-the-voting-trump-eyes-radical-power-grab

2026-02-17 DHS repeated partisan shutdown messaging on official websites, “Another Democrat Government Shutdown Dramatically Hurts America’s National Security”.

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/02/17/another-democrat-government-shutdown-dramatically-hurts-americas-national-security

2026-02-20 After the Supreme Court struck down his tariffs in a 6–3 ruling, Trump criticized the Court as disloyal to the Constitution and unpatriotic. The following day, he raised global tariffs to 15% in retaliation.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-calls-supreme-court-justices-disloyal-unpatriotic-tariffs-rcna259948

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287_4gcj.pdf

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-raises-global-tariff-15-percent

2026-02-20 Mark Zuckerberg wore Ray-Ban smart glasses during court proceedings.

https://www.theverge.com/tech/882030/smart-glasses-in-court-meta-mark-zuckerberg

https://epic.org/the-verge-smart-glasses-in-court-are-a-privacy-nightmare/

2026-02-27 Trump tried to push an executive order granting him total emergency federal oversight of upcoming elections, again alleging fraud in the 2020 election and interference by China.

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/read-the-laughable-legal-memo-behind-the-claim-that-trump-can-declare-a-national-voting-emergency/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/26/after-state-of-the-union-trumps-agenda-faces-new-political-reality

2026 March

2026-03-02 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there would be no “stupid” rules of engagement governing military operations against Iran.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/hegseth-insists-the-iran-conflict-is-not-iraq-and-is-not-endless

https://www.military.com/feature/2026/03/05/hegseths-stupid-rules-of-engagement-line-and-what-roe-actually-do.html

2028-03-22 During a GOP fundraising event Trump told the audience, “They don’t like the word ‘war’, because you’re supposed to get approval, so I’ll use the word ‘military operation’, which is really what it is”. He has also referred to the war as “an excursion”.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-he-doesnt-want-to-call-iran-conflict-a-war-because-of-need-for-congressional-approval/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cpac-republicans-trump-iran-war-bannon/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/29/cpac-maga-anxiety-iran-war

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/cpac

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xMqVQbctsmo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYZC0-FKEJM&t=16s

2026-03-27 At CPAC, Franklin Graham said Trump should be reelected for a third term before later stating he misspoke and meant Trump’s policies should continue.

https://www.newsweek.com/cpac-crowd-urged-to-do-everything-we-can-to-get-trump-reelected-11743902

https://churchleaders.com/news/2215561-franklin-graham-trump-reelection-cpac.html

https://www.christianpost.com/news/franklin-graham-says-he-misspoke-in-cpac-speech.html

2026-03-31 Trump signed an executive order instructing DHS to gather a voters list and the USPS to transmit ballots, thereby nationalizing elections, burdening the postal service, complicating mail voting, and suppressing turnout.

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/31/nx-s1-5508948/trump-voter-list-mail-ballots-executive-order

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/trump-signs-executive-order-create-federal-voter-lists-rcna266092

https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/04/01/healey-responds-to-trump-executive-order-creating-verified-voter-list-restricting-mail-in-voting/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/ensuring-citizenship-verification-and-integrity-in-federal-elections/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-signs-executive-order-to-create-national-list-of-eligible-voters

https://coloradosun.com/2026/04/01/trump-signs-executive-order-in-hope-of-tightening-mail-in-voting/

https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/voting-rights-groups-challenge-executive-order-on-mail-in-ballots-as-illegal-interference-in-elections

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/31/trump-order-election-voting-explainer

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/us/politics/trump-mail-in-ballots-voting-executive-order.html

2026 April

2026-04-01 Hegseth nullified the Army’s investigation into the pilot who used an Apache helicopter to perform a low fly-by of Kid Rock’s mansion. In an X post Hegseth wrote, “Pilots suspension LIFTED. No punishment. No investigation. Carry on patriots”.

https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2026-04-01/kid-rock-apache-helicopter-hegseth-21246722.html

https://x.com/PeteHegseth/status/2039109100282196436

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5769800/suspension-lifted-helicopter-pilots-kid-rock

https://abc7.com/post/army-says-reviewing-helicopters-flying-low-hovering-kid-rocks-home/18816103

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hegseth-makes-shock-announcement-after-cringe-kid-rock-stunt/

2026-04-09 Pam Bondi refused to comply with a subpoena requiring testimony about the Epstein investigation because she was no longer serving as Attorney General.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5821724-pam-bondi-oversight-deposition-epstein-files/

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/08/politics/pam-bondi-epstein-deposition-justice-department

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bondi-deposition-subpoena-house-oversight-committee-epstein/

https://www.ms.now/news/bondi-epstein-deposition-house-oversight-contempt

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-25th-georgia-wisconsin-elections-congress-dhs-live-updates-rcna267214

2026-04-23 Republicans used budget reconciliation measures to bypass votes and approve an additional $70B in ICE funding.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republican-budget-funding-ice-border-patrol-democrats-rcna341445

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/23/g-s1-118330/congress-dhs-spending-reconciliation

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5844515-senate-republicans-budget-resolution/

2026-04-28 King Charles addressed Congress, pushing back on several issues between the US and UK, and warning that executive power is subject to checks and balances. He also directly addressed Trump’s attacks on NATO by reminding everyone that Trump told NATO if it wasn’t for the U.S. they’d all be speaking German. King Charles said if it wasn’t for the U.K., the U.S. would be speaking French.

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c5y7d4088v4o

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/live/king-charles-jokes-trump-would-be-speaking-french-if-it-wasnt-for-us-at-state-dinner–follow-live-updates-074149460.html

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/28/us/live-news/king-charles-queen-camilla-us-visit

https://www.c-span.org/event/america-250/king-charles-iii-addresses-joint-meeting-of-us-congress/442557

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/king-charles-calls-for-unity-in-rare-royal-address-to-congressroyal-visit

2026 May

2026-05-01 On the 60th day of the Iran conflict, Trump falsely claimed that he did not need congressional authorization under the War Powers Act to continue military operations. The administration would later change the name of the Operation to circumvent this rule.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-congressional-authorization-iran-military-operation-war-powers-rcna343094

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/iran-war-60-day-authorization-threshold-trump-hegseth-congress-rcna343015

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/05/01/trump-tells-congress-iran-war-is-terminated-arguing-he-doesnt-need-approval-to-continue/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-says-deadline-for-congress-to-approve-iran-war-doesnt-apply-claiming-hostilities-have-terminated

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXzkCYERom0/

2026-05-12 The Pentagon considered renaming Operation Epic Fury, Operation Sledgehammer to circumvent the 60-day limit on war without Congressional approval.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pentagon-considering-re-naming-iran-war-sledgehammer-ceasefire-collaps-rcna344630

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-896121

https://unn.ua/en/news/us-considering-renaming-war-with-iran-to-operation-sledgehammer-media

2026-05-13 The Senate rejected another war-powers resolution (the 7th time).

https://time.com/article/2026/05/13/iran-war-vote-senate-murkowski-closest-vote-yet/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-defeats-7th-trump-war-powers-iran/

2026-05-14 The House failed to advance an Iran war-powers resolution after a 212–212 tie vote.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-iran-war-powers-resolution/

2026-05-22 Combat veteran and Democratic Representative Pat Ryan said, “…these chickenhawk motherf*ckers are going to send us home for Memorial Day weekend – where I’m going to honor my fellow veterans that I served 27 months in combat with – and they are going to not even give an up or down vote on continuing this war almost 3 months in while Americans are paying almost $5 a gallon at the pumps. It is fucking pathetic. They use this procedural bullsh!t argument, and every American should be absolutely outraged about this. It’s a disgrace.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvb6YVTe_0s&list=WL&index=7&t=50s

2026-05-29 House GOP members rejected Trump’s National Defense Authorization Act demands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTLLvoDE0iQ&list=WL&index=6

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5896228-ndaa-house-trump-troops-battleship/

2025 https://casten.house.gov/media/press-releases/casten-statement-on-voting-against-the-ndaa-for-fy-2026

2020 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/house-votes-to-override-trumps-veto-of-defense-bill

2020 https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/24/republicans-armed-services-ndaa-veto-450387