Donald Trump: Who are you to “terminate” the Constitution after seeking its refuge?

Leon R. Koziol, J.D.

Human Rights Advocate

Founder, Citizen Commission Against Corruption, Inc.

OPEN LETTER TO DONALD TRUMP:

WHO ARE YOU TO TERMINATE THE CONSTITUTION AFTER SEEKING ITS REFUGE?

Leon R. Koziol, J.D.

Human Rights Advocate

Founder, Citizen Commission Against Corruption, Inc.

When I caught the alarming news, I quickly scrutinized it for media slants, liberal embellishments and downright fabrications regarding Donald Trump’s call for “terminating” our Constitution in whole or in part. This was simply off the charts even for the most demented public figures.

As a civil rights attorney for nearly three decades and lifelong Democrat, I served as Democrat city councilman, Democrat endorsed candidate for New York Senate, and Democrat committeeman. I did not abandon the party but stayed to oppose its transformation into a socialist repository for fringe activism.

But alas, the Trump declaration was no misrepresentation. Our 45th president was actually calling for “termination” of that venerable document, making one question if he really knew what it stated in the first place. How could anyone in such high position contrive an edict so thoroughly insulting to our military and law enforcement?

Talk about hypocrisy, how could Donald Trump demand oaths of office while terminating rights under the same Constitution he relies upon to resist criminal prosecutions? Did he sanely believe that an army of human rights attorneys would simply step aside as “the Don” rode his lame horse into battle?

Well, I’ve finally had it with this self-loving Don. I am looking for the likes of Mike Pence or Ron DeSantis to rid the Republican Party of its nemesis who refuses to even stand by the misguided souls he pressed into battle at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. We need a legitimate two-party system of rational choice at the polls.

I will continue the crusade to eliminate corruption in the “swamp,” but a true hero remains elusive. Jimmy Carter did his best to resist beltway controls before that swamp drowned him. In Trump’s case, he drowned himself while disappointing countless supporters fed up with his constant rants and childish name-calling.

To comprehend my outrage, the reader must learn from profound history regarding dictator ascendency. My father spent five years in a Nazi concentration camp before being liberated by an allied force. Recruitment into the U.S. Army facilitated his ultimate escape from war torn Europe to the freedoms enjoyed here in America.

Shamefully, we take these freedoms for granted as they are already being eroded with little resistance. Like deer in the headlights, sheep led to slaughter, Americans are more obsessed with on-line entertainment and will forget about all this. The parallels to Nazi Germany are stunning in light of breaking news these days.

On February 27, 1933, a fire was reported in Berlin which had engulfed the Reichstag Building, location of the German Parliament. It occurred exactly four weeks after Adolph Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany and was quickly blamed on Communist dissidents who were later tried and acquitted.

But the event inflamed German patriots to impose wide-ranging limits on speech, assembly, privacy and voting rights known as the Reichstag Fire Decree. It led to the absence of political adversaries from the March, 1933 elections, thereby consolidating power in the hands of the Nazis. These rights were never restored.

The raid on our Capitol was executed by a mob that many have labeled domestic terrorists. Condemned by Democrats and Republicans alike, there nevertheless remained profound sympathy for a former president when his home at Mar-a-Lago was also raided in a giant show of hypocrisy.

The targeting of political adversaries was palpable regardless of character. Americans were rightfully abhorred by the audacity of an armed swat team descending upon a homestead from helicopters and assault vehicles. Did this really happen we asked ourselves, and could one of us be singled out next in this same manner?

It was unseemly for most Americans to relate to the protection of a billion-dollar estate built on the misfortunes of addicted gamblers, swindled politicians and unmitigated wealth. But privacy principles were enshrined in our Constitution to protect every legal resident. The vast poor and middle class were nevertheless their driving force under the valid premise that the rich had resources to protect themselves.

To read Donald Trump now citing framer intentions in his defense is to believe that Benedict Arnold was a staunch loyalist to the American cause. In doubling down on his monumental gaffe, he trivializes the 330 million beneficiaries of our Constitution. To atone for this, Donald Trump should swiftly end his bid for president and return to his show, the Apprentice, which well defines his candidacy.

Visit the censored blog site where this column originates at www.leonkoziol.com

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About the Author

Leon R. Koziol, J.D. is a human rights advocate who practiced law for more than two decades in federal and state courts. He appeared on the CBS program 60 Minutes for his defense of landowners targeted for eviction by Indian tribes alleging violations of ancient treaties. In 2004, he secured a judgement in New York Supreme Court invalidating the 1993 Turning Stone casino gaming compact.

His recoveries feature substantial jury verdicts for victims of government abuse. Case citations include, Koziol v Hanna, 107 F.2d 170 (NDNY 2000); Patterson v City of Utica, 370 F.3d 322 (2nd Cir.2004); Oneida Indian Nation v County of Oneida, 132 F. Supp. 2d 71 (NDNY); Peterman v Pataki, 2004 NY Slip Op 51092(U) and Parent v State, 786 F. Supp. 2d 516 (NDNY 2011).

The latter was a consolidated case intended as a class action on behalf of parents defrauded in divorce and family courts. It was part of a bold challenge to judicial and sovereign immunity which yielded severe retributions upon the author’s licenses and parent-child relations. The horrific ordeal which led to a near death climax was captured in his book, Whistleblower in Paris, published in 2021.

Leon Koziol can be reached at (315) 796-4000 and leonkoziol@gmail.com