Michael Scherer: “The first seven months of Trump’s Oval Office do-over have been, with occasional exception, a tale of ruthless domination. The Democratic opposition is feeble and fumbling, the federal bureaucracy traumatized and neutered. Corporate leaders come bearing gifts, the Republican Party has been scrubbed of dissent, and the street protests are diminished in size. Even the news media, a major check on Trump’s power in his first term, have faded from their 2017 ferocity, hobbled by budget cuts, diminished ratings, and owners wary of crossing the president.”

“One exception has stood out: A legal resistance led by a patchwork coalition of lawyers, public-interest groups, Democratic state attorneys general, and unions has frustrated Trump’s ambitions. Hundreds of attorneys and plaintiffs have stood up to him, feeding a steady assembly line of setbacks and judicial reprimands for a president who has systematically sought to break down limits on his own power.”

“Of the 384 cases filed through August 28 against the Trump administration, 130 have led to orders blocking at least part of the president’s efforts, and 148 cases await a ruling, according to a review by Just Security. Dozens of those rulings are the final word, with no appeal by the government, and others have been stayed on appeal, including by the Supreme Court.”

“A federal judge found on Tuesday that President Trump illegally sent troops to enforce his immigration policies in Los Angeles, siding with state officials who contend the operation violates a 19th-century law barring the U.S. military from undertaking domestic law enforcement,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco conducted a three-day bench trial in August on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s claim that the forces Trump deployed over the objection of state and local officials violated the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 statute that restricts use of the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement except when authorized by Congress.”

“Trump increasingly sought to deploy force to advance his priorities in states and cities that voted against him and remain opposed to many of his policies. Asserting that Washington, D.C., is awash in crime and disorder, Trump deployed the district’s National Guard and has invoked emergency powers to take temporary control of local police activities, leading to a legal showdown with city leaders over the power to appoint the police chief. The president has suggested that other Democratic-majority jurisdictions, including Baltimore, Chicago and New York City, could be next.”