Corey Belobrow was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar in 1981 and has been a practicing lawyer for 43 years.

I appreciated Jonathan Baird’s My Turn in the Monitor on February 17. This essay points to other actions by President Donald Trump that are beyond the rule of law. There are many but I’ll look at just two here: the Department of Justice ordering the New York U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to drop charges against New York City mayor Eric Adams and the barring of Associated Press reporters from White House briefings because the AP refuses to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

Our nation’s greatness is built on the rule of law. Without it, our democratic republic tilts towards a dictatorship.

Mayor Eric Adams was charged with accepting illegal campaign contributions from at least one Turkish government official. American politicians cannot accept benefits from foreign nations, a standard that prevents politicians from working for foreign countries instead of working for America. The SDNY presented enough evidence for a grand jury to indict Adams for pressuring the NYFD to allow a Turkish-owned building to open despite a failed fire inspection. In exchange, Adams allegedly sought or received campaign contributions.

Rather than drop the charges against Adams, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the SDNY resigned. Is she a flaming liberal? Not even remotely. That prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, belongs to the right-wing Federalist Society. She previously clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonine Scalia. Scalia, if you don’t remember, was an architect of the conservative legal revolution.

Sassoon is a principled conservative who couldn’t stand to see the law weaponized. Her resignation specifically stated that her decision to resign involved her choice “not to use the criminal enforcement authority of the United States to achieve political objectives.” She also noted that she was “confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged.” Trump pays lip service to not weaponizing the law, but his actions show the opposite.

Why would the Trump administration, through the DOJ, order Sassoon to drop charges when she believes Adams is guilty? Because Adams said he would cooperate with Trump’s immigration policies.

Trump and his DOJ are entitled to seek cooperation from mayors and governors. They are not entitled to do this by playing quid pro quo with criminal charges. Trump denies knowing about the situation, but that is impossible to believe. The point is not whether Adams should or shouldn’t have the NYPD cooperate in immigration enforcement — it’s whether dropping the Adams charges violates the rule of law.

This doesn’t end with Sassoon’s resignation. Six other SDNY federal prosecutors also resigned, refusing to bow to Trump’s DOJ and drop the Adams charges. Several of them also explained why it is unethical and improper to drop the charges.

Moreover, the charges against Adams are being dropped “without prejudice,” meaning the charges can be brought back at any time. They will continue hanging over Adams’s head if he doesn’t please Trump or the DOJ. 

Trump’s White House also violated the rule of law by barring AP reporters from its press conferences. Our president signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. There are a few problems with that. One, the rest of the world still calls it the Gulf of Mexico. Two, it’s been called the Gulf of Mexico for more than 400 years. Three, it’s a silly attempt at fake patriotism.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt asserted that the AP reporters had been banned because the AP was “lying” by calling the Gulf of Mexico by its 400 year-old name. But relabeling the Gulf was a sham — just check the price of eggs.

Trump’s team is starting America down a slippery slope towards fascism.

Who will they ban from the White House press conferences next and for what reason? Will it be CNN, because that network runs stories that say tariffs increase inflation, like most economists believe? Will it be ABC, because it reports that the price of eggs hasn’t come down? Will Trump soon not allow any reporters into the press briefings other than reporters from Fox News and similar sycophants? Will the only reporters who get to question Trump at White House briefings be those who serve up softballs?

That will not make America great. Trump specifically said he would “bring back free speech to America.” What he really means is that he will bring back the free speech he agrees with.