Clause buried in GOP bill would handcuff courts as Trump's legal battles grow

A review of the stalled Republican Party-authored House Budget Committee bill that is currently being stalled by GOP hardliners revealed a non-budgetary provision that would hand Donald Trump a powerful tool to do as he pleases.

According to a report from the Associated Press, with the Trump administration finding its hands tied by temporary restraining orders halting mass deportations without probable cause and purging of government employees put on hold, the courts would be handcuffed from enforcing their rulings.

Add to that, administration officials would be immune from being held in contempt if they ignore judges' warnings.

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The AP report notes, "Courts can hold parties to civil litigation or criminal cases in contempt for disobeying their orders. The penalty can take the form of fines or other civil punishments, or even prosecution and jail time, if pursued criminally."

But, "The provision in the Republican budget bill would prohibit courts from enforcing contempt citations for violations of injunctions or temporary restraining orders — the two main types of rulings used to rein in the Trump administration — unless the plaintiffs have paid a bond. That rarely happens when someone sues the government."

The report adds there is a question of whether the provision will be stripped out, but that it is also indicative of "how much those in power in the nation's capital are thinking about the consequences of defying judges as the battle between the Trump administration and the courts escalates.

On Saturday a legal expert appeared on MSNBC and claimed it "is really building up to a point that you're going to get a showdown, and I'm expecting at least contempt hearings to start soon."

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