Beryl Howell: “The president's interpretation of the scope of his constitutional power — or, more aptly, his aspiration — is flat…”

The president's efforts here to take over an organization outside of those bounds, contrary to statute established by Congress and by acts of force and threat using local and federal law enforcement officers, represented a gross usurpation…

It sends chills down my spine when you say that if the president in his view has the position that an individual, or an entity, or a company is operating a way that is not in the nation’s interest, he can issue an executive order like this.

His attempt to do so here is blatantly illegal, and his constitutional arguments to excuse this illegal act are contrary to Supreme Court precedent and over a century of practice.

Mr. Trump seems intent on pushing the bounds of his office and exercising his power in a manner violative of clear statutory law to test how much the courts will accept the notion of a presidency that is supreme.