DC AG sues President Trump’s “Hostile Takeover”!
Washington DC, Aug 15 (EFE).-
The Attorney General of the District of Columbia, Brian Schwalb, sued the administration led by United States President Donald Trump on Friday for the “hostile takeover” of the capital police as part of a campaign against street crime.
Schwalb’s actions come hours after US Attorney General Pam Bondi – appointed by Trump to oversee the federal takeover of Washington DC Police – signed an order appointing Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) director Terry Cole as emergency commissioner of the capital’s police forces.
“By illegally declaring a takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its temporary, limited authority under the law. This is the gravest threat to Home Rule DC has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it,” Schwalb said in a statement on social media platform X.
“The federal government’s power over DC is not absolute, and it should not be exercised as such. (…) But it can only be done temporarily, for special emergencies, and solely for federal purposes,” he added.
In his lawsuit, Schwalb asks a federal judge to declare unconstitutional and block Trump and Bondi’s actions, which he claims exceed the boundaries of the Home Rule Act, the law that governs Washington’s autonomy since 1973.
With this, the capital’s attorney general seeks that the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, and the chief of police, Pamela Smith, retain control of the law enforcement.
For his part, Bowser joined Schwalb in rejecting Cole’s appointment as “illegal.” Both suggested that they would not comply with Bondi’s order.
On Monday, Trump declared a Crime Emergency and took control of the Metropolitan Police Department, and announced the activation of some 800 National Guard troops as part of his efforts to “restore public order,” based on a clause of the Home Rule Act.
According to the president, these actions are necessary citing rampant crime in the city, a claim rejected by local authorities, who stress that according to current figures, crime rates have fallen since 2023. EFE ygg/sc
