President Trump, in an East Room address on Wednesday, said that he is expanding “Operation Legend” by sending federal law-enforcement agents to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico, to quell violence there.
He said, “No mother should ever have to cradle her dead child in her arms simply because [local] politicians refused to do what is necessary to secure their neighborhoods and to secure their city.” Through the recently announced federal program, “We’ll work every single day to restore public safety, protect our nation’s children and bring violent perpetrators to justice. We’ve been doing it and you’ve been seeing what’s happening all around the country.”
Trump might have been referring to the test case, Kansas City, where Operation Legend (named after LeGend Taliferro, a four-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Kansas City on June 29) was initially rolled out. According to the latest statistics, more than 200 arrests have been made there following the federal intervention.
Under the $61 million federal program, Trump is sending 200 agents from the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the DEA, and the ATF to Chicago to help stem the crime wave that continues to engulf that city, along with another 35 agents to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Trump said, “We’ve just started this process and frankly we have no choice but to get involved. Help is on the way.” He added, “We’re not going to let his happen in our country” and then he named New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, and Oakland, as cities that will also shortly be subjected to the program’s “assistance.” They are “all run by liberal Democrats,” said Trump.
Precious little more has been learned of this program since The New American first covered it two weeks ago. At that time, the president said that Operation Legend is part of an effort to “help drive down violent crime” where federal agents will “find” those responsible, “arrest them, and prosecute them.” The program enlists the services of the local U.S. Attorney’s office, which will provide “resources” to help with the prosecution.
We asked at the time: Under what authority does Operation Legend exist? Where will the agents operate? Will they be housed inside local law-enforcement offices, or have their own separate offices? How will communications be set up? Who will be in charge? How long will the operation in each city last? Will the crimes be considered federal crimes, thus justifying federal intervention?
Still more questions are being raised. With just $61 million allocated to Operation Legend, it won’t be long before federal funding for the program runs out. Where is that money coming from? Will the program be renewed at the pleasure of the president, or will Congress get involved in allocating more funds for it?
Other questions include: Just how will federal agents be “combined” with local law enforcement? Who will do the arresting? Will the federal agents be deputized in order to enforce local laws? Or will they serve only in a supportive, back-office role? Or will all crimes now be considered federal crimes?
Constitutional questions exist as well. Under the Ninth and 10th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, all powers not specifically given to the federal government are reserved to the states or to the people. Local laws then are to be enforced at the state and local level, with no federal intervention permitted. Where does Operation Legend fit in?
Political questions arise. Is confidence in local law enforcement likely to be diminished by the “need” for federal intervention, thus paving the way for acceptance of federal police during real or phony crises in the future?
And isn’t such a risk part of the plan of the protestors, whose Marxist masters seek to remove local law enforcement in favor of federal police? If such a strategy works in Kansas City, Chicago, and Albuquerque, why wouldn’t those rent-a-mob protesters simply be ordered to expand their operations to every city in the country, knowing that Operation Legend will shortly be there to quell the riots and establish a permanent federal police presence?
In other words, will Operation Legend accomplish one of the purposes of the mobs?
Image: Onfokus/iStock/Getty Images Plus
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American, writing primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
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