Government,
Constitutional Law
Jan. 16, 2026
Trump, king of the jungle: Power without limits
Trump's claim that only his own morality limits his power echoes Nixon's infamous logic--and reflects a presidency increasingly unbound by law, precedent or constitutional restraint.
William Rothbard
Email: Rothbard@FTCAdLaw.com
William Rothbard also represents clients in federal and state deceptive advertising investigations and enforcement actions as well as consumer class actions and has litigated and settled scores of matters. He provides advertising-related transactional services, including contracts, trademarks, sweepstakes and contests. Bill writes and speaks often on advertising and marketing law topics. He has served as the Editor of Competition, an antitrust and trade regulation journal published by the California State Bar Antitrust and Trade Regulation Section, and is the author of the legal blog, FTCAdLaw Alert, which can be found on his firm website. He has served as an advertising law expert in FTC-related cases and serves as an expert within his field in the global expert consulting network of the Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG). Prior to entering private practice, Bill was an attorney with the FTC, holding positions as an advertising enforcement attorney, Deputy Assistant Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Attorney-Advisor to the FTC Chairman. He also served as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Monopolies and Business Rights. He is a graduate of UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings College of Law) and The University of Michigan. In his civic life, Bill is a past Chair of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, past President of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, former Board Member of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, and a former candidate for the California Assembly.
Richard Nixon, in his famous 1977 conversations with journalist David Frost, when asked if there are situations "where the president can decide that it's in the best interest of the nation or something, and do something illegal," answered: "Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal." This was a shocking statement, even from a president who had been forced out of office over an illegal coverup of criminality.
When President Trump ...
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