The Military May Find Itself in an Impossible Situation | Politicizing the Federal Work Force | 11 Theses on the Unrest in Los Angeles, and more

The Military May Find Itself in an Impossible Situation  (Joshua Braver, New York Times)
As a general matter, if the president were to order members of the military to engage in domestic policing, the order would almost certainly be legal, suggesting that officers should comply if they are ordered to engage in domestic policing.
If the president were to order officers to engage in domestic policing that was unnecessary (because it could be adequately handled by local law enforcement), politically partisan or reckless, the order would still almost certainly be legal — but according to the officers’ professional code, it would also be unethical. And military ethics dictate that officers should reject unethical orders.
In recent years, when the dilemma threatened to rupture civil-military relations, high-ranking authorities stepped in to defuse the crisis — as when Mr. Esper publicly invoked the military’s ethical principles to oppose domestically deploying the military in 2020. Mr. Esper may have narrowly saved service members from having to decide whether to disobey a direct order.
In his second term Mr. Trump has placed loyalists in positions of authority. This means that the question of ethical resistance may fall on officers in the field. They may be forced to choose between professional obedience and professional integrity, between their duty to the commander in chief and to the American people.

Harvard’s Battle Is Familiar to a University the Right Forced into Exile  (Alan Blinder, New York Times)
A school founded by George Soros fled Hungary after it was targeted by an authoritarian leader. Academics at the school say President Trump is using a similar playbook against Harvard.

Once Champions of Fringe Causes, Now in a ‘Trap of Their Own Making’  (Glenn ThrushAlan Feuer and Adam Goldman, New York Times)
Top leaders at the Justice Department and the F.B.I. are struggling to fulfill Trump campaign promises often rooted in misinformation and conspiracy theories.

What It Takes to Get a Trump Pardon: Loyalty, Connections or the Pardon Czar  (Emily Davies and Perry Stein, Washington Post)
President Donald Trump’s revamped clemency process has often disregarded the Justice Department’s guidelines.

Is There a “Woke Right” in America?  (Economist)
Conservatives don’t like being compared to the liberals they despise.

Hitler Used a Bogus Crisis of ‘Public Order’ to Make Himself Dictator  (Timothy W. Ryback, The Atlantic)
Using disorder he had helped manufacture, the chancellor seized control of Bavaria.

This Is What Trump Does When His Revolution Sputters  (Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic)
His military deployment in Los Angeles follows a long, disturbing tradition.

How Trump Filled Key Positions with People Who Spread Extremist Views  (Laura Barrón-López, Ali Schmitz, Doug Adams, PBS)
The first few months of President Trump’s second term, including some selections for key jobs in his administration, have sparked new questions about his complicated history with elevating extremist views.