Presidents from Abraham Lincoln (who suspended habeas corpus) through Franklin Roosevelt ­(Japanese-American internment camps) to George W. Bush (warrantless wiretapping, CIA black-site “enhanced interrogation techniques”) have regularly asserted or invoked emergency powers. Under legislation passed by Congress during World War II, Goitein wrote, Trump could “activate laws allowing him to shut down many kinds of electronic communications inside the United States or freeze Americans’ bank accounts.” And, of course, he could deploy troops anywhere, including the Capitol. Tom Ricks, a military affairs journalist, thinks the Pentagon would balk at that. “My bet is that military professionalism runs so deep,” he says, “that the Joint Chiefs and other senior leaders would be quick to point out that they can’t follow illegal orders.”

Likewise, says Holtzman, “some way or another, the system will work. If the evidence is so strong that we have the votes, then he better listen to that.”But back in her day, the Democratic-­controlled Congress was careful to win over Republicans before making its final drive to oust Nixon. In January, they’ll have a 36-seat ­majority in the House, while Republicans added two seats to their control of the Senate. And none of the GOP’s leaders have broken with Trump, no matter how many misdeeds pile up.

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