94 Feet | Senior Guard Sitota Gines

Don Brown, a North Carolina Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, argued that President Donald Trump should use the Insurrection Act to fight what he said was "literal civil war on the streets."

During a Monday interview on Real America's Voice, host Jake Novak asked Brown about Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops in Portland.

"I just feel like we're in a civil war here in America," Novak said. "I wish, I mean, I'm not trying to be hysterical here, but I don't know what else to call it. It's becoming kinetic. People are dying, literally. I wonder if you're as alarmed as I am?"

"You've nailed it on the head," Brown agreed. "There is a literal civil war on the streets."

The candidate argued that Trump had a duty to "ensure domestic tranquility."

"The President of the United States has the authority to send in the National Guard to these cities where domestic tranquility and rampant crime have taken over, with or without the request from the local authorities," he said. "You look into the Insurrection Act. And when Americans' constitutional rights and liberties are being threatened, the president can go ahead and send in troops."

"The president has the authority to do it. And these local leaders who are soft on crime and pro-crime and just want to kiss up to antifa and all these communist left-wing groups that are intent on unraveling civil society, they're not relevant," he added. "So I'm going to encourage the president to do what he needs to do."

A lawsuit filed by Oregon and the city of Portland asserted that Trump did not have the authority to deploy National Guard troops in response to "small" protests near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

"There is no insurrection or threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state," Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) said in a statement.

Legal commentator Elie Honig said during a podcast Sunday that the indictment of former FBI director James Comey might be "abuse of executive power."

Speaking to journalist John Avalon on The Bulwark's podcast, Honig, who is the author of the book When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ's Pursuit of the President, From Nixon to Trump, said, "I mean, God, Trump basically, by mistake, published a DM demand to his AG that in any other environment would be seen as a smoking gun for abuse of executive power. And now it just seems like something happened two Fridays ago. And who can remember or care?"

He continued: "I do think more people will get indicted on the hit list. He gave us a hit list. I know there's speculation if it's a DM that he inadvertently posted. It has hallmarks of both."

Avalon said the indictment "seems like a new low in the politicization of justice and the persecution of [President] Donald Trump's enemies."

According to Honig, there is "the complete evisceration of this wall that has long existed between the White House and the political operation of the executive branch and the Justice Department's prosecutorial function."

"When the president gets involved in dictating who gets charged and who doesn't, prosecutorial decisions, then we have crossed the line. And that's something that both parties for decades. Presidents don't always love it. Presidents would like to have more control over prosecutors. But even going back to Nixon, they've always understood that there has to be some independent prosecutorial function. But that's changing now very quickly," he added.

Honig further noted that there is no law per se "saying DOJ must be separate and independent from the White House, from the president."

He added: "I mean, if you went to court and said, I want to sue because I think DOJ is no longer independent, you wouldn't have a leg to stand on. This is more along the lines of a long established law foundational norm and tradition that both parties have long observed and respected."

Referencing his book, Honig noted how Trump 2.0 appears different from other presidencies.

"And part of the book is about ways that that has been chipped away over the years. But whether it's Nixon or Clinton, and they're not all equal, but Nixon or Clinton or Trump 1 or Biden, they've all chipped away at that wall in various ways."

"But now here comes Trump 2.0 and it's over. He just dynamites it. This is one of those things that's like not really enforceable. I mean, yes, Jim Comey can go into court and argue that he's being selectively prosecuted. And I think he's going to win on that. Given the things Trump has said and posted on social media publicly, he makes the case for him, but it's not like 'my fourth amendment constitutional right is being violated. My first amendment constitutional right is being violated.' It's just really like good government that we've long recognized that is now totally scrapped."

Avalon noted that "there is an unwritten part of the constitution, which is rooted in concepts of honor, decency, and common sense, as the founders intended and as everyone has recognized."

"And the rest of the quote, 'Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was burnt in one.' And Trump is burning something. I mean, FBI shows outside John Bolton's house. You've got [New York Attorney Genera] Letitia James next on the list."

Commenting on James' case, Honig said, "I've looked at the allegations against Letitia James. You know, I've been a critic, a sharp critic of Letitia James. But this mortgage fraud case is bogus. It's bonkers."