The Guardian view on Trump and the law: a restraint on the executive is morphing into its weapon | Editorial

The indictment of critics including John Bolton rings alarm bells as the US president expands his power and seeks to use the justice system to exact revenge

He who saves his country does not violate any law," Donald Trump posted after beginning his second term - emboldened, perhaps, by the supreme court's bombshell ruling on presidential immunity last year, which many say gave the office-holder the powers of a monarch.

Millions of Americans are expected to push back against the president's growing power at No Kings protests across the US on Saturday. The demonstrations come as former intelligence and national security officials warn that the country is sliding towards competitive authoritarianism", in which elections and courts survive but are systematically manipulated by the executive.