Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, arrives on stage during a campaign event on Oct. 20 in Lancaster, Pa.

As a constitutional law professor who believes that checks and balances are essential, I worry enormously about where will be the guardrails if Donald Trump is elected president.

The answer cannot be that we should simply trust that Trump will follow the Constitution and adhere to the law. That should not be the answer for any elected official. James Madison long ago wrote, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” But people are not angels; checks and balances are imperative because even the best-intentioned government actors at times violate the law.

Everything we have heard from Trump and everything we know about Trump creates a reason to ask what the checks and balances will be during his presidency. In recent weeks, Trump has said that he wants to go after “the enemy within,” including using the military, and that the enemy within includes people like Reps. Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi. Trump repeatedly has said that he wants to use the Justice Department to prosecute political rivals.

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Time and again, Trump has shown little concern with following the law. Trump twice was found by juries to have sexually abused E. Jean Carroll and have defamed her about it. A jury in New York convicted Trump of 34 felony counts in authorizing money to be paid to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet........

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