Plus the expansion of power and side stepping of normal legal process by the executive branch became normalized under the George Bush administration which was well documented by one of his top White House lawyers, which he well documented in the book ‘The Terror Presidency’ and who later started the excellent Lawfare blog.
This included a big expansion of the black budget agencies and their power since it was the one thing the exec has strong control over and little public blowback because of the secret courts and classified nature.
Correct link: https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Presidency-Judgment-Inside-Adm...