In researching the constitutional crisis precipitated by George Bush’s claim to absolute power under the Commander in Chief language of the first clause of Article II, Section 2 of The Constitution of the United States of America:
Sect. 2. The President shall be Commander in Chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States;
I began reading the Memorandum Opinion For The Deputy Counsel To The President regarding The President’s Constitutional Authority To Conduct Military Operations Against Terrorists And Nations Supporting Them authored by John C. Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel.
I have more reading to do on this…
… and the United States Signal Intelligence Directive 18 but during my reading of Mr Yoo’s opinion I noticed that he referenced Federalist #’s 23, 25, 70, 74, and 34 as part of the basis for his assumptions.
So I dusted off my copy of the Federalist papers (more reading to do there too). Federalist’s # 41-46 deal with powers with 41 specifically focusing on Military Powers. Federalist’s # 67 -77 however, deal with the Executive so I started there.
As I said, I’ve more research to do but I just wanted to throw out this little tidbit regarding Vacancies and Recess Appointments, as well as the Advice and Consent clause, as these are similar issues by which the Bush administration has attempted to establish absolute power in the Executive branch.
Article II, Section 2, states in part:
… and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise proved for, and which shall be established by Law; but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
I had read opinions stating that this provision has long been misinterpreted as allowing the President to fill any vacancy during a Senate recess. That in fact this provision allows only for filling vacancies that occur during a recess. My own reading of this provision concurs… “Vacancies that may happen during the Recess”… is hard to interpret any other way.
In Federalist #67 Publius, Alexander Hamilton, clarifies this beyond a shadow of a doubt….
Click through to The 10,000 Things to read the rest.
A phrase that is tossed around as a question all the time. But, after viewing yesterday’s press conference, I think we really are in the midst of one.
A president with no regard for law, is by definition a constitutional crisis.
It appears that this President claims the Constitution gives him absolute power during time of war. Reading Yoo’s memorandum he appears to lay claim that the Commander in Chief language trumps all other clauses of The Constitution thereby making the Preident above the law during times of war… oh, and by the way, it is the President alone that gets to determine when we are at war and when we are not.
I call that a Constitutional Crisis.
Yep.
I’m not surprised so many people are confused though. Who except people like us could foresee it all collapsing so fast.
.
“They misunderestimated me.”–Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000
“The legislature’s job is to write law. It’s the executive branch’s job to interpret law.”–Austin, Texas, Nov. 22, 2000
“I am mindful of the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch. I assured all four of these leaders that I know the difference, and that difference is they pass the laws and I execute them.” –Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2000
“We’ve had leaks out of the administrative branch, had leaks out of the legislative branch, and out of the executive branch and the legislative branch, and I’ve spoken out consistently against them, and I want to know who the leakers are.”–Chicago, Sept. 30, 2003
≈ Cross-posted from my diary —
Handwritten Letter Jay Rockefeller to Dick Cheney ¶ 17 July 2003 ≈
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY