In another shocking display of the arrogance of power the Obama justice department is arguing in its defense to a case brought against it that the President's actions and those of his administration are exempt from judicial review challenging whether the President acted within the boundaries of the Constitution.
What makes this case so important is that it was filed on behalf of the estate of a 16-year-old American citizen who was killed by an American drone strike, along with other victims, in Yemen in 2011. Recently the United States Department of Justice presented a defense that is quite striking.
“Another thing you should know is the specific defense the government is mounting in this case. As the New York Times reported, the Obama administration’s Deputy Attorney General Brian Hauck first declared that courts have no right to oversee executive-branch decisions to extrajudicially assassinate Americans. He also insisted that the White House already provides adequate due process for those it kills, prompting federal judge Rosemary Collyer to point out that “the executive is not an effective check on the executive.” The fact that the judge needed to issue such a reminder speaks volumes about an administration utterly unconcerned with constitutional governance.
In defending the administration, Hauck asserted that such suits should not be permitted because they “don’t want these counterterrorism officials distracted by the threat of litigation.” [Turley]
What the administration is saying is that they are exempt from all checks and balances. That question, however, was decided over 200 years ago in the case of Marbury vs. Madison which established the right of the courts to rule on the constitutionality of executive branch decisions. It is directly as a result of that case that the Supreme Court has the power it does.
If the Obama administration continues to advance this argument all the way to the Supreme Court it would in essence be requesting the Supremes to cede all of its power, and directly impact the binding effect of two centuries of court decisions.
I'll keep an eye on this and continue to update you. However, in the meantime, you need to keep an eye on Obama. Evidence that he believes the Constitution is not binding on him is mounting every day.
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