Obama Invokes 'State Secrets' Claim To Dismiss Lawsuit Against Targeting Of U.S. Citizen
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Many commenters, like you, don't really understand what's going on here. So in an attempt to refocus, here goes:
In response to the lawsuit filed by Anwar Awlaki's father asking a court to enjoin Obama from assassinat!ng his son, a US citizen, without any due process, the administration late last night, according to the Washington Post, filed a brief asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit without hearing the merits of the claims.
That's not surprising: both the Bush and Obama administrations have repeatedly insisted that their secret conduct is legal but nonetheless urge courts not to even rule on its legality.
But what's most notable here is that one of the arguments the Obama DOJ raises to demand dismissal of this lawsuit is "state secrets": in other words, not only does a president have the right to sentence Americans to de@th with no due process or charges of any kind, but his decisions as to who will be k!lled and why he wants them de@d are "state secrets," and thus no court may adjudicate their legality.
That, in and of itself, should be shocking to all Americans.
That Obama would do this on the heels of the 2008 campaign where he campaigned for himself as a champion of the Constitution and against Bush's disregard for the rule of law, in addition to the fact that Awlaki has never been charged with a crime, much less convicted, leaves no doubt about Obama's character: He has none.
To those who excuse what Obama's doing as the result of something he's been told in intelligence briefings since assuming office, what do you possibly imagine would justify the literal end this Constitutional democracy? That's what his effort is telling you, by the way -- That this noble experiment is over. But back to the question: Imagine the worst. What could it possibly be?
There's no coming back from this.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
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