Top Legal Expert: “President Obama … Says That He Can Kill [Any American Citizen Without Any Charge and] On His Own Discretion. He Can Jail You Indefinitely On His Own Discretion”
By: Washington’s BlogI’ve previouslynotedthat Obama says that he can assassinate American citizens living on U.S. soil.This admittedly sounds over-the-top. But one of the nation’s top constitutional and military law experts – Jonathan Turley – agrees.Turley:
- Is the second most cited law professor in the country
- Has worked as both the CBS and NBC legal analyst during national controversies
- Ranks 38th in the top 100 most cited ‘public intellectuals’ in a recent study by a well-known judge
- Is one of the top 10 lawyers handling military cases
- Has served as a consultant on homeland security and constitutional issues
- Is a frequent witness before the House and Senate on constitutional and statutory issues
Turley said yesterday on C-Span (starting at 15:50):President Obama has just stated a policy that he can have any American citizen killed without any charge, without any review, except his own. If he’s satisfied that you are a terrorist, he says that he can kill youanywhere in the world including in the United States.Two of his aides just … reaffirmed they believe thatAmerican citizens can be killed on the order of the President anywhere including the United States.You’ve now got a president who says thathe can kill you on his own discretion. He can jail you indefinitely on his own discretion***I don’t think the the Framers ever anticipated that [the American people would be so apathetic]. They assumed that people would hold their liberties close, and that they wouldn’t relax …
Government Says It Can Assassinate or Indefinitely Detain Americans on American Soil Without Any Due Process of Law
The Government Has Never Given a Rationale for Assassination
While one might assume that the government has given a valid justification for the claim that it can assassinate anyone anywhere, the Washington Postnotedyesterday:In outlining its legal reasoning, the administration has cited broad congressional authorizations and presidential approvals, the international laws of war and the right to self-defense. Butit has not offered the American public, uneasy allies or international authorities any specificsthat would make it possible to judge how it is applying those laws.***“They’ve based it on the personal legitimacy of [President] Obama — the ‘trust me’ concept,” [American University law professor Kenneth Anderson] said. “That’s not a viable concept for a president going forward.”***Under domestic law, the administration considers [assassinations] to be covered by the Authorization for Use of Military Forcethat Congress passed days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In two key sentences that have no expiration date, the AUMF gives the president sole power to use “all necessary and appropriate force” against nations, groups or persons who committed or aided the attacks, and to prevent future attacks. [But the government justbroadened the authorization for use of military forcefrom those who attacked us on 9/11 to include the Taliban and the vague category of "associated forces".]***The authorization did not address targets’ nationality or set geographical boundaries, and there was “nothing about the permission of the government” of any country where a terrorist might be found, the former official said.Andsee this.
