The Right Press…

There are many speculations regarding President Obama’s secretive Executive Order 12425 that was made in the middle of the night on December 17, which grants full immunity to INTERPOL (the International Police Organization) on American soil. The order basically grants the foreign law enforcement agency some very broad powers to operate nearly unrestricted within the United States; exceeding even some of the most troubling aspects of the Patriot Act.

(MSNBC Photo)

Under the order INTERPOL would be immune from following America’s 4th Amendment search and seizure provisions, and 6th Amendment rights; allowing INTERPOL’s law enforcement powers to supersede the United States Constitution. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the foreign law enforcement organization would not be required to report any of their communications or activities while on American soil ultimately making them unaccountable to anyone in the U.S. government.

As the picture begins to come into focus, it still remains exceedingly unclear as to why the President would have initiated such an unlawful order. The Whitehouse continues to dodge the issue and refuses to comment on it, allowing more confusion and speculation to fester on the internet about the issue. Some supporters on the left speculate that the orders purpose could possibly be Obama’s way of helping to improve our intelligence gathering techniques, but realistically speaking, do we need yet another foreign organization meddling in American domestic affairs? Some feel this is a way for this administration to make it easier for foreign organizations to prosecute past US Presidents (mainly President G.W. Bush), members of our military and members of Congress in an EU International Criminal Court for supposed ‘war crimes’. Others see it as a move to make US intelligence organizations function more like European law enforcement organizations. Until the Whitehouse comes clean on the issue, the few conservative minded media outlets that are covering it and the blogosphere will be teeming with ideas and conspiracy theories.

All is not lost however as even omnipotent Presidential orders can be quashed under the right circumstances. The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned two executive orders in the past; President Harry S. Truman’s Executive Order 10340 in which the Supreme Court ruled that placing all steel mills under the federal governments control was revoked because it attempted to make law, rather than clarify a law that was already put forth by the Congress (Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer). The President does not have, and Congress cannot grant the president, the power to create laws. The second order that was struck down by the Supreme Court was in 1996 when President Bill Clinton attempted to prevent the U.S. government from contracting with organizations that had strike-breakers on the payroll.

Congress also has the ability to overturn an executive order by passing legislation that directly conflicts with the order or they can refuse to approve the funding that is needed to enforce the order. Even as concerning as Obama’s secret order appears to be, it’s important to remember that Executive orders have been amended and revoked many times, sometimes altering the very intent of the order in the first place.

Regardless of the orders purpose, what should be all the more unsettling to American citizens is that every time the American public turns around, it would seem that this administration is working very hard to undermine the rights of American citizens that are specifically protected by the Constitution of the United States, not to mention this great nation’s sovereignty. However, we have a President who believes the Constitution reflects “the fundamental flaw of this country”, so with that being said, it should really be of no surprise to anyone that the order was issued and that it was issued in secret.  Again, the transparency that was promised to the American voters has once again gone missing in action.