Since becoming president, Obama has churned out an impressive stream of directives flowing from his promise to deliver "the most transparent administration in history."
Then there's the other government.
It prosecutes leakers like no administration before it. It exercises state-secrets privileges to quash court cases against it. It hides a vast array of directives and legal opinions underpinning government actions – not just intelligence and not all of it about national security.
Now it's known to conduct sweeping phone-records and Internet surveillance of ordinary people in programs kept on the lowdown until an employee of a National Security Agency contractor revealed them.
11. The President of the United States is not authorized by the Constitution to take our nation to war without the consent of the Congress of the United States. The only exception to this is the authority granted to the President by Congress under the War Powers Act. This law allows the President to take immediate action without the consent of Congress if there is an imminent threat to the security of the United States, or its citizens. Although there was clearly no such imminent threat caused by the Civil War in Libya, the President committed members of the United States military to combat missions in a foreign country without the consent of Congress. He based his authority on a United Nations resolution, and a resolution by the Arab League. [CJF emphasis]
June 18, 2013
Dear Ms. Frompovich,
Thank you for contacting me about the recent scandals in the Obama administration. I appreciate hearing from you.
As you know, the Obama administration recently has been involved in several scandals and controversies. For instance, it misled the public about the attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya; and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been subjecting conservative non-profits to inappropriate, ideologically based scrutiny. These scandals and controversies are deeply disturbing, and they must be fully investigated. Those responsible for wrong-doing must be held accountable for their actions.
Some are now calling for the impeachment of the President. The U.S. Constitution requires impeachment proceedings to originate in the House of Representatives. A majority of the House Judiciary Committee members must vote to verify that there is enough evidence to warrant impeachment. Then, the full House of Representatives must vote to approve the decision to proceed to an impeachment hearing. If that occurs, then the House Judiciary Committee will try the President on the Senate floor, with the Senate acting as the jury and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding over the trial.
As a Senator, I therefore am unable to begin impeachment proceedings. However, as I continue working with my Senate colleagues to investigate these scandals and controversies and make sure that those involved are held accountable to the American people, please be assured that I value your input and will keep your thoughts in mind.
Thank you again for your correspondence. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of assistance.
Sincerely,Pat ToomeyU.S. Senator, Pennsylvania