Dear Conservative,
A U.S. District Judge has just ruled that if the Obama administration targets you or your family members for assassination, there is nothing that the courts can do to stop it. Yes, you read that right… Why? Because U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer doesn’t believe it is the court’s job to become involved with how a war is run.
Ultimately, the judge ruled that the Executive branch has to follow the honor system. “[The Federal government] must be trusted and expected to act in accordance with the U.S. Constitution when they intentionally target a U.S. citizen abroad at the direction of the president and with the concurrence of Congress.”
In the fall of 2011, the United States Government, under the direction of Barack Obama, ordered the killing of two American citizens (a father and son). Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American citizen-turned-radical cleric, was killed by a drone strike on September 30, 2011 and his 16-year old son, Abdulrahman, was murdered in the same fashion 14 days later.
In this case, a surviving relative, Nasser Al-Awlaki, sued the U.S. government for illegally assassinating his son and grandson. While the Judge appeared during trial to favor the plaintiff, just this week she revealed her shocking ruling, explaining that the courts are powerless to stop the Obama administration from assassinating citizens!
This is outrageous! The Obama administration now has a blank check to target American citizens abroad without repercussions! Whether these targets are terrorists, criminals, or just people in the wrong place at the wrong time, the fact remains that the Executive Branch CANNOT have the authority to pick and choose American citizens for assassination!
Anwar Al-Awlaki was a terrorist. He was Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen and reaching out to try to recruit Americans to turn on their government. He was behind the 2009 Christmas day underwear bombing attempt and he even shared correspondences with Major Nidal Hasan before he killed 13 people at Fort Hood.
Anwar Al-Awlaki was a hateful man who devoted every waking hour to trying to conscript people to fight against the United States. But, Anwar Al-Awlaki was also an American citizen.
As an American citizen, Al-Awlaki still had constitutional rights. That is what sets our country apart from so many others. Even the worst criminals known to man receive their day in court. The understanding that all Americans possess unalienable rights protected by the Constitution is what keeps our society from devolving into full blown tyranny.
The United States government had evidence against Anwar Al-Awlaki… If there was a trial held, the evidence would probably have led to a conviction. However, there was never a trial. But that didn’t stay the Executioner-in-Chief’s hand…
The Obama administration killed Al-Awlaki with a drone strike in Yemen on September 30, 2011. There were no charges brought, no convictions… Barack Obama was the Judge, Jury, and Executioner in deciding how to punish Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American citizen on foreign soil.
Put aside this man’s clear radical actions. Yes, for all intents and purposes he was a terrorist. But the law is the law and according to the Constitution, which still applies, this man should have been afforded a trial. The United States killed an American citizen in a country we are not currently at war with, without filing charges or indicting him!
So yes, it is easy to say that Anwar Al-Awlaki got what he deserved and that the ends justified the means. You are more than willing to believe that. However, the slippery slope argument most definitely applies here. What happens if one day an unelected bureaucrat decides that YOU are undesirable and deserving of death without being afforded a trial? Sure, it is unlikely to happen, yet remember that it took the White House an entire day to respond to Rand Paul’s filibuster and promise not to use drones on Americans within the United States!
Anwar Al-Awlaki wasn’t the only one illegally killed by the United States. Obama also ordered the killing of Al-Awlaki’s 16-year old son, Abdulrahman, while he was eating with family and friends in a restaurant. For the second time in two weeks, a Predator Drone fired its hellfire missiles on an American citizen abroad. And for the second time, the Obama administration assassinated a member of the Al-Awlaki family.
Last summer, Nasser Al-Awlaki (Anwar’s father) sued the Obama administration for the clear violation of his son and grandson’s 5th Amendment right to a fair trial. The case is rather simple. The Constitution ensures that all Americans are afforded a trial with a jury of their peers. Well, not surprisingly, the constitutional scholar-turned-44th President doesn’t care for those pesky constitutional rights. If Obama labels you an enemy of the state, the courts have just ruled that he can target you for assassination!
The Fifth Amendment reads, in part: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury… nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
Launching a drone strike against an American citizen abroad without so much as filing a charge is a clear violation of the Fifth Amendment. I would challenge you to find a better example of deprivation of life than subjecting someone to death by hellfire missile.
Even though the court admitted that there were clear constitutional violations at play, Judge Collyer ruled that her hands were tied by the “political question doctrine.” This excludes from judicial review any controversy that involves policy choices decided by Congress or the Executive branch. So essentially, as long as Congress and the President conspire to violate your Constitutional rights, then it is acceptable!
This is absolute nonsense! You have constitutional rights, and our founding document holds that these rights cannot be denied or taken away from you without due process. This court decision effectively voids that principle!
As ridiculous as it sounds, the court has ruled that the Judicial Branch cannot stop the President from assassinating U.S. citizens. Only Congress can!
If you value your life and your constitutional rights, and if you would prefer that your fate wasn’t decided by an unelected bureaucrat with his or her hand on the trigger, then you MUST tell Congress to stop the Obama administration from assassinating U.S. citizens! Only Congress can act!
Sincerely,
Joe Otto
Conservative Daily
No comments yet - make the first one!