General Discussion

babylonsister

(171,091 posts) Sat Dec 20, 2014, 01:08 PM Dec 2014

Obama Rips Congress For Violating The Constitution By Blocking Him From Closing GITMO

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/20/obama-rips-congress-violating-constitution-blocking-closing-gitmo.html

Obama Rips Congress For Violating The Constitution By Blocking Him From Closing GITMO
By: Jason Easley
Saturday, December, 20th, 2014, 11:31 am

President Obama attached a signing statement to the 2015 NDAA that shredded Congress and accused the legislative branch of violating the constitutional separation of powers by passing provisions that block him from closing GITMO.

Here is the full text of the president’s signing statement,

Today I have signed into law H.R. 3979, the “Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘Buck’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.” I have signed this annual defense authorization legislation because it will provide vital benefits for military personnel and their families, as well as critical contingency authorities needed to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to respond to emerging needs in the face of evolving terrorist threats and emergent crises worldwide.

Earlier this month, the Department of Defense transferred the last remaining third-country nationals held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, ending U.S. detention operations in Afghanistan. Yet halfway around the world, the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, remains open for the 13th consecutive year, costing the American people hundreds of millions of dollars each year and undermining America’s standing in the world. As I have said many times, the continued operation of this detention facility weakens our national security by draining resources, damaging our relationships with key allies and partners, and emboldening violent extremists. Closing the detention facility is a national imperative.

I have repeatedly called upon the Congress to work with my Administration to close the detention facility at Guantanamo once and for all. Individuals from across the political spectrum have recognized that the facility should be closed. But instead of removing unwarranted and burdensome restrictions that curtail the executive branch’s options for managing the detainee population, this bill continues them. Section 1032 renews the bar against using appropriated funds to construct or modify any facility in the United States, its territories, or possessions to house any Guantanamo detainee in the custody or under the control of the Department of Defense unless authorized by the Congress. Section 1033 likewise renews the bar against using appropriated funds to transfer Guantanamo detainees into the United States for any purpose. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, contains similar provisions as well as those relating to existing restrictions on the transfer of detainees abroad.

I have consistently opposed these restrictions and will continue to work with the Congress to remove them. More than 80 percent of detainees at one time held at the detention facility have now been transferred. The executive branch must have the flexibility, with regard to those detainees who remain, to determine when and where to prosecute them, based on the facts and circumstances of each case and our national security interests, and when and where to transfer them consistent with our national security and our humane treatment policy. Under certain circumstances, the provisions concerning detainee transfers in both bills would violate constitutional separation of powers principles. In the event that the restrictions on the transfer of detainees operate in a manner that violates constitutional separation of powers principles, my Administration will implement them in a manner that avoids the constitutional conflict.

snip//

The president was correct. Members of Congress who voted for the restrictions on detainee transfer are violating the separation of powers. Some on the left continue to blame President Obama for not closing GITMO, but their blame is misplaced. (No, vetoing the bill is not an option. Congress would easily override an Obama veto of the NDAA.) Congress has refused to fund the closure, and blocked the transfer of detainees. Obama lived up to his end of the bargain. If progressives want to place blame somewhere, they should begin with some of the same people that they are trying to draft to run for president in 2016.

27 replies

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Highlight:

Obama Rips Congress For Violating The Constitution By Blocking Him From Closing GITMO (Original Post) babylonsister Dec 2014 OP

I fully expect Gitmo to be emptied by 1/20/17. Renew Deal Dec 2014 #1

is this from 2009? Doctor_J Dec 2014 #2

This has been a continuing rebellion against his first orders on this in 2009. The GOP knows well freshwest Dec 2014 #3

I think the President has grounds for a lawsuit meow2u3 Dec 2014 #4

I've never understood. Savannahmann Dec 2014 #5

I do not think the U.S. government would or could ever agree in federal court that it is detaining KingCharlemagne Dec 2014 #6

I don't think President Obama would goldent Dec 2014 #18

I honestly wish he had done this at the start of his first term. 99Forever Dec 2014 #7

He did. ucrdem Dec 2014 #9

Well great. Then Gitmo is all closed down. Right? 99Forever Dec 2014 #10

Getting there. ucrdem Dec 2014 #13

And only 6 years to not get it done completely. 99Forever Dec 2014 #14

What are you going to complain about when it's closed? ucrdem Dec 2014 #15

No access to current events where you live? 99Forever Dec 2014 #16

Congress blocked it. Obama cannot unilaterally appropriate funding. NYC Liberal Dec 2014 #21

Facts don't matter to that one.. no matter that it's not the President fault.. he will continue to Cha Dec 2014 #23

Aloha Cha! ucrdem Dec 2014 #24

Aloha, ucr.. I will view them from 100 miles away.. I doubt they'll leave their beautiful Cha Dec 2014 #27

Congress holds the power of the purse. For example, Congress could have, at any time, Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #8

Then stop bitching and just fucking close the mofo! DeSwiss Dec 2014 #11

Good for him lovuian Dec 2014 #12

This message was self-deleted by its author guyton Dec 2014 #17

Yep, and it's sickening to see anyone take Congress' side on this. Ykcutnek Dec 2014 #19

I read the statement and Congress is still the sole authority on how government money is spent. nt Nuclear Unicorn Dec 2014 #20

And, they will continue to blame him because it's so easy for them to type it and not have Cha Dec 2014 #22

Jan '13 headline: NDAA Signed Into Law By Obama Despite Guantanamo Veto Threat, Indefinite Detention RiverLover Dec 2014 #25

Violating the Constitution, you say? woo me with science Dec 2014 #26

Renew Deal

(81,871 posts)

1. I fully expect Gitmo to be emptied by 1/20/17.

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 01:26 PM

Dec 2014

Obama isn't going to let this stop him.

Doctor_J

(36,392 posts)

2. is this from 2009?

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 01:38 PM

Dec 2014

freshwest

(53,661 posts)

3. This has been a continuing rebellion against his first orders on this in 2009. The GOP knows well

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 02:09 PM

Dec 2014

the 'power of the purse' and have not stopped using it.

The media assisted the rightwingers by helping generate hysteria with allegations Obama wanted them in the states to be tried under our laws here, as 'Obama's Muslim Army' 'invading the states.' I followed this BS closely in the early days.

I'm glad he signed the bill to help the vets but there is always a poison pill attached to every lifesaving measure to keep on huring the USA.

So sick of these renegade Kochsters. And glad he is calling them out on all they have done and are trying to do to undermine the nation for their true owners. I expect more fireworks as the next two years go on.

They'll start an impeachment circus when they feel emboldened from an incident to play in the media and the herd will go along as usual. He's slapping them everyday now and the American people can decide if they want to be ruled by this Koch crew in 2016 or move ahead.

meow2u3

(24,772 posts)

4. I think the President has grounds for a lawsuit

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 02:27 PM

Dec 2014

Congress has been trying to usurp executive power by attaching unconstitutional riders into the NDAA since the repukes have taken over the House. If I were the President, I'd sue to have the rider requiring GITMO to remain open struck down an a unconstitutional violation of separation of powers, since Congress has no right to dictate to the President as to how he does his job.

Savannahmann

(3,891 posts)

5. I've never understood.

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 02:45 PM

Dec 2014

Perhaps someone can explain it to me. Why President Obama doesn't just do this. The Lawyers for the detainee's file a motion before the Federal Court arguing that the prisoners are held illegally. The Justice Department files a response saying they agree, the US is holding the Detainee's illegally. The Judge rules that the prisoners must be released immediately. What could Congress do?

Nobody would be arguing that the Prisoners are held in accordance with any law. Nobody would be arguing that American Law did not apply to Guantanamo Bay since it is in Cuba. So the Judge would have little choice but to find for the Prisoners and order them released.

KingCharlemagne

(7,908 posts)

6. I do not think the U.S. government would or could ever agree in federal court that it is detaining

Reply to Savannahmann (Reply #5)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 02:57 PM

Dec 2014

Guantanamo inmates 'illegally' (even though you and I as private citizens and citizens of the world might agree). IANAL nor a Constitutional expert, but your statement raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I would love to hear what our colleagues who are attorneys or experts in Constitutional law might say on this matter.

Furthermore, were President Obama to act in direct disobedience of Congress' will and transfer Gitmo detainees to the U.S., he would be opening himself up to impeachment (for the same reason the Reagan administration faced that possibility during Iran-Contra). Again, as private citizens and citizens of the world, you and I might support President Obama 100%. But when the Executive Branch explicitly disobeys the law as laid out by the Leglislative Branch, we are in some seriously deep and treacherous waters. (Reagan's use of funds from sale of arms to the Iranians to fund the Contras ran directly counter to the law as laid out by Congress.)

I'm having trouble articulating these principles coherently to myself, so please excuse me if I'm not making any sense in drawing a distinction between what you and I (and Obama) might privately believe and what the Constitution requires of each of us.

goldent

(1,582 posts)

18. I don't think President Obama would

Reply to Savannahmann (Reply #5)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 04:16 PM

Dec 2014

want to simply release the prisoners immediately as you describe. I think that would be a political disaster.

99Forever

(14,524 posts)

7. I honestly wish he had done this at the start of his first term.

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 03:44 PM

Dec 2014

Instead, he has let them walk all over us for 6 years, on issue after issue.

ucrdem

(15,512 posts)

9. He did.

Reply to 99Forever (Reply #7)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 03:48 PM

Dec 2014

On January 22, 2009 to be exact. Read all about it:

EXECUTIVE ORDER -- REVIEW AND DISPOSITION OF INDIVIDUALS DETAINED AT THE GUANTÁNAMO BAY NAVAL BASE AND CLOSURE OF DETENTION FACILITIES

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Closure_Of_Guantanamo_Detention_Facilities

99Forever

(14,524 posts)

10. Well great. Then Gitmo is all closed down. Right?

Reply to ucrdem (Reply #9)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 03:49 PM

Dec 2014

Right?

ucrdem

(15,512 posts)

13. Getting there.

Reply to 99Forever (Reply #10)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 03:54 PM

Dec 2014

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/1014969998

99Forever

(14,524 posts)

14. And only 6 years to not get it done completely.

Reply to ucrdem (Reply #13)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 03:56 PM

Dec 2014

Very impressive.

ucrdem

(15,512 posts)

15. What are you going to complain about when it's closed?

Reply to 99Forever (Reply #14)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 04:02 PM

Dec 2014

99Forever

(14,524 posts)

16. No access to current events where you live?

Reply to ucrdem (Reply #15)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 04:10 PM

Dec 2014

NYC Liberal

(20,136 posts)

21. Congress blocked it. Obama cannot unilaterally appropriate funding.

Reply to 99Forever (Reply #10)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 06:44 PM

Dec 2014

Cha

(297,655 posts)

23. Facts don't matter to that one.. no matter that it's not the President fault.. he will continue to

Reply to ucrdem (Reply #9)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 06:58 PM

Dec 2014

ignorantly use Obama as the punching bag. Will not be dissuaded. Wah wah wah.. Doesn't realize how this says everything about him and absolutely nothing about the President.

ucr!

ucrdem

(15,512 posts)

24. Aloha Cha!

Reply to Cha (Reply #23)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 08:19 PM

Dec 2014

Say hello to Barack and Michelle if you happen to bump into them!

Cha

(297,655 posts)

27. Aloha, ucr.. I will view them from 100 miles away.. I doubt they'll leave their beautiful

Reply to ucrdem (Reply #24)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 08:40 PM

Dec 2014

surroundings to come over to my beautiful Island.

A few years ago.

Nuclear Unicorn

(19,497 posts)

8. Congress holds the power of the purse. For example, Congress could have, at any time,

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 03:47 PM

Dec 2014

defunded the Iraq war.

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)

11. Then stop bitching and just fucking close the mofo!

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 03:51 PM

Dec 2014

- Eh? Tell 'em to try and stop you. Who the hell is the Commander-in-Chief?

K&R

Fuck it..................

lovuian

(19,362 posts)

12. Good for him

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 03:54 PM

Dec 2014

I'm glad he still is trying to close it down

Response to babylonsister (Original post)

guyton This message was self-deleted by its author.

Ykcutnek

(1,305 posts)

19. Yep, and it's sickening to see anyone take Congress' side on this.

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 04:17 PM

Dec 2014

Congress is violating the separation of powers. The CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLAR is not just making shit up. Read the fucking statement and spare us the "power of the purse" nonsense.

Nuclear Unicorn

(19,497 posts)

20. I read the statement and Congress is still the sole authority on how government money is spent. nt

Reply to Ykcutnek (Reply #19)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 06:31 PM

Dec 2014

Cha

(297,655 posts)

22. And, they will continue to blame him because it's so easy for them to type it and not have

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 06:53 PM

Dec 2014

any proof to back it up. Just continue the lie because they can. Place the blame on those whose fault it really is? NEVER.

"The president was correct. Members of Congress who voted for the restrictions on detainee transfer are violating the separation of powers. Some on the left continue to blame President Obama for not closing GITMO, but their blame is misplaced. (No, vetoing the bill is not an option. Congress would easily override an Obama veto of the NDAA.) Congress has refused to fund the closure, and blocked the transfer of detainees. Obama lived up to his end of the bargain. If progressives want to place blame somewhere, they should begin with some of the same people that they are trying to draft to run for president in 2016."

From your link..

The major problem is that the majority of Senate Democrats continue to cave the 9/11 style politics of fear by voting to restrict the president from closing the facility. Only four members of the Democratic caucus voted against the 2015 NDAA. Democrats Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Independent Bernie Sanders voted against the bill. Progressive darling Elizabeth Warren voted for the bill, so did Al Franken.

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/20/obama-rips-congress-violating-constitution-blocking-closing-gitmo.html

Mahalo babsis~

RiverLover

(7,830 posts)

25. Jan '13 headline: NDAA Signed Into Law By Obama Despite Guantanamo Veto Threat, Indefinite Detention

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 08:20 PM

Dec 2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/03/ndaa-obama-indefinite-detention_n_2402601.html

Sound familiar?

_____________

Feb 2013: Obama administration lawyers defended the military's indefinite detention powers in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, claiming civil liberties adv...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/ndaa-indefinite-detention-lawsuit_n_2632254.html

Was this a lie?

_____________

Here's Elizabeth Warren's voting record to date:

http://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/141272/elizabeth-warren

The article above says EW voted for this HR 3979 & the provided link in the original article went here~

Number: H.R. 3979 (Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014 )
Measure Title: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that emergency services volunteers are not taken into account as employees under the shared responsibility requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Not the same HR 3979.

________________

And a rider in the new spending bill includes not allowing the closure of Gitmo essentially, because it forbids transfer of prisoners to US facilities.

...The bill also contained hundreds of policy and spending provisions, including a relaxation of campaign finance rules, $100 million for the Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, a change in federal pension rules that cuts retirement funds for some Americans, $5.4 billion to fight Ebola, and a ban on transferring prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to US facilities....

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2014/12/10/senator-elizabeth-warren-house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-oppose-provision-adding-uncertainty-bill-keeping-government-open/CyfUitKFXNt9WaD1sZlXUJ/story.html

_______________

So I'd like to know what the real story is here. All I see is political posturing.

woo me with science

(32,139 posts)

26. Violating the Constitution, you say?

Reply to babylonsister (Original post)

Sat Dec 20, 2014, 08:21 PM

Dec 2014

When do we get our Bill of Rights back?

The use of the word "Centrism" for THESE policies is Orwellian as hell
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025246398#post11

"Centrism" to me carries a deliberate connotation of being "in the center"..in other words, not extreme in either direction. Ditto for the word "moderate," which is constantly used to describe Third Way politicians whose policies are anything but moderate in the traditional sense of the word.

Austerity and attacks on safety nets in a country that has already devastated its middle class are opposed by over 80 percent of Americans across party lines, yet these Third Way economic positions are nevertheless described as "centrist," as though they fell in the mainstream of American opinion. Policies coming out of our government now routinely bear little resemblance to what people have repeatedly stated in polls that they want, and neoliberal politicians lie their way through campaigns because they realize how unpopular their positions really are...yet we persist in calling them "centrists."

Secret laws, secret courts, "Kill Lists"/indefinite detention without due process, and mass surveillance in the United States of America are extreme violations of our Constitution and should not be considered "moderate" positions in any sense of the word. They are extreme, even fascistic policies, yet the politicians who espouse them are permitted by us to describe themselves as "moderates."

I think we need to start using the words, "corporatist," "extreme," and even "fascist" to describe what is happening in this country under the corporatist/neoconservative/neoliberal/Third Way agenda. We are witnessing a malignant merger of state and corporations and the active dismantling of important Constitutional protections. The corporate state is pouring our tax dollars into propaganda and marketing for their agenda, and IMO the vast majority of Americans, while aware of their own economic pain, have little understanding of the peril facing our democratic institutions and basic Constitutional protections.

We use words that suggest the current neoliberal and neocon policies are business as usual in America...just another flavor of policies that Americans can trust still fall safely within the boundaries of a democratic, constitutional, representative political system. They are "centrist" or "moderate." But they really aren't...and I think we need to adjust our labels to drive home the seriousness of the crisis we face.

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President Obama’s Dragnet (New York Times Editorial)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022960012

Obama Justice Dept. declines to pursue allegations that CIA spied on Senate Intelligence Committee
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014843337

Obama DOJ Asks Court to Grant Immunity to George W. Bush For Iraq War
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11781446

NDAA on trial: Obama Administration DOJ fights ban on indefinite detention of Americans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101748688

DEA and DOJ Struck Deal with Mexico's Most Notorious Drug Cartel
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4410768
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-us-government-and-the-sinaloa-cartel-2014-1#ixzz2qKWem3w8

Chilling Legal Memo From Obama DOJ Justifies Assassination of US Citizens
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101654954

DOJ lied to Supreme Court about domestic surveillance
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140514/06214727229/doj-still-trying-to-hide-fact-it-flat-out-lied-to-supreme-court-about-domestic-surveillance.shtml

The Obama administration/DOJ war on whistleblowers and federal unions
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5586389

DOJ Mysteriously Quits Monsanto Antitrust Investigation
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021911441

Holder/Obama administration seeks to legalize lying in response to Freedom of Information requests.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5586380

NSA Phone Spying Cannot Be Challenged in Court, Feds Say ..
http://metamorphosis.democraticunderground.com/1014542562

The Obama DOJ urged the Supreme Court's endorsement of strip searches for minor traffic stops.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5586369
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002521527

Holder overlooks DEA abuse of spying information, construction of false evidence trails against Americans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1168570

DOJ goes all the way to the SC to argue for warrantless GPS tracking on cars
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5586375

Obama/Holder War on Journalism coming to a head (Risen)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101699216
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/08/04/obamas-war-journalism-coming-head
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1269998

Obama/Holder more hostile to medical marijuana patients than any president in history
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002650922
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5585204

Feds seek hard prison time for rural Washington pot growers
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014801804

Obama DOJ spying on AP reporters, editors re: leaks; other news organizations
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/opinion/spying-on-the-associated-press.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014487549

Obama/Holder DOJ drags out Tesoro investigation (Refinery Explosion) for 4 years; no criminal charges vs. Big Energy
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025407823

Obama DOJ drags feet at accountability on Deepwater Horizon
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/04/22/doj-sits-on-its-thumbs/

Obama DOJ Allows Bank of America to Deduct $12 Billion of $17 Billion Settlement
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5427407

Exporting Corruption (Asset Forfeiture), DOJ Looks for Lucrative Overseas Partnerships
http://www.forfeiturereform.com/exporting_corruption_doj_looks_for_lucrative_overseas_partnerships

Obama/Holder Leak Investigations Outrageous and Unprecedented
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/05/obama_s_justice_department_holder_s_leak_investigations_are_outrageous_and.html

The DoJ under Obama/Holder refused to prosecute anyone for torture...but Holder had no problem prosecuting a CIA agent who leaked the name of a torturer
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022846735
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/us/former-cia-officer-pleads-guilty-in-leak-case.html?_r=0

Too Big to Jail: Letting criminal banks and bankers off the hook
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024906501
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017201343
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025558689
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014571503
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025503531

Obama Justice Department Sues Telecom for Challenging National Security Letter
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014170619

Obama DOJ Argues ‘No Constitutional Right Not to Become an Informant’
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10025309330

Operation Choke Point- The DOJ using banks to shut down industries they don't like
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024880788

Obama/Holder DOJ Looks To Overturn Ruling That Would Apply Fair Sentencing Act Retroactively
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023334909

How Eric Holder Facilitated the Most Unjust Presidential Pardon in American History
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023253563

Holder and Obama Dishonesty On Mandatory Minimums, the Drug War and Mass Incarceration
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023492539

US & NSA Accused of (Holder defends) Criminal Privacy Violations in Dozens of Nations
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023086724

Obama DOJ defends NSA's Associational Tracking Program; No justification even in Patriot Act
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023455121

US declares socialists Freedom Road a terrorist organization
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2010/09/raid-s29.html

ACLU sues as DOJ ignores surveillance transparency law
https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/aclu-sues-doj-ignores-surveillance-transparency-law

Obama Justice Department has launched twice as many Espionage Act prosecutions against domestic leakers as all previous administrations combined.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022276941

The only official punished by Obama DOJ for the illegal NSA program was the one who discussed it. The same is now true of torture.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/27/obama-war-on-whistleblowers-purpose

DOJ Drone Memo revealed: Government can overrule 4th amendment
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11784727

Heavy Redactions in DOJ Memo leave doubts on Data Surveillance Program
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016101952

Justice Department And NSA Memos Proposing Broader Powers For NSA To Collect Data
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023114180

DOJ's outrageously aggressive prosecution of internet activist, Aaron Swartz
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/al-franken-eric-holder_n_2934627.html

Under Obama DOJ, Bradley Birkenfeld, UBS Whistleblower, Finds Himself in Federal Prison
http://www.cnbc.com//id/41257962

Obama/Holder DOJ sided with Rove in politically motivated prosecution of fr. AL governor, Don Siegelman,
Then, the person who handled the paperwork, got onto the Supreme Court.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Elena-Kagan--Willing-Acco-by-Michael-Collins-100622-971.html

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