White House Reveals Biggest Threat To Russia Yet: "Don't Buy Russian Stocks"
Obama's Latest Dictatorial Act - Bill of Attainder
Bills of attainder, and their prevention, were extremely important to the framers who had more than adequate experience dealing with tyrants. They saw fit to prevent punitive actions taken against specific groups of people that would deprive them of life, liberty, and property without the benefit of a trial or the due process that is supposed to accompany it. One of the important considerations and reasons for prohibiting bills of attainder is to maintain the separation of powers that were developed to ensure the operation of government necessary to protect the rights of individuals by way of a design that is meant to prevent the concentration of power into a single governmental body.
"A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder) is an act of a legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without privilege of a judicial trial. As with attainder resulting from the normal judicial process, the effect of such a bill is to nullify the targeted person’s civil rights, most notably the right to own property (and thus pass it on to heirs), the right to a title of nobility, and, in at least the original usage, the right to life itself." Bill of attainder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution states that "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."
In order to implicate bill of attainder provisions there must be: (1) a legislative act; (2) define a group or individual; (3) impose some form of punishment; and (4) lack a judicial trial.
The Executive Order - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine starts with Obama declaring a group of people guilty of a crime by fiat. However, Obama does specify the legislative basis for his action "including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code."
Therefore, this is essentially a legislative act taken by the president, which implicates the separation of powers that the framers thought to be so important. Of course, it is being done under the auspices of an emergency, an emergency that has arguably been created by this administration, but an emergency no less.
The most significant portion of the executive order pertaining to the question regarding whether of not this acts as a bill of attainder follows.
"I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, find that the actions and policies of persons -- including persons who have asserted governmental authority in the Crimean region without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine -- that undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and contribute to the misappropriation of its assets, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. I hereby order:
Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:
(i) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, any of the following:
A) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine;
B) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine; or
C) misappropriation of state assets of Ukraine or of an economically significant entity in Ukraine"
"The singling out of an individual for legislatively prescribed punishment constitutes an attainder whether the individual is called by name or described in terms of conduct which, because it is past conduct, operates only as a designation of particular persons." Communist Party of United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board, 367 U. S. 1, 367 U. S. 86 (1961).
Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that this language of the executive order defines a specific group of individuals who are seen to have indirectly engaged in actions that "undermine democratic institutions of the Ukraine." One wonders if Obama's assets can now be ceased. However, we all know that this provision contains language that is problematic for those who are engaged in speech that might be construed as being pro-Russian because it doesn't agree with the current foreign policy of the Administration and has problems eerily reminiscent to those that were present in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011. However, the issue here is centered about the issue of seizure of property, instead of indefinite detention.
Given the fact that property is being seized as a result of actions that were taken or are thought have been taken or might be taken in the future this reads as a punitive measure seeking to punish those who are in the class that has been defined. Where foreign powers are involved, there really is no issue here. However, where this applies to U.S. citizens it might implicate constitutional protections.
Does the law pertain to U.S. citizens? Yes, it does.
"Sec. 6. For the purposes of this order:
a) the term "person" means an individual or entity;
b) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization; and
c) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States."
Given the fact that Obama is handing the authority to the Secretary of Treasury and the Secretary of State to determine who is guilty of these actions or policies and impose the punishment on them, this very well could implicate the bill of attainder prohibition.
What this essentially does it violate the separation of powers by usurping legislative authority under the auspices of a foreign emergency to provide for the ability to use that foreign emergency to attack domestic critics of the Obama by confiscating property and resources of political adversaries on the domestic front in a punitive and politically strategic manner, without trial. I'd say that the danger that this executive order represents is similar to the dangers that the framers sought to prevent by placing the bill of attainder prohibition in the Constitution to limit Congress.
What's next? Is the Obama Administration going to dictate legislation from his position as the head of the executive branch, whereby those who criticized his actions or globalist attempts to use the Ukrainian crisis to start a conflict for the purpose of suspending the "Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus" for Americans shall work a corruption of blood? Will he visit the sins of the father onto their children and take away their rights and property because their parents dared to oppose his insanity? From where I sit, I see that he already has, as all of America's children are already being stripped of the same rights that Obama has helped to take from their parents.
it seems China and Russia have very large pockets, or someone does
if the Japanese and the Australians can move their own currencies at will
then presumably the Russians can do the same with their stock market
where is Crimea anyway, do they have any nice beaches?
best beaches/*****es in the World...it's freaking beautiful over there...especially at summer time...
it seems China and Russia have very large pockets, or someone does
if the Japanese and the Australians can move their own currencies at will
then presumably the Russians can do the same with their stock market
where is Crimea anyway, do they have any nice beaches?
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If there is one line that reveals how the Obama administration is perceiving the world, and specifically that it is all through the lens of the manipulated stock market, here it is...
It appears the market is ignoring their wisdom...
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