Ten US congressmen, Republican and Democrat, are suing Barack Obama arguing that he exceeded his powers in authorising the operation in Libya.
Dennis Kucinich of Ohio
John Conyers of Michigan
Michael Capuano of Massachusetts
Walter Jones and Howard Coble of North Carolina
Tim Johnson and Dan Burton of Indiana
Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee
Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland
and Ron Paul of Texas.
Earlier, the U.S House Speaker, John Boehner, had warned Obama that he was skating on thin legal ice by keeping U.S. forces involved in Libya for nearly three months without the authorization of Congress.
Boehner accused Obama of “a refusal to acknowledge and respect the role of Congress” in military operations and a “lack of clarity” about why the U.S. was still involved in Libya. He asked Obama to explain the legal grounds for the war by Friday, adding that by Sunday, Obama would be in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution if nothing changed.The Constitution says that Congress declares war, while the president is commander-inchief of the armed forces. The War Powers Resolution sought to resolve the tensions in these roles and was passed by Congress over a veto by President Richard Nixon.
No sitting president has ever recognized the resolution, which prohibits U.S. armed forces from being involved in military actions for more than 60 days without congressional authorization, and includes a further 30-day withdrawal period. Boehner said the 90 days expires on Sunday. “It would appear that in five days, the administration will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution unless it asks for and receives authorization from Congress or withdraws all U.S. troops and resources from the mission,” Boehner said in the letter, which was released by his office.
“Have you ... conducted the legal analysis to justify your position?” he asked. “Given the gravity of the constitutional and statutory questions involved, I request your answer by Friday, June 17, 2011.” Obama notified Congress in March that the United States was taking part in a multinational operation conducting air strikes to protect Libyan civilians from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces. Obama did not ask for congressional authorization.
“Have you ... conducted the legal analysis to justify your position?” he asked. “Given the gravity of the constitutional and statutory questions involved, I request your answer by Friday, June 17, 2011.” Obama notified Congress in March that the United States was taking part in a multinational operation conducting air strikes to protect Libyan civilians from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces. Obama did not ask for congressional authorization.
No comments:
Post a Comment