Posted on 06/16/2010 6:48:32 AM PDT by opentalk
In his first-ever address from the Oval Office on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama said he was going to “inform” the chairman of BP that he must surrender the company’s money to an independent party that will distribute it to people and businesses determined to have been harmed by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The president’s declaration raises a serious constitutional question about his authority: Where does the president get the lawful power to order any private-sector company—BP or any other—that it must surrender its money? Should not courts and normal legal proceedings determine who is responsible, who has been harmed, and who owes what to whom in regards to the Gulf oil spill?
...What rights do the stockholders in BP have to due process of law to protect their property? The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution says: "No person shall be … deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Does Obama think he can “inform” persons and corporations to surrender or exchange their property without due process of law?
...Tomorrow,” Obama said, “I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company’s recklessness. And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent third party.”
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Commentary: Obama’s Speech Raises Question: Where Does He Get the Authority to ‘Inform’ a Private Company That It Must Surrender Its Money?
Didn’t he already do something like that to the GM bondholders?
Sounds like something an African dictator would do.
Obama is an arrogant thug.
See? /s
The Penumbra of the Constitution allows the federal government to loot private businesses and kill babies.
More like a Castro or Chavez, who do things like that because “it’s good for the people”.
Don’t you know? He only has to sign an Executive Order.
He did it last year to the senior debt holders of GM. He stole their property and gave it to the Unions, abrogating centuries of contract law. He did it without any new laws.
Get him out of here.
Looks like someone wasn't paying attention to the GM, Chrysler bankruptcies.
Get him out of here.
“Where does he get the authority?”
From the same place he got the birth certificate.
“Where...”
*****
If anyone asked him, and if he answered, he would likely just say, “I won.”
Beat me by 30 seconds.
Laws? Constitution? He don’t need no Laws or Constitution! (excuse the ebonics)
But he taught constitutional law didn’t he? Surely he knows what he is doing? Right?
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