On March 16, President Obama without public notice unilaterally assumed dictatorial power over the entire country, issuing an Executive Order (Executive OrderNational Defense Resources Preparedness) that would permit him in times of peace or war, in his sole discretion, to control all of the nations industry and resources for purposes of national defense.
Under Article I, Section 9, Clause 2, Congress has the exclusive power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus (the right of one to be released by a court from military or police custody) in cases of rebellion or invasion when the public safety may require it. Although not synonymous with martial law, which the Constitution never mentions by name, it is nevertheless clear that the Founding Fathers did not intend the President either to declare a state of war or to act independent of Congress to suspend the writ. Moreover, there is no executive power to impose blanket regulations over the economy independent of Congress, even in times of war. In this Executive Order, President Obama assumes that extraordinary power beyond the limits of the Constitution. Indeed, so sweeping are the areas of control, that there is no substantive difference between the powers he has assumed and those of a dictator.
Under the March 16 Executive Order, the President invokes a 1950 Act of Congress, the Defense Production Act, as a basis for asserting extraordinary control over the entire economy in service to the national defense needs of the United States. In effect, President Obama has unilaterally expanded the authority of Commander-in-Chief to include not only command of the military but also to command all private parties and resources in support of the military and objectives of his administration.
The powers assumed are vast, comparable to those exercised by dictators. Part II of the Order includes the following section, which delegates to the various secretaries of the administration the power to supplant private contracts with federal controls over every part of the economy.
The Executive Order expressly does not limit the use of these extraordinary powers to times of war or the theater of war but, rather, they can be used for purposes of national defense, entirely in the discretion of the President. The powers are delegated to the cabinet secretaries. There is no provision for prior authorization from Congress, so the President assumes that he may act unilaterally.
The National Defense Authorization Act declared the entire country a battlefield in the war on terror and granted the President the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, permit military arrest and detention without notice of charges or any right of due process any American accused of providing support to terrorists. The Presidents Executive Order grossly expands the constitutional violations in the NDAA by replacing the Constitution with a presumed power of the President to govern the entire economy. In the history of the United States, there has never been a more profound and grave moment of the exercise of imperial executive power than this. This President who would be Emperor, now is.
And “our” military is doing....