Even if, say, I were to pull on some BDUs after getting a little line of stars for the rank patch and a haircut, then eith my forged orders giving me command of some unit order that unit to go to AZ and enforce border-security with extreme prejudice? The content of the orders would be justified by the Constitution itself:
ART 4, SECTION. 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this
Union a Republican Form of Government, AND SHALL
PROTECT EACH OF THEM AGAINST INVASION; and on Application
of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature
cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
So then, the only thing that could invalidate those orders is their origin:
someone taking a command position who is unauthorized to do so.
Would those orders be legitimate?
If not, then why are Obama’s orders legitimate?
[thread ping]
I’ve put together a scenario which illustrates the basic problem; I’m particularly interested in the answers to the two final questions.
Now, let’s say that I ordered the unit to go to the southern AZ border and enforce the border-security with lethal force. These orders are themselves authorized by the Constitution of the United States, to wit:
Article 4, Section 4
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, AND SHALL PROTECT EACH OF THEM AGAINST INVASION; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
So then, the only variable concerning the validity of the given orders is the person who is issuing them; in this scenario: me. As in mathematics I have isolated the variable in question, which is that of origin: do those orders which originate from an unqualified source, even if in complete agreement with the Constitution, still carry LAWFUL authority?
That is to say, would those orders be legitimate?
If not, then why are Obama’s orders legitimate?