Posted on 09/10/2015 1:55:23 PM PDT by markomalley
The White House insisted on Thursday that Congress has just one week to thwart the agreement between Iran and six world powers to curb its nuclear program under the timetable Congress established for reviewing the deal, despite new GOP arguments that the 60-day clock it has for reviewing the deal should never have started.
If Republican lawmakers are unable to secure a veto-proof majority rejecting the deal by then, the "international community" will begin implementing the accord, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday.
"[T]hey essentially had 60 days to play the spoiler," Earnest said about Republicans who want to jettison the deal that China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and the United States negotiated with Iran to stunt Tehran's nuclear weapons program.
Under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act passed in May, Congress had 60 days to weigh the contract and its annexes. But now that enough Senate Democrats support implementing the treaty to prevent Republicans from blocking it, House Republicans are considering suing the Obama administration to prevent the agreement from taking effect.
"[I]t's not a coincidence, that — what we've taken to the calling the 'Tortilla Coast' gambit — is something that emerged just hours after it became clear that this resolution of disapproval would not move through the United States Senate," Earnest said. He was picking up on his colleague Eric Schultz's description Wednesday that GOP lawmakers "hatched" the idea of a lawsuit over drinks at a well-known restaurant near the House office buildings.
"Now the House, again because of this plan, this gambit, has decided to abandon that approach and to consider three other pieces of legislation that the Senate has made pretty clear they're not going to consider," Earnest said about Speaker John Boehner's decision to first have his colleagues vote on a sure-to-fail resolution approving of the nuclear deal.
"[T]his obviously is not the first time we've seen Republicans who are unsuccessful in trying to prevent the president from doing something using their official duties as a member of Congress resort in desperation to a piece of litigation," Earnest said about the proposed lawsuit.
Earnest stressed that although the United Nations can begin following through with the agreement on Sept. 17, Tehran does not get relief from punishing economic sanctions until it lives up to its obligations.
"That means reducing their nuclear stockpile … rendering harmless their plutonium reactor at Arak; it means essentially disconnecting thousands of centrifuges; it means cooperating with the IAEA," Earnest said referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency. "It's only after those steps have been taken and verified that the international community will move forward with offering sanctions relief to Iran."
Republicans would base their lawsuit on the grounds that they have not been given copies of the agreement documenting what the IAEA and Tehran worked out for exactly how inspections and verification of Iran's compliance will be carried out.
"If there's any member of Congress that says, 'well I would like to know what is in that agreement,' they can contact the administration and in an appropriate, classified setting can be briefed on the contents of that agreement," Earnest said about the ancillary documents. "There's no mystery to, at least to members of Congress with a security clearance, as to what's included in that agreement," he said.
“still”??? Publicly maybe. Most would NEVER admit they were wrong about him but they know it now.
“But, but, but, but, but we HAVE to win the Senate in 2014 or we want the Dems to win”...
Suck on it Rino loving FReepers that flamed every one of us that said giving McConnell the Senate was useless.
$150 BILLION DOLLARS is a lot of money. The Obama and Kerry “Foundations” fully intend to get their cut of it.
Their religion is liberalism, not Judaism.
Does Congress still have to authorize the 150 billion in tribute?
Capitulate, collaborate, conspire, and cave. Its what the gop is all about.
Corker is responsible for this dangerous farce.
Gosh Mark,
I really appreciate what you do, taking your time to post updates on the liberal shiite to make us aware of the constant attack on our constitutional freedoms.
I just wish that your last name wasn’t O’Malley. I’m sorry, that last name just makes me want to vomit. (Or worse.)
Ever thought about changing your name? Kidding..kind of, sort of, not really.
Maryland has suffered through eight years of that hypocrite. Destroying, taxing,...lying. Oh, and ultimately stealing furniture from the state house.
Umm...didn’t Hilly and Bubba do the same thing at OUR White House?!?
In part. The real responsibility is the people that elected these liberals. They were told. They saw what the GOP has been doing for years with their own eyes. they intentionally disregarded it and elected evil. And that promised to hold their feet to the fire. They lied. Now a lot of people are going to die because of the people that voted to win no matter what.
This is ‘what’
A lot of people will die.
And every death is on the heads of those that empowered the traitors.
What “lesser of two evils religious argument” are you referring to?
I held my nose and voted for mitt
If it is ok to disregard the corker law why is it not ok to disregard the laws protecting the president from being drug literally from the white house?
The GOPe butt boy du jour.
Well, include yourself.
“America was betrayed by every voter that ever voted for ‘lesser evil’ and No matter what’.
This is the DIRECT result of electing POS garbage.
This is the DIRECT RESULT of electing the two leaders that campaigned on working with Obama.
When Israel vaporizes and bombs fall on American cities, that is ALSO the DIRECT RESULT of people who abandoned principle for ‘winning’. Look what they won. Not one damn thing in our favor since the election. And now a nuclear Iran.
Every inch of this is on the heads of the people that willfully elected ‘evil’. They can scream all they want. None of this would have happened without their DIRECT action in the voting booth, online/telephone/door to door propagandizing for ‘party unity’ and browbeating anyone with enough sense in their head to not help empower people that CAMPAIGNED on helping the most destructive force since Stalin.”
Re-posted so maybe a few others will not make the same mistake in the future(if indeed we have one)
I just had a mental picture of that. I bet he would be crying for his mommy.
One look at what's happening in the Middle East since 0dungo took office and you'd think our Congress would WAKE UP and realize WHOSE SIDE 0DINGO IS ON.
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