The LawBarackObama andCivilLiberties

Abstract

Most Americans would like to believe that no person is above the law. When President Richard M. Nixon claimed such powers, he was driven from office. When President George W. Bush authorized the torture of prisoners, that abuse was viewed as an aberration. But, as this article documents, President Barack Obama is squarely in the Nixon‐Bush tradition of presidential power. In shielding the torturers from prosecution, he has preserved kidnapping and torture as options, while asserting unreviewable authority to assassinate foreigners and American citizens by remote controlled drones. These developments have transformed the American presidency into a modern version of the Stuart monarchies, at least where allegations of national security are concerned.

“Above the Written Law”: Iran-Contra and the Mirage of the Rule of Law

“…"It is difficult to imagine a greater contempt for the rule of law than this refusal to abide by the judgment of a court," wrote one legal scholar. 131 Yet Republicans were most brazen in their rejection of the rule of law. George W. Bush's preferred tool to circumvent statutes was the signing statement, by which he issued more than 1,000 constitutional challenges to parts of more than 150 laws.…”