Below is my column in the Messenger on a possible blunder on a massive scale by the Biden Administration. A House Committee is alleging that the Administration failed to properly reappoint directors at the National Institutes of Health. While the Administration insists that it complied with a law that required Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to make the reappointments personally, it later issued a retroactive reappointment for most of the directors after months of congressional inquiry. Two, including Anthony Fauci, had already retired and were not retroactively reappointed. The result is an intriguing question of whether officials like Fauci were operating without authority while spending billions and implementing national health policies.
Here is the column:
Dr. Anthony Fauci has faced intense scrutiny in the past over his testimony denying any funding of “gain-of-function” research at the Wuhan lab in China. However, the most serious question now may be whether Fauci was who he said he was in those hearings: the then-director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
On Friday, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce issued a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra that raises the disturbing question of whether Fauci and 13 other National Institutes of Health (NIH) institute and center directors were unlawfully holding their offices for some period. Not only did these directors make sweeping policy changes for the nation but, in 2022 alone, they awarded more than $25 billion in federal biomedical grants.
The problem is the 21st Century Cures Act, passed in 2016. Section 2033 of that act is titled “Increasing Accountability at the National Institutes of Health,” and it seeks to achieve greater accountability by requiring the HHS secretary to personally appoint those directors. For reasons the Biden administration has yet to explain, it appears to have ignored the law, according to the House committee. Under the five-year terms granted in 2016, these directors had to be reappointed by Becerra by December 2021. It is not clear if this task was delegated to the NIH director, but the law appears to be clear: There is no delegation; it must be Becerra who renews such appointments.
CNN’s senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, once gushed that when “Dr. Fauci talks, he’s just like a regular guy.” It turns out she might have been more accurate than she thought — because Fauci legally may have been just a “regular guy” giving out billions without authority.
What is equally baffling is that the House informed the administration that it was presumptively in violation of federal law. What followed were convoluted and confusing statements from the administration on a very simple question: Did Becerra appoint these directors?
It got even stranger on June 19 when HHS sent Congress documents titled “Ratification of Prior Selection and Prospective Appointment: Appointment Affidavit.” While signed by Becerra, the documents were dated on June 8 and June 15. They were specifically “prospective appointments” but seemed to suggest some form of retroactive ratification. That, too, is not allowed under federal law. In the case of Fauci and another director, according to the House committee, there is not even a retroactive affidavit to that effect.
Given the seemingly evasive response from HHS, it does appear that more than a dozen officials, including Fauci, may have been operating under a type of assumed official identity. If that turns out to be the case, Fauci may have had no legal authority after Dec. 12, 2021, to do even the most mundane tasks as a director.
It would be easy to dismiss this violation as a matter of no harm, no foul. After all, this appears simple (albeit shocking) negligence by the Biden administration as opposed to some nefarious effort. Yet, if true, billions of dollars in grants and thousands of personnel and policy changes could be questioned.
Last September, for example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected claims that appointment violations were mere technical concerns. It stressed in Cody v. Kijikazi that such a “violation is thus no mere technicality or quaint formality — it weakens our constitutional design. An appointment too far removed from the President or the head of an executive agency may, for example, erode political accountability.”
In addition, there is the question of the legal status of myriad decisions made by these directors, including exercising their authority over the approval of grants. If the administration failed to satisfy federal law, directors like Fauci would have had no more authority than his chief antagonist, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), to issue NIAID grants. Billions were awarded, policies changed, and personnel managed by individuals who potentially had lost their legal authority to direct these offices.
In one case involving challenged administrative law judges in 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in Lucia v. Securities & Exchange Commission that past litigants were entitled to decisions from properly appointed judges.
Biden officials may have dismissed such obligations, but Congress clearly supported this requirement as an effort to gain greater accountability for these appointments. Executive officials do not have the authority to dismiss federal law any more than they have the authority to act without meeting the conditions to hold their positions under federal law.
This could not come at a worse time for the administration. This month, the Supreme Court ruled that President Biden had unconstitutionally ordered up to a half-trillion dollars in college loan forgiveness; previously, it found that the administration violated the Constitution with its national eviction moratorium and some vaccine mandates. Now some of the same officials involved in those mandates potentially acted without legal authority after 2021, if their appointments were not properly carried out.
It is not clear where we go from here, if the allegation proves to be true. It could mean that Fauci and others were a type of “undead” directors who were statutorily expired but still walking the halls of HHS. If so, the Biden Administration could be looking at a legal zombie apocalypse, as those directors’ decisions are challenged in courts as having been invalid.
While claiming that it has complied with the law, the Biden administration reportedly hopes that retroactive appointments can blunt any possible challenges to past decisions.
The size of the error on appointments would appear to be unprecedented. What is clear is that such a violation would constitute a shocking level of administrative incompetence. It also is clear that the House committee can now demand — and, if necessary, compel — answers from Becerra on whether federal law was knowingly flaunted and whether Congress was actively misled.
Fauci, now retired from the federal government, is a professor at Georgetown University and collecting $350,000 per year in government pensions. He left public service with the highest salary in the federal government, at $480,654. Ironically, near the end of his career, those may have been financial gains from a function that he did not legally possess.
Jonathan Turley, an attorney, constitutional law scholar and legal analyst, is the Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law at The George Washington University Law School.
A question I have is Lawrence A. Tabak as acting NIH director legitimate?
Under the Vacancies Act (https://www.acus.gov)
“Acting officials can typically serve and use the title “acting” for 210 days from the vacancy’s start.[13] If the vacancy exists when a new President enters office, or occurs within the next 60 days, the limit extends to 300 days. Nominations also extend these limits: an acting official can continue serving through two pending nominations to the vacant job. If the nomination is rejected or returned to the President under Senate rules, a new 210-day period of permitted tenure begins from the date of rejection or return. In other words, an acting official could conceivably serve for 210 (or 300) days before there is a nomination, during the pendency of a first nomination, for 210 days after that nomination is returned, during the pendency of a second nomination, and for a final 210 days if the second nomination is returned as well.[14] These extensions require careful tracking of nominations and Senate actions.”
Francis S. Collins retired as director on December 19, 2021) and Tabak became acting director on December 20, 2021, and there hasn’t been a nomination put forward (at least I couldn’t find one) by President Biden until he nominated Dr. Monica Bertagnolli on May 15th, 2023. The total calendar days would approximate 511days in total.
Following up with the section that Professor Turley sited, it reads in part:
“H.R.34-21st Century Cures Act/ Public Law No. 114-255 became law 12/13/2016.
(Sec. 2033) The Director of the NIH is given the authority to appoint the directors of the national research institutes. The term of office of these directors is set to five years, with no limit on the number of reappointments.
Before a national research institute awards a grant for a research project (R-series grant) the director of the institute must review and approve the award….”
Looking at the section above are any of the awards mentioned in the Professors article valid when the director himself may be invalid?
WOW!!!!!! I hope ALL those responsible for this HUGE debacle are tried and charged for Crimes Against Humanity AND Treason!!!!!!!
Can we quit calling Everything Treason.
Turley is correct – this is Massive incompetence. It should be treated as such.
Biden and Becarra could be impeached for incompetence.
I beleive the house should open impeachment inquiries into Biden – for numerous reasons, Garland, Myorkas, Wray,
and Becarra at a minumum.
I do not beleive they should actually vote to impeach.
But the investigations hould be opened as the House has the greatest power to investigate when it is investigating impeachment. That superceeds nearly all claims of priviledge and even policies regarding providing information on ongoing investigations.
It is as a matter of integrity, adherance to the constitution, and the rule of law – more important as an example to determine if DOJ was politically biased in its actions than whether Hunter Biden goes to jail.
There is ONE and only ONE aspect of the Hunter Biden investigation that is of actual consequence.
And that is “Was Joe Biden acting Corruptly as VP”.
There is more than enough basis for FBI/DOJ to be investigationg that – in fact a Special Counsel should have been appointed the moment Biden was elected – as DOJ is conflicted.
That did not occur. Nor is there any evidence that an investigation into VP Biden’s conduct has occured.
If the House wishes to investigate the potential corrupt acts of the Former VP, then ANYTHING DOJ is doing is LESS important than that.
If the house wishes to interfere in the Hunter Biden investigation, risk making it unprosecutable – it is free to do so.
This was all decided in Reagan era cases involving Oliver North and John Poindexter.
Congresses investigative powers Trump those of DOJ. The price congress pays for doing so is that DOJ may be unable to prosecute later.
The only thing most of us care about Hunter – is that it is Clear that not only did he orchestrate his fathers corrupt schemes, but that since the 2020 election the Executive has been illegally protecting Hunter. That is double obstruction.
It obstructs the mundane investigation of Hunter and the more serious investigation of Joe.
Well, it is treason. Biden and all his cronies have violated the Constitution in many ways. Biden has done everything in his power to ruin the USA. He has proven time and time again how much he HATES the USA, the land he was supposedly voted in to represent and protect. He has numerous impeachable offenses, that had they been done by Trump or anyone who opposes Biden and his regime, they would have already been in jail.
“Well, it is treason”
Sorry it is not.
“. Biden and all his cronies have violated the Constitution in many ways.”
Absolutely – that is not treason.
Our founders were so concerned about the weaponization of treason charges that they incredibly narrowly defined Treason in the constitution.
“Biden has done everything in his power to ruin the USA.”
That is not treason.
” He has proven time and time again how much he HATES the USA, the land he was supposedly voted in to represent and protect.”
That is not treason either.
You want to impeach him for that – be my guest.
“He has numerous impeachable offenses”
Absolutely – still not treason.
” that had they been done by Trump or anyone who opposes Biden and his regime, they would have already been in jail.”
True – still not treason.
Is Biden corrupt ? Absolutely.
Has Biden criminally abused power ? Absolutely
Those are NOT treason.
Well, let’s just agree to disagree. You make very good, valid points, but I still am convinced Biden has committed many acts of treason, and I definitely think he needs to be impeached.
Biden has not committed Treason – for the veryu same reasons that the founders defined treason in the constitution.
Because then and now it is incredibly easy to lob accusations of treason at each other over political differences.
Even or founders who wrote the constitution – lobbed claims of treason at each other over political disagreements.
Should Biden be impeached – absolutely.
The debate over whether impeachment is political is over. That is not what our founders intended. But they provided no enforcement mechanism, no judicial review of congresses charges of impeachment.
I lost this fight. Turley lost this fight, Derschowitz lost this fight. I hope that the house wisely rescinds the dual impeachments of Trump.
They have the power to do so. That would be a step towards depoliticizing impeachment. Maybe that will happen.
But the fact is that impeachment will never be the same again.
Numerous overreaches of democrats over the past decade are irreversable.
It is easier and easier to ram things through the senate and avoid a cloture vote.
More and more the rules of the house and senate are being used as political weapons.
It is going to be incredibly hard if not impossible to reverse these.
Republicans should not stand with one hand tied behind their backs as Democrats flaunt the rules and weaponize them.
Yes, Biden should be impeached – both as a political act, and as a legitimate step.
As should Wray, Garland, Myorkas to name a few.
The house should begin atleast one impeachment inquiry nearly immediately – because when the house investigates for impeachment they have by far the greatest power.
Nearly all the claims of those like Garland, and Wray and the remaineder of the administration have no merit and will not be upheld with respect to an impeachment inquiry.
There is no “ongoing investigation ” excuse – the courts actually riled long ago there NEVER was. Congress has oversight responsibility even over executive branch investigations. The consequences of doing so rest with the congress.
The Iran Contra investigations thwarted DOJ/FBI investigations into actors in Iran Contra, as a consequence their prosecutions were overturn. But the courts made clear while this was ongoing – the Congress was free to conduct its inquiry and the DOJ/FBI had no legitimate priviledge to claim. If as it turned out the congressional iquiry thwarted the executive one – so be it.
Congresses oversight powers trump the executives investigative powers.
Regardless, congresses powers in an impeachment inquiry are much greater.
Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against someone in the executive NOW.
At the same time they should use that power to turbo charge their investigations. There should be no rush to a full house vote and a trial in the senate.
There is excellent reason to “impeach” Joe Biden. There is no good reason to even try to remove him from office right NOW.
He is the gift that keeps on giving to republicans.
Further I would sugest that Republicans should target Garland rather than Biden.
An inquiry into Garland touches EVERYTHING that republicans need to investigate.
It allows deep examination fo the DOJ/FBI censorship. It allows republicans to call Weis, to call Smith to Call Wray to testify under circumstances they can not refuse and MUST answer. It allows investigating all the Biden admin investigations.
It allows exploring policitcal conduct in the Hunter Biden investigation, in the Trump investigation, into the Biden Classified docs investigation, it allows inquiry into the WH and Joe Biden specifically efforts to interfere with any of the ongoing investigations in anyway.
Garland is the right place to start, and they should start NOW. starting an impeachment inquiry of Garland sends a powerful message to the rest of the executive. It forces all of them to wonder if they are next and to stop behaving as if they are above the law. It pits all those in the administration against each other.
Republicans should NOT just begin impeachments against EVERYONE – that allows them all to chose to remain silent, avoid testifying..
We saw Wrays performance before the house. While it was harmful to himself, the FBI and the administration.
The damage is limited. People already do not trust him or the FBI. But drag him in before a house impeachment committee looking into Garland related to the political abuse of the investigative and prosecutorial power of the United States – and Wray must testify or take the 5th. There is no ongoing investigations excuse. The foundation of the impeachment is the handling of those investigations, and He MUST answer or be held in contempt. The same is true not just of Wray, but of Weis, of Smith of everyone the house subpeonas who is not at that moment being impeached.
I would further note since impeachment has become political – use it that way.
I think it is highly likely that House Republicans will eventually get solid enough evidence of Bribery that Joe Biden is toast.
House and Senate Democrats will not continue to protect him once he is weakened enough that he can not win in November.
That appears to be inevitable.
It is actually in republicans interests to DELAY the arrival of that realization as long as possible.
Democrats will have to replace Biden, and it is in republicans interest to see that happen as LATE as possible.
And Frankly no one wants President Kamala Harris – NO ONE – not republicans not democrats.
Should Biden be impeached and removed immediately ? Absolutely. As a matter of law and conduct that is well established.
Is that the wisest political choice for Republicans ? No.
Begin impeachment inquiry into Garland NOW!. Proceed slowly and carefully, starting with Garland’s intersection with everything else that Republicans are investigating. The goal is NOT to remove Garland or Wray or Mayorkas or Biden, but to prove that the ENTIRE current executive branch is rotten from the head down.
The objective is NOT to remove Garland or Biden now. It is to overwhelmingly win the hose, the senate and the WH in November 2024 and to have the factual and political basis to CLEAN HOUSE.
I agree with everything you said, EXCEPT that I still believe Biden has committed multiple acts of TREASON. I could be wrong, Turley could be wrong, Dershowitz could be wrong, but that is still what I believe. Can I prove it? If Turley and Dershowitz, both of whom are Constitutional attorneys can’t prove it, then I as just a mere lay citizen certainly cannot prove it, but it doesn’t change “the facts” as I see them. I do appreciate all your insight, though.
I am not looking to debate you regarding standards of proof – except to say that a mere assertion standing alone does more than fall short of proof. it falls short of being a credible allegation.
We have just gone through the FBI/DOJ and a Special Counsel acting illegally and unconstitutionally in conducting an investigation and violating peoples constitutional rights when the low standard necescary to get a FISA warrent or the even lower standard of proof needed to sustain an investigation were not met.
The use of government power to violate the constitutional rights of private individuals is a actually a CRIME.
The Fault of the Durham Special Counsel is that no one in Government was prosecuted for what is universally acknowledged outside the left was an unconstitutional investigation that violated peoples constitutional rights – A crime.
As a private person – you are free to hold whatever oppinions you wish – including opinions regarding whether Biden committed Treason. But your allegation comes with an explicit and implicit demand to investigatge and prosecute.
That is a use of govenrment power – that is an abuse of government power if the constitutional standards to allege Treason or to investigate treason are not met.
You can not demand an end to the weaponization of DOJ/FBI while you are currently seeking to weaponize the future DOJ/FBI against Biden or others. For that is what claims of Treason mean.
There is plenty of actual crimes that have been committed that can be investigated and prosecuted.
You should not do as democrats have done repeatedly and try to bend the law and constitution to go after your political enemies.
If those on the right expect the support of those in the country that are appalled at the conduct of the left – they MUST not retaliate in kind.
Again there are plenty of real allegations that can be prosecuted.
Finally, NONE of this is actually about prosecutions anyway. It is highly unlikely that anyone is prosecuting Joe Biden for anything. Whether they could or not. Frankly Biden does not have the mental capacity to stand trial.
Regardless, this is not about vengeance – though believe me I 100% understand that need.
It is about ending this left wing nut BS Tyranny.
Ford was correct to Pardon Nixon. Even though that cost him election.
Trump was right to lapse his promise to :lock her up” and to actually call Hillary and tell her there would be no further prosecution.
Republicans will be right to leave Joe Biden alone once he is gone.
And Joe Biden and democrats all over the place are WRONG – not merely legally and constitutionally but MORALLY to continue to weaponize their governmental power against political enemies.
Biden’s statement “Nobody messes with a Biden” is absolutely telling. The awesome power of government of the united states is NOT a tool for the president or democrats to behead their political enemies.
Those on the right must not do the same as the left – no matter how tempting – or all is lost.
I have no more interested in a right in power weaponizing government against political enemies than the left.
Tyranny is tyranny no matter how self righteous you feel.
“debate you regarding standards of proof “
John, you are both right. Ajean has a point in believing Biden committed Treason, the definition of which is: “the betrayal of a trust.” I agree.
Without question, at least in my mind, Biden committed Treason, but we can’t convict him of it since the Constitutional definition limits the conditions to try Biden for that charge. Maybe he will be charged with another crime, but likely not.
Treason is a crime specifically defined int he constitution.
It is not a mere “Betrayal of a trust”
Our founders had accusations of treason hurled at them and hurled them at others.
The defined treason in a limited way in the constitution becuase they KNEW their own faults and they understood that Treason is the easy route to weponizing government against your political oponents and potentially even executing them.
We have seen that in other countries accorss the world.
We should not be trying to duplicate that here.
We have far more than enough politically weaponized law enforcement in our current federal government.
While I absolutely want Republicans to retake control of the executive and to mount their own “Politically weaponized investigations”
I want them to stick to the ACTUAL LAW not the made up garbage we are seeing from the left.
Treason is a crime specifically defined int he Constitution.
It is not a mere “Betrayal of a trust”
John, not all definitions circle the American Constitution. The American Constitution is just one entity that circles common knowledge. Others on the blog relate their perceptions based on their understanding of a word.
Here are the meanings of treason from Merriam-Webster.
1
: the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign’s family
2
: the betrayal of a trust: TREACHERY
Even the #1 definition fails to meet Constitutional requirements.
Without any question, Joe Biden is guilty of treason, but another crime will have to be attached because the Constitution limits a conviction to include only specific things.
Politically we have to adhere to the Constitution, but in discussion, we can call the actions of Biden treasonous.
“not all definitions circle the American Constitution. ”
In the US Treason DOES.
When you start talking about charging, prosecuting people for Treason you are addressing Treason as defined by the constitution.
John, you are missing the point. Treason is a word used by many and defined in the dictionary. To convict for treason against the US has to meet Constitutional requirements. That doesn’t mean the word is limited in scope to that clause.
Biden committed treason, but for a conviction, one will have to use the exact crimes he committed rather than the crime of Treason.
The people using the word treason are expecting convictions for treason – that IS the point.
This is just an amplified version fo the nonsense being used to convict J6 protestors.
Except this is WORSE still.
Do not allow the left to make you become what you hate.
“The people using the word treason are expecting convictions for treason – that IS the point.”
John, I use the word treason and do not expect Joe Biden to be convicted of it, but I wish the American public to know Joe Biden committed treason. I will not change the word because it is accurate and appropriate. Joe Biden sold America to America’s enemies. The Constitution may deny a conviction for treason based on narrow terms necessary for conviction, but that doesn’t mean Joe Biden didn’t commit treason.
We are agreeing on most everything. I don’t understand why you feel the need to keep going on about it. Biden, his whole family, and his whole administration are as corrupt as can be. Democrats, for the most part, have lost their way and are taking us down a very dangerous path. They ALL need to be investigated and found guilty. But the reason I keep saying treason, is because any leader’s #1 priority is to take care of the people and the country the are “leading”. Joe Biden has done everything in his power to make America his last priority. He is NOT taking care of the needs of Americans, and is putting us last in every single circumstance. Not only is he NOT protecting Americans, but he is endangering us in many ways; economically, by not securing our borders, by lowering our energy supplies, by lowering our military standards and readiness, by decimating the Constitution, by giving criminals free reign and criminalizing law abiding citizens that disagree with him, by leading us to the brink of a dangerous, nasty nuclear war, and many, many more reasons. Those in my book are TREASON! And apparently I am in good company in believing so, with Jonathan Turley and Alan Dershowitz, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Marsha Blackburn, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, and many more.
We do not punish shoplifters with the death penalty.
The atrocities Biden has committed are far beyond shop lifting.
Absolutely, But they are not Treason.
Treason is defined int he constitution and treason is a capital offense subject to the death penalty.
Bribery is not. Political weaponization of federal law enforcement is not. refusing to enforce the law is not.
There are plenty of real crimes to persue without doing as those on the left have done with Trump and others and prsecute on mad up interpretations of the law.
If you wish to claim the constitution means what it plainly says – and you wish to be considered credible on that, you MUST follow the constitution claosely and scrubpulously even when it precledes you from claiming Treasons but those who have without a doubt seriously harmed the country.
To be clear – we disagree, and you are plainly wrong.
I am not saying that to insult you.
I respect your point of view,
I entirely understand your anger.
But you are wrong.
We have debated this.
We disagree – strongly.
We have not insulted each other.
We have each made our case.
This is how free speech, debate is supposed to work.
You are allowed to insult me, and I you.
But that gets us nowhere.
The debate we are having is what we hope for on public forums – debate on the merits of the issues.
Not personal attacks.
I understand where you are coming from – as did our founders when they wrote the defintion of treason into the constitution.
They understood how powerful and dangerous allegations of Treason were.
They had both been accused of Treason and themselves accused others of treason.
Well said, and yes, I agree. We SHOULD be able to have debates, but unfortunately, the woke world and woke society WON’T let us. Instead everyone has to submit to my way or the highway, and nothing will ever get accomplished and we will never grow. I am never afraid of a good debate. I wish more people would partake. We all might learn a few things. 🙂
Lets not allow ourselves to become them.
John, if you are too afraid of the accusation that you blend your words like the left, you can smile and look pretty while you disappear.
Joe Biden committed treason. He will not be convicted of treason and likely not convicted for any of his criminal actions. That doesn’t mean he isn’t guilty of those crimes or treason.
No Joe Biden did NOT commit Treason.
He may have sold out the country and his office, he is certainly corrupt,
But shoplifting – even on a gargantuan scale is not murder even on a small scale.
What Biden has actually done is more than enough.
Hyperbole weakens your argument.
We are all a bit hyperbolic.
But th eTreason claims are beyond hyperbolic and into the absurd.
Many hear actually want Biden prosecuted for Treason – that is what the USSR did. That is what banana republics do.
“No Joe Biden did NOT commit Treason.”
Many have rightfully accused Biden of treason. That the process cannot convict Biden of treason because of the Constitutional requirements does not mean you can impose prior restraint on those who use the term.
Was Aaron Burr accused of treason? Did he go to trial? Yes, and yes. He was acquitted because his act was not treason according to the US Constitution. Could it be treason elsewhere? Yes. Was Burr accused of treason? Yes.
I find Biden not guilty of treason based on the Constitution, but I lack the audacity to tell others that the word, treason, cannot be used as part of an informal discussion.
Once you noted he could not be convicted based on the Constitution and others accept the fact, I find no reason to prevent others from saying Biden is treasonous. He is.
Today we are in a silent war with other countries, and Biden is selling those countries secrets and other things which may cause an American loss in this silent war. I consider that treason, and so should everyone else.
The constitutional requirement ARE Treason.
Anything less is something else.
That is the point.
Shoplifting is not murder.
It is still a crime.
Stick to the truth.
I do nto want to convict Biden or anyone else of Treason.
Treason is as it should be a capital offense. It is and should be punished by hanging or firing squad.
That is why it is in the constitution – to assure that we do not execute people for political differences.
The left would love to – and with certainty will do that if ever given power.
The right should not legitimize that.
“The constitutional requirement ARE Treason. Anything less is something else. That is the point.”
No, you are only correct if you limit your discussion to a conviction of treason based on US Constitutional requirements.
Which is precisely why the constitution defines Treason to THWART exactly what you are trying to do.
“Which is precisely why the constitution defines Treason to THWART exactly what you are trying to do.”
Wrong. From experience, the founders were afraid of how a conviction for treason could be too broad and cause great difficulty. They did not rewrite the definition of treason but limited its use to wartime when it went “against the United States.”
For all other things, we can still charge the President with extortion, money laundering, tax evasion, and bribery, so it is perfectly correct to refer to Biden’s actions as treasonous.
As a side not – the excellent reportion og Julie Kelly – one of the best reporters on J6, has revealed that it is near certaint hat one of the J6 officers has lied under oath repeatedly about J6 – in congress and in trials of J6 defendants.
Capitol video has been found of him AFTER the violence at the West Tunnel.
He claimed to be beaten to a pulp. He claimed to have hand and head injuries and to be severely beaten.
He claimed to have administered CPR to Rose Boylan.
He and several other officers are seen in the video inside the capitol AFTER the conflict. With Boylan.
OTHERS are administering CPR to Boylan – this officer is not within 10ft.
In the video he is wearing gloves body armour and a helmet.
There is no blood on his hands, there are no readily aparent injuries.
He is not limping, he is not in any other ways injured.
He claimed to have been tear gassed and bear sprayed.
His face is visible repeatedly – and uninjured. there is no evidence of chemical irratation.
This despite the FACT that we know the CP at the wet tunnel precipitated the violence by accidentally tear gassing themselves – and then the peaceful crowd.
The officer is clearly a liar.
He has not returned to duty.
He is claiming a permantent J6 related disability.
This administration is allowing him to get away with Fraud because it suits their narative.
I am sure there are many good officiers at J6 – this is NOT one of those.
This man should be in jail for perjury.
And benefits fraud.
That is what happens when one allows bad actors to win elections. After Obama’s first term, everyone was on notice that Obama was dangerous, so a concerted effort was needed to vote against his reelection. He won, and now we are paying for our error in spades. A lot of bad things happened under him because he had a different idea of America than other Presidents. Putting the egg back together will be tough.
If convenient, can you send the exact address for the Judith Kelly article?
I would say this is more an example of the problem we have created by destroying morality.
This Capitol Police officer is doing WRONG. There is a special circle of heel for those who betray others for their own benefit
And in fact Dante’s 9th Circle – the worst part of hell is reserved for those who betray others.
I would bet that half of those on the right here know that.
I would bet that NONE of those on the left do.
I do not beleive that humans are inherently evil.
I also do not beleive they are inherently good.
I beleive that with effort, with a reasonable upbringing humans are on the whole slightly more evil than good.
And hence the arc of history is towards a batter life.
But that desitination is not certain – atleast not in the short run.
I am far more woried about the lefts destruction of morality in schools, than their idiotic political tilt.
Leftism inherently fails – and badly the more vigorously it is tried
But the consequences of the destruction of morality are potentially far worse.
John Adams said that he constitution was for a religious and christian people.
I do not think a specific religious believe is necessary.
But unless the overwhelming majority of adults act morally nearly all the time – society is not possible.
Government is not possible.,
We can govern a small portion of people by force.
We can not govern all by force.
We can not govern most by force.
We can not avoid anarchy if even a significant minority will only respond to force.
Government, Law enforcement is an MUST be for the FEW, if it becomes for the many – it will fail
That’s the plan.
High crime refers to any act that is punishable by law and is considered a breach of legal duty. It is also known as a criminal wrong. The phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors,” used together, was a common phrase when the U.S. Constitution was written and did not require any stringent or demanding criteria for determining guilt but meant the opposite. The phrase was historically used to cover an extensive range of crimes. The President can be guilty of treason if they act against the US interests. The President is not immune to treason charges. And they can face accountability for actions that violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court has ruled that the President can get tried for treason. Article III, Section 3, Clause 1: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. United States. The offense of treason exists at both federal and state levels. The federal crime is defined in the Constitution as either levying war against the United States or adhering to its enemies, and carries a sentence of death or imprisonment and fine. Treason is one of the most severe crimes committed against the U.S., carrying a minimum prison sentence of 5 years, fines up to $10,000, and a possible sentence of death. Three key elements are necessary for an offense to constitute treason: an obligation of allegiance to the legal order, and intent and action to violate that obligation. Treason is a breach of allegiance and of the faithful support a citizen owes to the sovereignty within which he lives. Treason has always been viewed as the most serious offense, for it is an act against not only an individual but against the society as a whole, embodied in the ruling authority whether individually in the monarch or collectively as government. It is indeed the act or attempt to “murder” one’s nation.
Turley and Derschoiwitz and many other prominet legal scholarss made many of the arguments you made – which I mostly agree with regarding impeachment. They lost badly in the case of Bother Trump impeachments.
They should not have lost.
But there is a problem with the language in the constitution regarding impeachment.
It is not subject to judicial review.
The person being impeached can not go to court and argue – what I am being accused of is not “A high crime or misdemeanor”. When there is no judicial review – the language is meaningless.
The house of representatives can impeach for whatever reason it wishes.
That is not how it SHOULD be. But it is how it is.
“It also is clear that the House committee can now demand — and, if necessary, compel — answers from Becerra on whether federal law was knowingly flaunted and whether Congress was actively misled.”
Hahahaha sure thing. As if THAT ever happens when it is a Republican Congress “investigating” anything.
Even when the crimes are obvious, the lies are obvious, the wrong-doing is obvious, the Republican led investigations and hearings come up with….NOTHING. No admissions. No subpoenas. No indictments. No arrests. No prison time. No nothing. Same as it ever was.
Dems literally make up LIES (Russia hoax, J6, Trump impeachments) and still get indictments and prison time for their political opponents — from their freakin’ lies.
Hey Republicans, where are the IMPEACHMENTS? Pick one, any one of them will do: Garland, Mayorkas, Becerra, BIDEN. Impeach or stfu.
Russia did help Trump cheat–that’s not a lie. Trump Was impeached–twice–a record in US history–and the reasons for the impeachments are valid. The facts are true. Disciples like you think that impeachments should be used for political purposes. And, true believers like you don’t care WHO gets impeached or the reasons–just so there’s an impeachment. You should not be alllowed to vote.
Unlike the Trump impeachments, there is a mountain of *actual evidence* demanding that impeachment articles be brought forthwith against multiple Biden cabinet heads AND Biden himself for the high crimes of bribery & treason.
Failure to do so is political malpractice of the highest order on the part of Speaker McCarthy and the Republican House of Representatives.
“possible blunder” ?
Nope. These people in Biden World do not get even the slightest benefit of that presumption of innocent ‘blunder’….these people are incompetent to be sure, and they are also malicious, vicious and malevolent.
Well, the “malicious, vicious and maleolent” incompetent people in “Biden World” managed to: 1. turn around the worst recession since the Great Depression–caused by your hero, who actually IS incompetent, proven by 6 bankruptcies. His sole legislative accomplishment was to pass tax breaks mostly benefitting the wealthy, which drove our national debt to record levels. He started a trade war with China when he couldn’t bully it, which caused shortages of computer chips and consumer goods. “Biden World” turned that around, including domestication of computer chip production. 2. get COVID under control–no new daily records for infections and deaths, kids back in school, businesses and restaurants open again, leisure travel at record levels; 3. unemployment at 50-year low, and real wages going up; 4. inflation going down consistently, month by month; 5. get passed: Infrastructure Act, creating thousands of good-paying jobs to build and/or improve long-overdue bridges, roads and airports; COVID Relief Act that brought kids out of poverty and got America back on track; Inflation Reduction Act–insulin capped at $35/month, Medicare can negotiate prescription drug prices; Veterans’ Relief Act and Debt Ceiling Act. And you call Biden “incompetent, malicious, vicious and malevolent” despite these record achievements? These words accurately describe Trump and his endless grievances, lying and attacks against anyone who doesn’t kow tow to him. America is thriving once again because Biden won.
BTW: most Americans who voted chose Biden, so when you insult “Biden World”, you are insulting most American voters.
Haha, right. So over 75% of voters believe the country is headed in the WRONG DIRECTION because they are pleased with what Biden World has been doing?
It’s outrageous that anyone believes that Biden got 81,000,000 votes.
Everyone knows Joe Biden is a demented fool who belongs in a nursing home not the Oval Office.
America is not “back.” Diplomacy is not “back.” Civility is not “back.” Decency is not “back” in the White House.
Everyone with eyeballs sees the corruption happening in Biden World.
Everyone with a brain knows the cocaine found in the White House is Hunter’s.
Everyone knows Trump and Republicans are being targeted, censored, selectively persecuted by Biden’s corrupt DOJ.
War is back. Chaos is back. The military war machine is thriving.
Ukraine war corruption is staggering. It is being used to distract from all that is happening here at home.
Inflation has hit everyone, hard. Nothing is affordable for average families.
The corruption in the Biden adminstration is staggering.
The corruption of our justice system is staggering.
The corruption in Congress is staggering.
The corruption of the fake news is staggering.
The country is FURIOUS at how things are going.
The country is more polarized than ever.
Biden is one of the most divisive, dishonest, lawless, treasonous and dangerously corrupt presidents this country has ever had.
The Biden family is one of the most debauched, debased, dishonest, dishonorable, despicable, treasonous, treachorous organized crime families ever to stink up Washington DC.
We the People are paying attention and are very close to reaching boiling point.
CORRECTION: Biden is not *one of* the most divisive, dishonest, lawless, treasonous and dangerously corrupt presidents this country has ever had. He is THE most.
Impeach Biden Now.
Natasha,
You poor, poor thing. TDS has clearly you in a state of fevered delusion, so much so you cannot see the economic disaster of Biden World.
Let me spell it out to you,
During the Trump admin, both Wall St. and Main St. were doing quite well. Had nothing to do with what Obama did. For that matter during the Obama admin, the average national yearly income went down for the first time. NPR had a article on it.
Trump’s tax cuts for the lower and middle class while taxing the higher brackets worked just as planned. We know as we got more back in taxes while a good friend in a higher tax bracket had to pay out. She was not happy.
The trade war, Trump did as an attempt to level the playing field.
However, I notice you did not mention the Biden sanctions against China’s semiconductor industry. In that one round of sanctions were more than anything Trump did in his four years.
Also, a number of companies already planned on domestic production. Intel announced the plans to build and open a facility in Columbus OH. That was in 2020.
There was no getting control of COVID. The mask, vaccines, lockdowns none of them worked.
Red States lead the economic recovery. Blue States like CA and NY were dead last in their recovery. Same with the schools. Biden had nothing to do with that.
All those jobs Biden is taking credit for, claiming they are new jobs, they are not. The majority of those jobs were re-hires from the lockdowns.
Unemployment? The Home Household survey, a better metric to measure unemployment, shows more Americans having to take a second or even a third job just to make ends meet.
American savings is at a low comparable to the 2008 crisis.
Americans are having to use credit cards and even buy now pay later to buy food.
Americans are using food banks above COVID levels.
Food banks are having a harder time buying food. Why? Inflation.
The current inflationary environment we are experiencing is a result of Biden policies.
Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton, Larry Summers warned Biden’s American Rescue Plan could “set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation.”
Guess what . . . it DID!
Further more, here is WSJ Greg Ip had to say on the topic,
“The Rescue Plan was old-fashioned Keynesian demand stimulus, notable mostly for its sheer size. Biden’s staff designed it with the economy of 2009 in mind, when newly elected President Barack Obama and Biden, his vice president, faced a deep recession to be followed by a sluggish, yearslong recovery.
Biden’s team is still sticking to that narrative. In a memo released this week, his political strategists Anita Dunn and Mike Donilon write that Biden “faced an immediate economic crisis when he took office.”
Actually, he didn’t.
By January 2021, the economic crisis brought on by Covid-19 was largely over, even if the health crisis wasn’t. As lockdowns were lifted and vaccines approved, businesses were furiously rehiring. Payroll growth averaged 800,000 a month over the last six months of 2020, in percentage terms the strongest such streak preceding a new president’s inauguration since 1952.
The American Rescue Plan, in other words, was designed to bolster demand in an economy that already had plenty.
But it’s logically inconsistent for Biden to disown inflation while taking credit for tight labor markets since they are mirror images of the same thing: an overheated economy. While economists debate how much stimulus contributed to this overheating, they agree it played a part. “
According to BLS data, Americans have seen their increased cost of living outpacing their wage gains on a YoY basis for 26 straight. That would be since Biden was elected.
Under the entire 4 years of the Trump admin, inflation rose 8% or 1.94% per year. Note, the Fed considers 2% to not only to be the norm, but the ideal.
Under Biden, inflation has risen in two and a half years a whopping 16% or 6.24% per year.
Also according to the BLS, the Inflation Reduction Act will do nothing of the kind till at least 2024 or 2026.
What has brought some inflation down is the Fed raising interest rates. Nothing Biden did.
Meanwhile, the disastrous Biden withdraw from Afghanistan signaled not only to Putin but the entire world of a weak US president. This embolden Putin to invade the Ukraine.
But Biden was not done there with disastrous policy. The Biden attempt to hurt Russia with sanctions not only backfired, but lead to the demise of the US/Western lead uni-polar world and the rise of a multi-polar one. At last count 36 countries have either applied to or announced interest in joining the BRICS+. This coming August, the BRICS are expected to announce their own gold backed currency. In 2001 73% of the US dollar was held as reserve currency. It has been on the decline since then, to 55% in 2021. But in 2022 it saw a whopping 19% drop to 47%. Guess what had happened (hint, second sentence in this paragraph)? If this trend continues, aka de-dollarization, it is expected to fall to 30% by 2024. What happens when all those green backs flow back to the US? No one really knows for sure as this kind of global economic circumstance has never happened before. But most economists say more inflation and even hyper inflation.
So, no Natasha, America is not thriving as you claim it is. Quite the opposite. We see it at the pump. We see it at the check out line at the grocery store. The damage has been done. The US is a empire in decline. It happens to all empires at some point. But with the Biden admin, it will happen in my lifetime. Something I never thought would be possible.
And before you rant something about Trump or Republicans being able to fix it, no, I don’t think they can. This is a series of events, set into motion by the Biden admin with such great inertia no one can stop it.
I think it was OldManinKS I told, invest in gold and chickens.
“. . . real wages going up . . .”
The fundamental issue is *not* wages. It’s *purchasing* power. And the fact is that $1 today buys far less than it did two years ago. Thanks to Leftist policies.
More evidence of Bidenflation impacting Americans in your so-called thriving Biden World,
Back-To-School Spending Set To Drop For First Time In Nearly A Decade; Deloitte
“Although parents were willing to endure higher prices last year for replenishing BTS items after the pandemic, 18 months of inflation have changed their tune. Uneasiness about the economic situation is creating price sensitivity and causing parents to reassess how they’ll approach shopping for the upcoming school year.”
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/articles/us176386_cic_back-to-school/DI_2023%20Back-to-School.pdf
Isn’t ironic? This is the administration that wants to ban gas stoves but are all about gas lighting?
🙂
E.M.
Witty! Very witty!
E.M. This guy is a blow bag. If he can’t stand professor Turley so much, why does he show up here every day?
E.M: NO–the Biden Administration is NOT seeking to “ban” gas stoves–another Fox (non) News lie.
Dr Jay Bhattacharya made a bold accusation against the Biden Handlers on Dave Rubin’s show, in how Biden’s Handlers censored dissent in the scientific community. He accused them as operating like the 1940s era Soviet Union pseudo-scientist Trofim Lysenko. Lysenko rejected Mendelian genetics for Lamarck genetics, and influenced Stalin’s Communist government as well as China’s Mao Zedong’s government, resulting in millions and millions of deaths under massive starvation in both communist countries. Soviet scientists who disagreed with Lysenko were deprived of their faculties, sent to Siberia concentration camps and condemned to death as enemies of the state. Problem was they were right, Lysenko was wrong. See:
The Soviet Era’s Deadliest Scientist Is Regaining Popularity in Russia
Trofim Lysenko’s spurious research prolonged famines that killed millions. So why is a fringe movement praising his legacy?
The Atlantic, 2017
This is a very strong accusation by Dr Jay. Chilling.
From the linked 2017 Atlantic article:
Lysenko believed wholeheartedly in the promise of the communist revolution. So when the doctrines of science and the doctrines of communism clashed, he always chose the latter—confident that biology would conform to ideology in the end. It never did. But in a twisted way, that commitment to ideology has helped salvage Lysenko’s reputation today.
The above paragraph characterizes the Democrats today vis a vis their talking points, censorship and condemning dissenters while millions and millions of people suffer untold harm and injury e.g. children under school lockdowns, etc
Estovir,
To add to your comments,
NIH’s Fauci, Collins heavily shaped COVID origins paper that downplayed lab leak: House report
https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/nihs-fauci-collins-heavily-shaped-covid-origins-paper-downplayed-lab
Nothing the current House does or investigates is valid. Period.
Natasha,
You poor, pathetic thing you.
Even when there is obvious evidence of wrong doing, you stick you head in the sand.
Get help. Seriously.
Upstate Farmer…………..here’s one of Natasha’s early family movies…
‘What is clear is that such a violation would constitute a shocking level of administrative incompetence.’
You don’t say? Though this admin/party is very much rife with incompetence, I personally don’t believe anything was done during covid without intention. Our governments were being honest in perhaps the first two weeks, after that, it was an authoritarian free for all. I hope they get ALL of the karma they have coming to them, and I hope it sets the mother of all precedents against federal interference. They damn near destroyed society from top to bottom, and that just might have been the point.
It’s James, forgive the typo.
I love the comments today. Incompetence in government, “Who would have thunk it”. “This is the adults running the show”. I wonder why this is all happening.
Aw, Hell. It’s because there is no pilot at the wheel, No Captain at the Ship of State. There is only “Ol Joe” who is demented, confused, talks in whispers but is incomprehensible, at times, whether whispering or screaming. Especially hard to understand when flat on his face on the floor.
This is government by “minions” all running in multiple directions with no guiding or restraining hand.
The nose is up and the plane is losing speed and we’re about to stall, before the final dive. The Pilot is in the bathroom and can’t find the door to get out, and the co-pilot is incomprehensible, as the flight engineer wraps himself in a lot of bubble wrap hoping for salvation. The warning light says “pull up, pull up, pull up”. The NTSB will never be able to figure out this crash.
I would propose that all non-legally appointed and confirmed officers should be personally liable for any decisions they made while they were not properly appointed; there should be no limitations of liability or any type of immunity for their actions. Since they couldn’t legally take those actions, those actions should automatically be nullified, and any actions that caused damages to any individual should be assessed against any and all in the chain of appointments. These actions should first be implemented against the individuals directly, then against the budgets of the federal agencies involved. If assessed against the budgets of the incriminated agencies, they should be paid out before those agencies can expend any additional funds, and should result in a permanent reduction in future budgeting and an embargo against any spending authorizations they have been granted.
Draconian effects? Maybe. But this is a case where clear criminal intent has been demonstrated.
“…the Biden administration…appears to have ignored the law…”
What a shocker! And this would be surprising why? Seriously, folks, we have an administration that is giving the rule of law a big middle finger.
Hold on, Isn’t ILLEGAL the only method that prog/left democrats employ to accomplish anything? What a silly question.
” . . . a possible blunder on a massive scale by the Biden Administration.”
Not a “blunder.” A feature.
The Left’s view of the “law” is very simple: Use the law (which means whatever they say it means) to bludgeon opponents. Ignore and circumvent the law, because they are “beyond good and evil.”
Cocaine in the WH? An international bribery scheme? Running out the clock on the statute of limitations? Election interference? Bureaucratic suppression of dissenters?
We don’t see you.
Sam,
Blunders committed by this admin, either intentional or unintentional, on a massive scale.
And it is going to get worse.
I don’t believe they are blunders: these are coordinated acts to destroy this nation and western culture in general. Let’s not be naive as to just what the prog/left is doing and has been doing since Woodrow Wilson was in office.
If pressured by a House oversight committee (forget the Senate), the Biden Administration will simply claim that was a simple “administrative oversight”. And the Defender-in-Chief of all things Biden Merrick Garland will refer the matter to a Biden appointed U.S. Attorney where it will be slow walked as long as necessary while “under investigation”. Sound about right ???
Does this open these people up to personal liability claims?
Interesting thought. If he had no authority would he not then be without government immunity? Hmmm…
Either way might apply….as surely the Biden Administration has bragged about all the NIH, CDC, etc have done all the while ignoring Federal Law.
The ignoring of the Constitution and Federal Law seems to run throughout the Biden Family, the Biden Administration, the Democrat Party, the various Democrat controlled non-federal governments and agencies.
Also what runs true is the US DOJ. under AG Merrick Garland is refusing to address the criminal violations of Democrats and Leftist Radicals.
The Professor might consider joining a legal team to hit the Biden Administration with a large strong volley of Legal Actions in order to right this sinking ship of State headed up by Joe Biden.
None of us get it right 100% of the time. Unfortunately, grammar and spelling have been left by the roadside. Professor Turley’s writings are a breath of fresh air in that regard, even if I don’t always agree with content. Schooling the Professor online? Not a good look, even if instructive.
One gets, none gets — not “get”. Get it?
It’s all fake.
When determining which cabinet member of the Biden administration is the most incompetent what is at play is which secretary is in the news. One day we have transportation sec Buttigieg defying gravity by ignoring serious train derailments with chemical leaks as he rails against a Court decision regarding a business woman in Colorado creating works for gay people?
Up next we have Mayorkas telling us the border is closed as 5 million illegals come in during his time heading Homeland Security.
We then see the Secretary of Energy making tons of cash off of “green energy” as we pay more for our own energy.
Granholm needn’t worry though because very quickly we have Sec State being berated by the CCP and strumming his guitar as a war breaks out in Europe, the Mideast falls apart, Korea returns to launching missiles and China takes over the world.
Of course we have Sec Treasury telling us inflation is transitory before she goes off to bow to the CCP MULTIPLE TIMES.
Is anyone happy with the AG under Garland?
Sec Defense Lloyd Austin can’t even look up while speaking and now we learn that we are running out of ammunition??? Sounds like all is well there (sarc).
Cardona at Education gave us handing out billions to kids studying gender studies as well as future doctors under an Act meant for military personal going into harms way to protect the nation, only to be smacked down by a righteous Court.
We even have a Un Ambassador that goes around the world telling everyone how bad America is. Nice.
Now we see at HHS that Bacerra can’t even handle simple paperwork to keep employees legal. Just another day atthe Biden Cabinet.
The only reason we move on from each of these horrible administrators is that another day comes, another issue arises and another incompetent takes over the headlines.
Oh yeah, technically the VP is a member of the Cabinet and ladies and gentlemen I give you Kamala Harris….
One difference between Buttigieg and Becerra is that Becerra was attorney general of California and ought to understand the law.
Blow me over with a feather—this administration is incompetent and broke the law! Who would ever have thought. 🤦♀️
Important information, thank you, Professor Turley.
That said, I am finally going to point out an error which has been bugging me for years, and after one too many, here it is:
Professor Turley writes: ” . . . answers from Becerra on whether federal law was knowingly flaunted . . . ”
To Flaunt = to show or make obvious something you are proud of in order to get admiration
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/flaunt
Professor Turley means “flout:”
To Flout = to intentionally not obey a rule, law, or custom
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/flout
Ellen, it may be nit picky, but I enjoy when people have pet peeves about language because it seems to always teach us better usage. But in the professor’s defense, I am very happy that he manages to get out all of these columns every day and therefore I cut him some slack on these issues.
Matthew 7:5
New King James Version Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
She seems clear-eyed to me because she is correct. You on the other hand are the hypocrite. She threw a pearl, but you’re like a pig. She asked for a fish into the dictionary and you gave her a snake.
Flaunt or flout
May I suggest the healing power of ‘and’.
The left hates the Constitution and flaunt that hate as they virtue signal that hate.
Biden’s brazenly lawless government is flaunting their flouting.