Bush swore before a joint session of Congress:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." -Presidential Oath of Office.
I assume this oath has the force of law, and is not purely ceremonial.
When Bush claimed the wartime powers of the past, by which the
president can deprive citizens of constitutional rights, and then said
the war on terror is "a task that does not end," he set out to
overthrow the constitutional rights of citizens, a violation
of his oath to uphold the Constitution. If we apply his own
arguments, that Al Qaeda and bin Laden are determined to take away our freedoms, then by doing so himself he has given the "aid and comfort" to the enemy required in Article 3 to fit the definition of treason.
A president may claim wartime powers in a traditional war, as previous presidents have, and know that at some point the war will be over, that people will see someone surrendering on a ship and signing a document, or see an army annihilated like Hitler's which clearly means the war is over. Now give me back my rights. Or a president can recognize that a war lasts "forever" and not claim wartime powers. But to do both, claim wartime powers and declare that the war has no end, is the very definition of tyranny which seeks to make our rights under the Constitution meaningless.
I am the first to admit that this is a novel legal argument, but no
president in history has ever made such audacious and novel claims to
power. A novel attack requires a novel defense. Further evidence
that the intent of the Founders was to never have the military
deployed against its own citizens is the prohibition against "standing
armies."
Evidence:
War that does not end:
"And I will carry this: It is the police shield of a man named George Howard, who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. This is my reminder of lives that ended, and a task that does not end."
" -GWB,Address to a Joint Session of Congress, Sept. 20, 2001
Bill of Rights:
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence." -Sixth Amendment of the US Constitution, the "Bill of Rights"
Claim of wartime power to declare American citizens "enemy combatant,"
overriding the Bill of Rights:
--"I, GEORGE W. BUSH, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the U.S. armed forces, hereby DETERMINE for the United States of America that...Jose Padilla, who is under the control of the Department of Justice and who is a U.S. citizen, is, and at the time he entered the United States in May 2002 was, an enemy combatant...Accordingly, you are directed to receive Mr. Padilla from the Department of Justice and to detain him as an enemy combatant. "
--June 9, 2002 Presidential Order to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to take military custody of Jose Padilla as an "enemy combatant"
Verdict: Impeach for High Treason.
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