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Originally Posted by Mazer
When and if those words precipitate unlawful action on the president's part then I'll be worried. Until then he's protected by the same freedom of speech that every American enjoys.
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by unilaterally declaring his intention to disregard provisions of a bill legally passed by Congress, the President is in effect vetoing laws in a manner not prescribed by the Constitution.
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"When the president signs a bill and says he is not going to enforce parts of a bill that he finds unconstitutional, it is in effect an absolute veto, because the Congress has no power to override him," said Bruce Fein, a Washington lawyer and member of the ABA task force who served in the Reagan administration and drafted signing statements for Reagan.
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there's a system of checks and balances in our government - Congress passes a law and if the Prez doesn't like it, he vetos it. signing statements as used by Bush are unilateral assertions of intent to disregard the law as it was passed.
if you think this is about free speech, then you don't grasp the issue....and ironically enough, if the President's signing statements precipitate illegal actions, you'll never know about it because in many cases, the signing statement is an assertion by the Executive branch that they can disregard the reporting requirements contained within.
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While the White House has asserted that it only expresses reservations, the ABA has cited examples in which the White House has indicated its intentions not to follow provisions in:
_Two bills forbidding use of military intelligence in materials "not lawfully collected."
_A bill requiring a report to Congress on the use of the USA Patriot Act to secretly search homes or seize private papers.
_The "McCain amendment" forbidding any U.S. official from torturing a prisoner. While the administration insists it does not condone torture, the president's signing statement in December reserved the right to waive the torture ban if harsh interrogation might advance anti-terrorism efforts.
_The Intelligence Authorization Act of 2002 requiring regular reports to Congress. The signing statement on intelligence reports to Congress called the requirement "advisory" and asserted that it "would be construed in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to withhold information" that could impair foreign relations or national security if released.
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essentially, the administration uses signing statements to claim they can do what they want, any time they choose, regardless of the law.