Drones and the FIFTH (5th Amendment)
Dear _insert name_,
The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no American shall “be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.”
Yet the Department of Justice has, according to leaked memos and news reports, prepared legal justifications that permit the government, under presidential directive, to kill American citizens without trial during the course of counterterrorism operations.
This week, I joined Rep. Barbara Lee and other members of Congress in urging President Obama to release these Justice Department memos in their entirety.
Of particular concern is the possibility that unmanned drones may be used to execute American citizens without due process. Senator Rand Paul raised this concern during his 13-hour filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be the director of the CIA, and in response, the Attorney General provided a two-sentence letter saying that drones could not be used in this way. Yet without the context of the full legal justifications for targeted killings, this assertion provides little comfort. Central questions are when a terrorist or potential terrorist relinquishes his or her constitutional protections, how the government would make this determination, and how precisely and accurately a government directive would identify that person.
Drones have legitimate uses, and but we need to put clear, enforceable boundaries around their use. Last summer, I tried to fill this legal vacuum through an amendment to the annual Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that would forbid the flying of armed drones over U.S. soil.
That amendment passed unanimously in the House, but unfortunately the funding bill itself never passed the Senate, so the provision did not become law. I intend to try again this year when we debate the Fiscal Year 2014 appropriations bills.
Sincerely,
Rush Holt
Member of Congress
P.S. Just a reminder: I always want to hear from you, but to ensure a prompt response, please don’t reply to this e-mail. Instead, please visit holt.house.gov/contact or call 1-87-RUSH-HOLT (1-877-874-4658)
COMMENT: I concur with the Congressman's assessment and stance on the 'drone' issue, particularly quoting the Fifth Amendment; I wonder why he does NOT work to Protect us (The People) in the same way when it comes to the Second Amendment? There is fundamentally Nothing Different about those PEOPLE and the rights protected by the 2nd Amendment.
The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no American shall “be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.”
Yet the Department of Justice has, according to leaked memos and news reports, prepared legal justifications that permit the government, under presidential directive, to kill American citizens without trial during the course of counterterrorism operations.
This week, I joined Rep. Barbara Lee and other members of Congress in urging President Obama to release these Justice Department memos in their entirety.
Of particular concern is the possibility that unmanned drones may be used to execute American citizens without due process. Senator Rand Paul raised this concern during his 13-hour filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be the director of the CIA, and in response, the Attorney General provided a two-sentence letter saying that drones could not be used in this way. Yet without the context of the full legal justifications for targeted killings, this assertion provides little comfort. Central questions are when a terrorist or potential terrorist relinquishes his or her constitutional protections, how the government would make this determination, and how precisely and accurately a government directive would identify that person.
Drones have legitimate uses, and but we need to put clear, enforceable boundaries around their use. Last summer, I tried to fill this legal vacuum through an amendment to the annual Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that would forbid the flying of armed drones over U.S. soil.
That amendment passed unanimously in the House, but unfortunately the funding bill itself never passed the Senate, so the provision did not become law. I intend to try again this year when we debate the Fiscal Year 2014 appropriations bills.
Sincerely,
Rush Holt
Member of Congress
P.S. Just a reminder: I always want to hear from you, but to ensure a prompt response, please don’t reply to this e-mail. Instead, please visit holt.house.gov/contact or call 1-87-RUSH-HOLT (1-877-874-4658)
COMMENT: I concur with the Congressman's assessment and stance on the 'drone' issue, particularly quoting the Fifth Amendment; I wonder why he does NOT work to Protect us (The People) in the same way when it comes to the Second Amendment? There is fundamentally Nothing Different about those PEOPLE and the rights protected by the 2nd Amendment.
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