Mark A. R. Kleiman: The torture memo
A very good point. To quote:
What should the President do when defending the country requires breaking the laws? Why, he should break the laws, which usually means instructing his subordinates to do so. He, and they, remain subject to punishment, and he remains subject to impeachment.
But if the President can lawfully suspend, by his own mere say-so, any law he thinks inconsistent with the public safety, then there is no check on the President’s power save his own self-restaint and calculation of political reaction. Perhaps one could call a nation so ruled a republic — the definitional question is a nice one — but it would not be the republic established in 1787.
Click the link for more details, but it certainly makes sense… doesn’t it?
-Keithius
