4A |
WEDNESDAY EDITION
| JUNE 12, 2019
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
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Letters to the Editor policy
Unitary Executive Theory and Congressional Subpoenas
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub-
missions on this and other topics
are always welcome as part of our
goal to encourage community dis-
cussion and exchange of perspec-
tives.)
er” for executing all powers that
the Constitution vests in “any de-
partment or officer” of “the gov-
ernment of the United States,”
Congress has a share of the pow-
er to direct those “departments
President Trump’s refusal to
cooperate with Congressional
oversight investigations brings
the theory of “Unitary Execu-
tive” into play. The theory con-
tends that the president’s control
over the executive branch has no
limits and attempts to do so are
unconstitutional. This author-
itarian view of the presidency
is based on the words “the” and
“a” as used in the Constitution’s
Article II phrase “The executive
power shall be vested in a Pres-
ident”.
Emphasizing “the” and “a,”
proponents of the theory argue
that members of the executive
branch are solely accountable to
the president alone. Therefore,
the president may order any ex-
ecutive branch employee to ex-
ercise or not exercise any official
function as the president person-
ally thinks best.
The more traditional argu-
ment holds that because Article
I gives Congress the authority to
enact laws “necessary and prop-
Guest Viewpoint
By Arnold Buchman
Florence resident
and officers” in the executive as
well as the legislative branch.
Because Article ll doesn’t speak
directly of a “unitary executive,”
its use of the term “presidential
executive” power can be read to
distinguish “The executive pow-
er shall be vested in a President”
from an “executive council” as
was established by several revo-
lutionary-era state constitutions.
This reading is more consis-
tent with the Constitution’s idea
that those actions that aren’t
legislative or judicial be carried
out by a president co-equal with
the two other branches and sub-
ject to the scheme of checks and
balances preventing one branch
from becoming too powerful.
Especially in the context of an
overarching concern that an ex-
ecutive might become another
King George III.
The Unitary Executive theory,
supported by Attorney General
William Barr, clashes with Con-
gressional oversight investiga-
tions because it is at the root of
the president’s executive-privi-
lege resistance to congressional
subpoena demands.
The presidential order to the
entire executive branch to refuse
to provide any information to
Congress is an expansion of the
argument that the constitution-
al grant of executive power pro-
vides exclusive executive power.
More traditionally, assertion of
this power has been limited to
times of creditable national crisis
and emergency.
Consequently, the assertion
of executive privilege over con-
fidential discussions with ad-
visers, present and former, and
any information requested by
Congress that the president may
deem privileged is executive
privilege on steroids; a heedless
disregard of Congressional over-
sight authority and executive
tradition; one that if left standing
along with other practices de-
rided by Mr. Trump will further
undermine the Founders’ checks
and balances game plan.
The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi-
tor as part of a community discussion of issues on
the local, state and national level.
Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or
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depends on space available and the volume of let-
ters received.
Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen-
tative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are
unsourced or documented will not be published.
Letters containing poetry or from outside the
Siuslaw News readership area will only be pub-
lished at the discretion of the editor.
Political/Election Letters:
Election-related letters must address pertinent
or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large.
Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing
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sure any information about a candidate is accu-
rate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge
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candidates based on personal experience and
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Candidates themselves may not use the letters
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As with all letters and advertising content, the
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er, general manager and editor, reserves the right
to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above
criteria.
Email letters to:
nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com
WHERE TO WRITE
Pres. Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments:
202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, Ore. 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line:
503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office
Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
www.merkley.senate.gov
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio
(4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416
541-269-2609
541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan
(Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@
oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep.
Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email: rep.caddymckeown
@oregonlegislature.gov
West Lane County
Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email: Jay.Bozievich@
co.lane.or.us