This president is bypassing the legislative process and creating his own laws. For those in the Senate who voted against impeachment, may his actions never let you sleep for he has destoyed the country.

Executive orders
go too far?
Sen. Hatch speaks out against
Clinton's 'Stroke of the pen'


By David M. Bresnahan
© 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

President Bill Clinton has gone too far, according to one
senator. He writes law whenever he wants,
circumventing Congress in the process.

In a personal interview with WorldNetDaily, Sen. Orrin
Hatch, R-Utah, expressed his belief that the extensive
number of executive orders issued by President Clinton
are unconstitutional.

Although he agreed that many presidents have issued a
large number of executive orders, Sen. Hatch
complained that the ones issued by President Clinton
create law, while circumventing the legislative process.
He said a legal challenge should be made to stop the
practice and reverse some of the orders.

"Well, a huge number of his executive orders are
excessive and unwise," Sen. Hatch explained to
WorldNetDaily.

"Under the Constitution, the president has the right to
issue executive orders, but they have to be tested in
court if you want to prove that they are excessive or
unwise. You know, Reagan issued a lot of executive
orders too, but they were not like these. In other words,
they didn't make laws all the time. I think many of his
(Clinton's) could be found unconstitutional," said Hatch,
himself a presidential candidate.

"Stroke of the pen. Law of the land. Kind of cool," was
the statement made by White House communications
counsel Paul Begala in July 1998. He was talking about
the ease with which President Clinton was able to create
law virtually unchallenged using executive orders and
presidential directives.

The ability to make law as a dictator without the normal
checks and balances of the U.S. Constitution is what
Sen. Hatch was complaining about. Congress has the
exclusive function of lawmaking, but presidents have
taken some of that power, and Congress has not done
anything to prevent it.

Presidential executive orders and directives were initially
intended to be a means for the efficient operation of the
executive branch, according to Sen. Hatch. Now,
through craftiness and political intimidation, Clinton has
avoided the Congress and creates law with the "stroke
of the pen."

Presidents have always been granted broad discretion
when it comes to matters of national security. Along
with that comes secrecy. The courts and Congress have
not objected. Secrecy is considered to be a vital part of
national security. For a president who is abusive of his
power and authority, this provides the perfect excuse to
classify as secret any executive order or directive that he
does not wish to have scrutinized.

The Congress has no idea what is actually contained in
classified documents, and therefore there is absolutely
no oversight or accountability. The potential for abuse is
enormous, and it could be undetected for many years.
Each presidential abuse of power leads to more when a
president discovers he can create any law he wants with
the "stroke of the pen."

The topics of national security, national emergency, and
top-secret classification all came into play when
President Clinton signed Presidential Decision Directive
25 in 1994. That document has been requested by
numerous members of Congress, and all have been
turned down.

* All that is available is an executive summary. Excluded
* from the summary is the portion which sources claim
* describes the use of the U.S. military as a domestic
* police force during a national emergency. More than
* one source familiar with the actual document has
* independently confirmed the claims.

* The executive summary also makes clear that the U.S.
* can place military forces under the command of a
* foreign commander as part of a United Nations peace
* force. PDD 25 is said to specifically permit a foreign
* commander to rule over U.S. troops, even on U.S. soil,
* "when doing so serves American security interests,"
* according to one military source.

It appears that President Clinton took a major step in
his grab for power on Dec. 10, 1998, when he enacted
Executive Order 13107 at a time when Congress was
out of town and unlikely to take action or even notice.
That order gives the president the ability to enact
treaties without the constitutional requirement of Senate
ratification with a two-thirds majority vote.

EO 13107 could be argued as justification for the
president to implement U.N. treaties without approval
of the Senate, which literally dissolves the sovereignty of
the U.S. It sets up the Interagency Working Group to
oversee legislation proposed by the president to make
sure it is in conformity with U.N. initiatives, handle
public relations to educate the public about such issues,
and evaluate future needs in order to comply with U.N.
human rights initiatives.

President Clinton laughed when he learned the nation's
governors and mayors objected to Executive Order
13083 on federalism. States' rights were being attacked,
and they rallied to the cause. President Clinton
appeared to back down when he agreed to suspend the
order, but he knew that all he had to do to reactivate it
would be to sign another piece of paper. The apparent
capitulation by the president caused the governors to
ease pressure on him, but according to Sen. Hatch, the
president recently reissued the order in a reworded form
that is just as dangerous.

Asked if there is still a problem with federal vs. states'
rights Sen. Hatch said, "Yes we do, but they've been
making headway."

WorldNetDaily recently published a description of the
new version of the Executive Order on Federalism.

President Clinton does not hesitate to write law
wherever he sees fit. When Congress did not take the
action the president wanted on the tobacco issue, he
quickly signed an executive order in 1995 which
declared nicotine to be an addictive drug and authorized
the Food and Drug Administration to establish
regulations.

In the same year he signed an executive order to
financially bail out the country of Mexico. Congress saw
fit to make a few speeches in opposition to the move,
but no effort was made to stop him.

The actions illustrate Clinton's willingness to circumvent
Congress and the legislative process whenever he
wishes. "Stroke of the pen. ..."


David M. Bresnahan is a staff writer for
WorldNetDaily.com, is the author of a new report
on Y2K, the book "Cover Up: The Art and Science
of Political Deception," and offers a monthly
newsletter "Talk USA Investigative Reports." He
may be reached through email and also maintains
an archive of his work.