Dear Congressman Heller,
Thank you for your reply to my concerns regarding President Bush’s Executive Order issued on July 17, 2007 authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of Defense to seize the property of persons undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq.
In your letter you state, “…any use of this Executive Order to seize the property of American citizens who disagree with America’s military actions would be blatantly unconstitutional.”
This administration has never been concerned with the constitutionality of its actions and I would note that the aforementioned Executive Order does not exclude American citizens from its scope. American citizens who are victimized under this abuse of power would have no recourse through our courts since the sole authority to judge and punish lies with the executive branch.
You also say in your letter “…any abuse of this Executive Order must be met with swift action.”
The Executive Order is abusive by its nature. Your promise of swift action is of little comfort in that it presumes; 1) an administration that has been cloaked in secrecy since it assumed office would make congress aware of such abuses, and 2) that victims of such abuse would not be sent off to a secret prison in some foreign country and subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques”.
My concern is that our members of congress have not challenged this Executive Order and seem to be content to let it stand while promising to take action if necessary at some later date. The time to halt abuse is when the authority is claimed rather than after it has been applied. As my representative in congress, I feel that your duty is not only to rectify injustice, but also to prevent it.
I appreciate the fact that you have personally participated in oversight hearings and that, as your letter states, you have not been afraid to criticize this Administration. I will follow the tangible results of your efforts closely. In the interim, please let me know what, if anything, you intend to do now about the authority claimed by the Bush Administration in the Executive Order that is the subject of this communication.
Regards,
Chris Nolan
