For four and a half abominably long years, we have recounted Barack Obama's lawlessness. He makes his own laws and ignores others, consistently showing an intractable contempt for Rule of Law. In a rebuke to the president, however, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals last week issued a writ of mandamus, an unusual direct judicial order for the government to satisfy its legal obligation.
The matter at hand is
Nevada's Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage facility. Long story short,
candidate Obama promised to close the facility, and after he was elected his
Energy Department attempted to revoke the Yucca Mountain license application. A
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) safety board ruled unanimously that he
couldn't do that -- so Obama stacked the NRC with appointees who shared his
opposition to Yucca. The NRC then refused to conduct a review of the facility
for licensing, despite a 1983 law requiring the review and Congress
appropriating money for said review.
Writing for the DC
Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh said that "the Commission is simply flouting
the law." Hence the writ of mandamus. Not only that, wrote Kavanaugh, but
the case "raises significant questions about the scope of the Executive's
authority to disregard federal statutes." While a president may choose not
to enforce laws on constitutional grounds, Kavanaugh added that "the
president and federal agencies may not ignore statutory mandates or
prohibitions merely because of policy disagreement with Congress."
Obama enacted DREAM
immigration policy without Congress, he delayed major aspects of his own health
care law without Congress, he declared Congress in recess so as to appoint
people to the National Labor Relations Board -- and that's not to mention his
other "phony scandals." We're glad to see that, at least in this
case, the Founders' system of constitutional checks and balances is still active.
CONTINUED: http://patriotpost.us/editions/19605
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