Last week, several major news outlets reported on a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) released by the White House regarding the Fiscal Year 2013 version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In the SAP, President Obama lays out 32 reasons why he is likely to veto the newest iteration of the NDAA.
The headlines announcing the President’s promise to reject the NDAA are identical to those published early last December, just a couple of weeks before the President took time off from his Hawaiian vacation to sign the measure into law. Somehow, President Obama was able to set aside his issues with the act and grant himself the power to indefinitely detain Americans without charge or trial.
Recently, we reported how those very provisions — those purporting to give the President the expansive and unconstitutional powers described above — remain in this year’s NDAA, despite the best efforts of a handful of constitutionally-minded representatives.
Last month, by a vote of 238-182, members of Congress rejected the amendment offered by Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Justin Amash (R-Mich.) that would have repealed the indefinite detention provision passed overwhelmingly last year as part of the Fiscal Year 2012 NDAA.
Not only does the 2013 NDAA retain the indefinite detention provisions, but the section permitting prisoners to be transferred from civilian jurisdiction to the custody of the military persists, as well.
"The frightening thing here is that the government is claiming the power under the Afghanistan authorization for use of military force as a justification for entering American homes to grab people, indefinitely detain them and not give them a charge or trial," Representative Amash said during House debate on his amendment.
Obama Threatens Veto of NDAA 2013: Too Many Restrictions on His "Exclusive" Authority
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