As the U.S. government, and specifically the Obama Administration, has failed after due course to bring officials to trial, even though those officials have publically admitted to committing serious federal and international crimes, an amendment to the Constitution is required so that America can expunge their vile crimes from the public conscience. Until our government takes official action to prosecute those who we know ordered torture it will be official policy that has not been repudiated, and therefore will be a stain on the moral character of all Americans.
So, to ensure that those responsible are brought to trial, I’m proposing that we consider the following amendment to the Constitution, which will provide the mechanism for the pubic to bring these people to justice.
In Creating the Accountability Petition Amendment I proposed that we create an accountability petition amendment to bypass the executive and legislative branches and put officials known to the public to have committed violations of federal, international and constitutional law on trial. This proposed amendment provides a starting point for that discussion.
Proposed that the Constitution of the United States be amended as follows:
Article XXVIII.
Section 1.
Any sitting officer of the United States may be impeached by petition of the people. Any official impeached by a petition with at least 10,000 valid signatures of citizens eligible to vote in federal elections shall be tried by the Senate as if impeached by the House of Representatives. The qualifications for impeachment by petition shall be the same as impeachment by the House.
Section 2.
Any former officer of the United States may be indicted by petition of the people. Any official indicted by a petition with at least 10,000 valid signatures of citizens eligible to vote in federal elections shall be tried in federal court as if indicted by a grand jury. Congress shall designate by appropriate legislation the court of original jurisdiction for such trials, and in the absence of such legislation, original jurisdiction shall be with the supreme Court.
To qualify for indictment by petition under this section, the petition must state at least one federal felony crime, or at least one international war crime, or at least one material violation of the rights of the people under this Constitution as the basis of the indictment.
Section 3.
No pardon, immunity or statute of limitations shall apply to any impeachment or indictment under this article.
(Note: The Constitution regularly refers to the Supreme Court as the “supreme Court”, and I’ve preserved this capitalization.)
In interpreting this amendment, the courts should take into consideration its purpose. The primary purpose of this amendment is to stop the political blocking of trials of federal public officials that clearly have violated the law. For example, people in the Bush Administration:
- Caused people in custody to be tortured, sometimes resulting in deaths.
- Invaded a country in order to bring about gains for private individuals, under the guise of furthering the security interests of the country. As a result of this war, hundreds of thousands of people were killed and an entire country devastated. It also caused horrific bodily harm to many thousands of people.
- Misused the security apparatus of the government to spy on Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment and general expectations of privacy.
- With the aid of Congress, violated Article I, Section 9, Clause 2 of the Constitution.
For this purpose, it is imperative that the courts do not allow any procedural issues to interfere with the will of the people to have trials. Disputes about legalities and minor difficulties should be resolved with a preference toward getting on with the trials.
These crimes are quantitatively and qualitatively more serious than the “typical” crime. They go beyond the scope of murder to seriously injure the rights of all people. They endanger democracy, our system of government, and our society. This is a class of crimes that is so serious that they deserve special attention in the Constitution. The mere fact that anyone can get away with such crimes is a danger to society by encouraging others to try the boundaries of acceptable governmental behavior. Only trials will remove the temptation for future administrations to subvert the power of the government for private ends and restore the actual rule of law. Short of trials, the country will be at the whim of whatever person or group manages to obtain power.
Also, the President on taking office is required to state:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
All members of Congress, members of state legislatures, and all judicial officers are also required by Article VI to bind themselves by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution.
The failure to prosecute any individual known to any of these officials for crimes that undermine the Constitution is dereliction of duty. And, failure to prosecute known offenders who violate federal law, especially when that violation is also a violation of clear constitutional rights, undermines the legitimacy of the government.
Need I remind anyone that torture is a clear violation of constitutional rights? Need I remind anyone that failure to observe habeas corpus (except under the narrow limitations of constitutional exclusions) is a violation of the Constitution? Here’s the clause:
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. Article I, Section 9, Clause 2.
Under what strained interpretation is the public safety endangered by bringing people to trial when there is neither rebellion nor invasion going on? Are Canadian troops marching on Manhattan?
This proposed amendment should be considered the template for a proposal to go before a constitutional convention, and when passed into law, will form the basis for putting members of the Bush Administration on trial for their attempts to undermine democracy as well as their commission of war crimes.
Find out more about holding officials accountable on Dkosopedia at Framed: Prosecuting Officials for Crimes.