Foundation for Better Government

The goal of this non-partisan Foundation is to present and invite ideas for improving the structure and the quality of government performance on a continuous basis. Every government must be responsive, responsible, efficient, economical, and free of corruption.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The President v/s The FBI Director By T.S. Khanna, June 13,2017

                                          The President v/s The FBI Director
                                                 By T.S. Khanna, June 13, 2017

We are fast becoming a culture of distrust, investigation, and litigation.  Freedom of speech is frequently abused by the media as well as by some responsible people.  Look at some of the jokers, who for a few minutes of laughter or entertainment, damage the public image of the Presidency.  The level of infighting in the power circles is rising to the point of suicide of democracy.

According to the Constitution, the President, as the chief executive, has the authority to direct the activities of all agencies and departments of Federal Government.  It is not clear how a president can be accused of obstruction of justice for ordering a department head to do or not to do a certain job.   The Attorney General and the FBI Director work for the President, not for the Congress.

According to our research, there seems to be no case against the President for obstruction of justice even if he clearly ordered the Director, FBI, verbally or in writing to stop a certain investigation.  Constituency of the President is the whole country and he represents the will of the people.

We invite rational and learned comments on this matter.


JUNE 21, 2017 , NOTE:
            Further discussions  on this subject clearly point out that the President has full constitutional authority to direct the activities of any Federal Agency or Department.  The President cannot be investigated or sued for using his legal authority vested in him by the US Constitution.  The Attorney General's Office has no authority to initiate investigation of the sitting president who represents the will of the people. 
            We strongly urge the forces opposing the President to stop exercising their personal wishes or misguided righteousness at the taxpayers' expense.  If they fail to do so, they must be held accountable.  They are forming an anti-constitutional precedent.  As soon as possible, the President must be relieved of this unnecessary and meaningless burden and freed up to pursue the public agenda he has been elected to do.
           As indicated elsewhere, we also believe that Judiciary has no constitutional jurisdiction over the President's Executive Orders or the laws adopted by the Congress.  Congress is the supreme body for adopting laws or interpreting the Constitution, not the Supreme Court.  Only the Congress can oppose the President, not the Supreme Court.  Only the Congress can investigate the President, not any Federal Agency or Federal Department.
           In the past, the President and the Congress neglected to use their constitutional powers properly and the Supreme Court stepped in to fill in the power gaps.  Now the Supreme Court's power over the President and the Congress is traditional, not constitutional.  According to the  Constitution, the three branches of the government are co-equal.  This matter must be revisited to make democracy workable, more efficiently.
          Rational comments from the readers are solicited.
                                                    T.S. Khanna, June 21, 2017.





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