On The Front Lines
John W. Whitehead Testifies to U.S. Senate Constitution Subcommittee on Steps the Next President Must Take to Restore Rule of Law in America
WASHINGTON, DC -- John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of The Change Manifesto, has provided written testimony on the dire need to restore the rule of law in America at the behest of Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The testimony will be part of the official record for a hearing taking place today on what steps the next President, whoever he may be, and the next Congress must take to repair the damage done to the rule of law, particularly in the national security arena. The Rutherford Institute's testimony is available at http://feingold.senate.gov/ruleoflaw/testimony/rutherford.pdf.
"Never before in American history has there been a more pressing need to abide by the rule of law, respect the separation of powers, and check governmental power and abuse," stated Whitehead. "This is especially critical now, as the effects of the U.S. government's ongoing war on terror continue to be felt at home and abroad."
Senator Russ Feingold, chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee, solicited testimonies from law professors, historians, advocates and other experts on what steps the next president and the next Congress must take to repair the damage done by the Bush Administration to the rule of law. The hearing is an effort to provide the next president with a full range of recommendations for reestablishing appropriate checks and balances in a variety of areas, including warrantless wiretapping, interrogation standards, detention policy, abuse of executive privilege, excessive government secrecy, violations of privacy and misleading Congress.
In his testimony, Whitehead provided an overview of the role that the rule of law has played in America's history, documented its dissolution by an overreaching Executive Branch, and presented remedies for restoring the rule of law. Paramount among those remedies is the need for Congress and the courts to reclaim their roles and their constitutional duty to act as the full equals of the executive branch.
As Whitehead points out in his testimony, and as he reminds readers in his new book, The Change Manifesto, "The Constitution provides us with the blueprint for maintaining a balanced republic, and it must always be the starting point. However, each of us, from public officials to citizens, has an affirmative duty to hold our government accountable. We must remember that despite the incredible powers the President has claimed, the U.S. Supreme Court has the power to overrule the Chief Executive. And Congress, if it exercises constitutional oversight, can limit both presidential actions and Supreme Court decisions. However, in the end, it is still the people who hold the ultimate power, and with it the concomitant responsibility, to maintain our freedoms."
The hearing will be webcast on the Judiciary Committee's website, http://judiciary.senate.gov/ .
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