The Most Dangerous Law in America
The US President’s constitutional duty totake care that the laws are faithfully executed carries with it an impliedobligation to act in good faith when exercising the authorities granted by theConstitution and Congress. Joseph Nunn warns in the
Democracy Journal thatthe Insurrection law, enacted in the early years of the existence of theRepublic, gives presidents unimaginable emergency power. It also allows a presidentto interfere in an election or disrupt the peacefultransfer of power. The January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, which aimed toprevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s victory in the 2020presidential election, was in many ways a paradigmatic example of why theInsurrection Act exists. New legislation to amend the Acy will need to addressthree main problems with the current law: its vagueness and overbreadth, itsfailure to specify what actions are and are not permitted once the law isinvoked, and the absence of any procedural safeguards against abuse. An amendedInsurrection Act must, moreover, include mechanisms that allow either Congressor the courts - and preferably both - to act as checks against misuse of thelaw.
https://democracyjournal.org
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