Action Alert

“IF YOU ARE NOT OUTRAGED YOU ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION” Action Alert #3

What are the presidential emergency powers? The are many laws that allow a president to assume extraordinary “emergency” powers. The Brennan Center for Justice has identified 136 potential emergency powers available from such declarations. Many of these are reasonable responses to real emergencies. But others could be abused and used for political purposes.

A few of the more dangerous powers include; the use of the military in domestic law enforcement, freezing assets and blocking financial transactions, controlling electronic information tools, and even ordering the killing or indefinite detention of people he designates as enemies.

According to the Brennan Center many of the 58 emergency declarations since the National Emergencies Act of 1979 have been “misused as convenient fixes to non-emergency problems.” They consider many of these powers to be “outdated and unnecessary.” But the potential for abuse remains.

To learn more see:

A Guide to Emergency Powers and Their Use, Brennan Center for Justice

The Alarming Scope of the President’s Emergency Powers, Atlantic Magazine, Elizabeth Goitein, February 2019