DADT Rally At White House Announced

Jim Burroway

September 10th, 2010

GetEqual and local Washington, D.C. LGBT advocates have announced a rally at 2:00 pm today in front of the White House to demand that President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder instruct the Department of Justice not to appeal yesterday’s ruling declaring “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” unconstitutional. The rally will also demand that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) immediately schedule a vote on the Defense Authorization Act, which contains language that would start the process of repealing DADT.

GetEqual’s press release announcing today’s rally describes this as a “moment of truth for President Obama and his administration.” The rally will take place at the north side of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue near Lafeyette Park.

daftpunkydavid

September 10th, 2010

forgive me if i’m worng (anfd please explain), but isn’t the doj supposed to act independently?

Timothy Kincaid

September 10th, 2010

DPD,

The Attorney General is the head of the Justice Department. What Eric Holder determines to be policy, is policy.

Further, the DOJ is part of the Administration and is subject to the policies of the Administration. Holder, like all department heads, serves at the will of the President.

The DOJ is not a separate entity that is independent of the Executive Branch of government.

Chris McCoy

September 10th, 2010

daftpunkydavid said:

[I]sn’t the doj supposed to act independently?

The Department of Justice is a division of the Executive Branch.

It is not part of the Judicial Branch, which is independent and co-equal with the Executive (and Legislative) Branch.

Chris McCoy

September 10th, 2010

Here’s GetEqual’s press release.

daftpunkydavid

September 10th, 2010

right, but my understanding (erroneous, seemingly) was that, although part of the cabinet/administration, the us attorney general was supposed to act to enforce the law, independently of what the president, who appoints the attorney general, wants (though the president can fire the attorney general).

the fact that the attorney general is nominated by the president is in contrast to the numerous states (for instance, my own, that of new york, which is no particular government model) where the office holder (pun not intended) is elected. but the role of the office remains the same. i don’t think for instance, it’s possible for a president to tell the doj which suits to defend, appeal, etc. care to share your opinions?

Chris McCoy

September 10th, 2010

daftpunkydavid said:

right, but my understanding (erroneous, seemingly) was that, although part of the cabinet/administration, the us attorney general was supposed to act to enforce the law, independently of what the president, who appoints the attorney general, wants (though the president can fire the attorney general).

The role of the entire Executive Branch is to enforce the law. Being a Cabinet position, the Attorney General, like all other Cabinet members, is nominated by the President, and then approved by the Senate.

You are correct that in the majority of States, the Attorney General is elected and is usually an independent office that does not take orders from the Governor. However, at the Federal Level, the opposite is true.

All departments in the Executive Branch take their orders from the President; so yes, the President can order the AG to, or not to, prosecute or appeal.

Greg

September 10th, 2010

Remember the Federal government is all about checks and balances. In this case, one of the big checks on the legislative is that the executive decides how (or if–see medical marijuana laws) to enforce laws passed by Congress.

daftpunkydavid

September 10th, 2010

thx!

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