1. Unitary Executive Remember the words of Article I: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

2. Unitary Executive Compare to Article II: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

3. Unitary Executive Remember the words of Article I: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Compare to Article II: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

4. Unitary Executive Does that mean the President has only the powers granted by the Constitution -- or unlimited executive authority?

5. Unitary Executive Consider this quote from a U.S. Dept of Justice lawyer defending Bush’s actions in 2006: “The president is always right.”

6. Unitary Executive For 200 years, presidents of all parties have taken steps to expand their power.

7. Unitary Executive 1798 The Adams administration used the Sedition Act only against newspaper writer who supporter Thomas Jefferson, his opponent.

8. Unitary Executive 1832 President Andrew Jackson openly defied the Supreme Court’s decision in Worcester v. Georgia.

9. Unitary Executive Civil War President Lincoln took on unprecedented wartime powers and suspended civil liberties, including due process for citizens.

10. Unitary Executive World War I President Wilson suppressed free speech, deported immigrants on the basis of their political views, and ordered raids of political dissenters.

11. Unitary Executive World War II President Roosevelt issued the executive order calling for forced internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans.

12. Unitary Executive 1970s President Nixon used executive branch agencies to attack his political opponents and cover up his supporters’ criminal acts.

13. Unitary Executive 1990s President Clinton tried to argue that sitting judges are immune from lawsuits and passed the Line-Item Veto Act of 1996. (lost both time in the Supreme Court)

14. Unitary Executive 2000s President Bush issued 130 signing statements challenging 1,200 provisions of laws – a record. Most famous was the anti-torture bill.

15. Unitary Executive Today President Obama continues using signing statements to object to parts of laws.

16. Unitary Executive “Resolved, that the America Bar Association opposes, as contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers, the issuance of presidential signing statements that claim the authority or state the intention to disregard or decline to enforce all or part of a law the President has signed…”