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Constitutional Attorney David Rivkin to speak at American Enterprise Institute

Published on 14 January 2012

by Staff

(OfficialWire)

Washington, D.C. (USA)
OfficialWire PR News Bureau

The 2012 election year has just begun, and already controversies have swirled around a number of President Obama’s actions. Constitutional issues are at the forefront as the president seeks to improve his chances of reelection by delivering on his promises. But is the president violating the Constitution as he tries to implement his program of transformation? Constitutional attorney David Rivkin believes he is. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington D.C. will be facilitating a discussion on one of the recent controversies, President Obama’s “recess appointments.”

On January 4, 2012, President Obama made the following appointments: Richard Cordray as Director of the CFPB; and Richard Griffin, Jr., Sharon Block, and Terence F. Flynn as members of the NLRB. At the time of the appointments, the Senate was holding a series of "pro forma" sessions. The U.S. Department of Justice claims that the President has the authority to make these appointments, in essence, to decide based on his own analysis about when Congress is in session. David Rivkin and other constitutional law experts disagree.

“The Constitution allows the President to make recess appointments only when the Senate is in recess; it does not guarantee [emphasis added] him the right to make one or more of such appointments,” says Rivkin in his written testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

According to Rivkin, the Office of Legal Counsel “takes what was meant and written as a gap-filler or safety valve – what to do when the Senate is out of town and unable to confirm a nominee to a vital position – and converts it into an affirmative grant of power that guarantees the President the right to make some number of appointments without the Senate’s approval.” This will weaken Congress’ power.

Join David Rivkin with three distinguished lawyers on discussing the key constitutional issues that are essential for understanding this controversy, the precedents from similar disputes in the past, and the implications for the future if either the President’s position or the opponents’ position is ultimately upheld by the courts.

The event will be held Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at The American Enterprise Institute, Twelfth Floor at 1150 Seventeenth Street, NW in Washington D.C. at 1:30 p.m.  The event is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited.

For additional information, contact Steffanie Hawkins at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-419-5212.

About AEI

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is a private, nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution dedicated to research and education on issues of government, politics, economics, and social welfare. AEI is a community of scholars and supporters committed to expanding liberty, increasing individual opportunity and strengthening free enterprise. AEI pursues these unchanging ideals through independent thinking, open debate, reasoned argument, facts, and the highest standards of research and exposition. Without regard for politics or prevailing fashion, we dedicate our work to a more prosperous, safer, and more democratic nation and world.

Source: http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=314398

(WASHINGTON)— The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform  chaired by Darrell Issa (R-CA) is set to begin a hearing on the morning of February 1 on President Obama's recess appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). During the hearing, titled "Uncharted Territory: What are the Consequences of President Obama's Unprecedented 'Recess' Appointments?", constitutional attorney David Rivkin will assert that the appointments are unconstitutional.

On January 4, 2012, President Obama made  the following "recess" appointments: Richard Cordray as Director of the CFPB and Richard Griffin, Jr., Sharon Block, and Terence F. Flynn as members of the NLRB.  At the time of the appointments, the Senate was holding a series of "pro forma" sessions.  While the U.S. Department of Justice claims that the President has the authority to make these appointments, in essence, to decide for himself when Congress is in session, David Rivkin and other constitutional law experts disagree.

“The Constitution allows the President to make recess appointments only when the Senate is in recess; it does not guarantee him the right to make one or more of such appointments,” says Rivkin in his written testimony.

According to RIvkin, the Office of Legal Counsel  “takes what was meant and written as a gap-filler or safety valve – what to do when the Senate is out-of-town and unable to confirm a nominee to a vital position –  and converts it into an affirmative grant of power that guarantees the President the right to make some number of appointments without the Senate’s approval.”  This will weaken Congress’ power.

The hearing is being held in Rayburn House Office Building room 2154 at 9:30 a.m. February 1.  Additional witnesses include Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), former White House advisor C. Boyden Gray, and Michael Gerhardt, Professor in Constitutional Law, University of North Carolina.

Constitutional Attorney David Rivkin to debunk the president’s latest controversial move on immigration on Fox Business Network

Published on 9 January 2012

by Brent Baldwin

(OfficialWire)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (USA)
OfficialWire PR News Bureau

David Rivkin, the lawyer who designed and argued the successful multi-state challenge to ObamaCare, is turning his guns on the latest and possibly the most egregious unconstitutional power grab by the Obama administration. Watch Rivkin in action on Lou Dobbs.

David Rivkin will be interviewed on Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business Network Thursday, January 12 (7 to 8 p.m. EST) regarding a recent article he co-authored for The Washington Post about President Barack Obama’s claims that he can preempt state law whenever immigration policy “might irritate a foreign government.”

The case stems from the Arizona immigration policy of penalizing illegal immigrants, and, according to Rivkin, it boils down to an unprecedented expansion of presidential power, among others.

“This is a stunning and audacious power grab, far more expansive than the legal theories that prompted critics of President George W. Bush to argue that he established an ‘imperial presidency.’ It simply cannot be that, despite all the Constitution’s limitations on federal power and executive action, the president’s powers become absolute whenever another nation complains.”

The Supreme Court has granted swift review of this issue, and Rivkin will explain on tonight’s show what he believes about the repudiation of Obama’s latest power grab will be quickly forthcoming.

Source: http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=311146

David Rivkin joins all-star panel at Ralph Nader's debate

Published on 10 November 2011

by Colin Fuess

(OfficialWire)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (USA)
OfficialWire PR News Bureau

Ralph Nader and the Center for Study of Responsive Law’s “Debating Taboos” series continues Friday, November 18 with “Bush/Obama: War Crimes or Lawful Wars?”

The debate format consists of two moderators and four debaters.  Arguing against the proposition that Bush and Obama engaged in war crimes are attorneys David Rivkin and Lee Casey.  Rivkin served in the Department of Justice under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and is renowned for articulate commentary on the U.S. Constitution and presidential war powers.  Casey, Rivkin’s frequent collaborator, also served in the DOJ under Reagan and H.W. Bush, and currently specializes in compliance issues under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), U.S. trade sanctions regimes, and federal ethics requirements.  He has also served on the United Nations Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

Arguing for the proposition that Bush and Obama engaged in war crimes are attorney and constitutional scholar Bruce Fein and retired Lt. Colonel Tony Shaffer.

Ralph Nader, who founded the Center for Study of Responsive Law in 1968, has gone on record that Bush and Obama are war criminals for their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The debate will be held Friday, November 18 at the Carnegie Institution building at 1530 P Street in Washington, D.C., at 12:30 p.m.  The event is free and open to the public, and a complimentary light lunch will follow the debate.

For further information, contact Katherine Raymond at 202-387-8030 or at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About The Center for Study of Responsive Law:

The Center for Study of Responsive Law is a nonprofit Ralph Nader organization that supports and conducts a wide variety of research and educational projects to encourage the political, economic and social institutions of this country to be more aware of the needs of the citizen-consumer. The Center publishes a variety of reports on a number of public interest issues.

Source: http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=305952