You might remember the story I ran a few days ago about 'moderate' Iranian president Hasan Rouhani's appointment of Hamid Aboutalebi to serve as Iran's UN envoy, which means he would enjoy complete diplomatic immunity in America.
As pictured above then and now, Aboutalebi was one of the terrorists who stormed the American embassy in Tehran, kidnapped our diplomats and held them hostage.
When the Iranians refused to cancel ABoutalabi's appointment, both houses on Congress, sparked by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO)voted unanimously voted to pass legislation that would ban terrorists from entering the US to serve as UN ambassadors and sent the bill to the White House for Presdient Obama's signature.
The President's spokeshole Jay Carney signalled that he would sign legislation banning terrorists from receiving visas as diplomatic personnel:
"We concur with the Congress and share the intent of the bill," said White House spokeshole Jay Carney.
Our president did indeed sign the bill, passed unanimously by both parties. And then said he would never enforce the law.
Obama decided to treat the law as mere advice. "Acts of espionage and terrorism against the United States and our allies are unquestionably problems of the utmost gravity, and I share the Congress's concern that individuals who have engaged in such activity may use the cover of diplomacy to gain access to our Nation," Obama said in his signing statement.
"Nevertheless, as President [George H.W.] Bush] also observed, "curtailing by statute my constitutional discretion to receive or reject ambassadors is neither a permissible nor a practical solution." I shall therefore continue to treat section 407, as originally enacted and as amended by S. 2195, as advisory in circumstances in which it would interfere with the exercise of this discretion."
Obama frequently criticized President George W. Bush for such signing statements during his 2008 campaign. “Congress's job is to pass legislation," he said, as The Daily Beast recalled. "The president can veto it or he can sign it.”
“It is unconscionable that, in the name of international diplomatic protocol, the United States would be forced to host a foreign national who showed a brutal disregard for the status of our diplomats when they were stationed in his country,” Cruz said when he introduced the bill.
Once again, this most lawless of presidents has shown that he'll only uphold those laws that he feels like upholding and that work for his political agenda.
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