{"id":2032,"date":"2012-01-12T18:58:27","date_gmt":"2012-01-12T23:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=2032"},"modified":"2012-01-12T14:02:54","modified_gmt":"2012-01-12T19:02:54","slug":"jay-sekulow-doj-memo-backing-obama-appointments-2-days-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-doj-memo-backing-obama-appointments-2-days-late.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: DOJ Memo Backing Obama Appointments 2 Days Late"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It can only be described as a smokescreen to cover the actions of President Obama. The Department of Justice today released a memo<\/a>\u00a0backing President Obama’s disturbing “recess appointments” made earlier this month. The memo is dated January 6th, two days after the appointments occurred. Usually a President will solicit advice from the Justice Department in advance<\/em> of taking action that is considered controversial or raises constitutional questions.<\/p>\n

Not this President. The memo is two days late. It should come as no surprise that the Justice Department put out an analysis designed to back the President’s actions.<\/p>\n

The problem with the memo is that it provides a faulty legal analysis wrongly claiming that the Senate was not in session when these appointments occurred. As we’ve discussed repeatedly<\/a>, the Senate was indeed in session, in Pro Forma session. Our detailed legal analysis concerning this issue is posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fact is this DOJ memo changes nothing: President Obama acted in a unconstitutional manner in making these appointments – ignoring the rule of law and nearly a century of precedent.<\/p>\n

As you may already know, Congress\u00a0is concerned about this overreach<\/a>. And, we continue to hear from thousands of Americans – now more than 55,000 – who have signed on to our petition<\/a>\u00a0demanding President Obama retract these appointments.<\/p>\n

What’s clear is this: Americans and a growing number of members of Congress want the President to abide by the Constitution and the rule of law.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It can only be described as a smokescreen to cover the actions of President Obama. The Department of Justice today released a memo\u00a0backing President Obama’s disturbing “recess appointments” made earlier this month. The memo is dated January 6th, two days after the appointments occurred. Usually a President will solicit advice from the Justice Department in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,66],"tags":[743,791,445,768,523,327,765],"class_list":["post-2032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-president-obama","category-u-s-constitution","tag-aclj","tag-jay-sekulow","tag-justice-department","tag-president-obama","tag-recess-appointments","tag-supreme-court-precedent","tag-u-s-constitution"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: DOJ Memo Backing Obama Appointments 2 Days Late - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/01\/jay-sekulow-doj-memo-backing-obama-appointments-2-days-late.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: DOJ Memo Backing Obama Appointments 2 Days Late - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It can only be described as a smokescreen to cover the actions of President Obama. The Department of Justice today released a memo\u00a0backing President Obama’s disturbing “recess appointments” made earlier this month. The memo is dated January 6th, two days after the appointments occurred. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2032"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2043,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032\/revisions\/2043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}