Rachel Maddow talks to Jonathan Turley about Joe Lieberman actually introducing this unconstitutional, god awful new fear mongering bill. It was bad e
May 6, 2010

Rachel Maddow talks to Jonathan Turley about Joe Lieberman actually introducing this unconstitutional, god awful new fear mongering bill. It was bad enough they were just using it for political posturing. Now it appears Lieberman is going to try to actually make it a law that the State Department can strip anyone's citizenship at will. Here's more from Turley's blog.

Lieberman to Propose Citizenship-Stripping Law:

Greg Sargent at the Washington Post is reporting that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will be proposing a new law that could potentially strip Americans of their citizenship if they’re involved with foreign terrorist organizations. The limited details revealed today are enough to send a chill down the spine of civil libertarians around the country. I will be discussing this issue tonight on Rachel Maddow’s show.

The law reportedly would allow the State Department to treat citizenship like an administrative matter — deciding whether you have associated with terrorist organizations. Agency procedures are widely condemned for their lack of due process protections and the heavy deference given to agency decision-making. We have seen abuses of this system in the designation of organizations under a similar process.

...While the burden would be on the State Department and you would have access to court review, the agency process could make it difficult to contest such findings — particularly with the use of secret evidence (and barring the use of evidence by the defendant on national security grounds).

Stripping citizens of their citizenship could also create stateless persons — a problem in international law. Moreover, this process could occur at the same time that a person is fighting criminal charges — adding to the practical and financial burden.

This is just so disgusting it's beyond words. I'd say Lieberman should be ashamed of himself, but the man proved a long time ago he has no shame.

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