Swordsmyth
06-07-2018, 08:06 PM
In a letter to House Speaker Ryan (https://www.justice.gov/file/1069806/download), Attorney General Jeff Sessions affirmed that the Justice Dept will no longer defend the constitutionality of Obamacare.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/obamacare-constitution-political-cartoon.jpg
Sessions writes that the DoJ believes the law's individual mandate - the provision the Supreme Court upheld in 2012 - has become unconstitutional.
Notably, the three-page letter begins by saying that Justice adopted its position "with the approval of the President of the United States."
Specifically, Sessions writes that the mandate cannot be interpreted as a tax “because it will raise no revenue as Congress has eliminated the monetary penalty,” the department said in a brief filed in the Federal District Court in Fort Worth. (https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ACA.Azar_.filing.pdf)
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/obamacare-unconstitutional_0.jpg
As Axios reports (https://www.axios.com/trumps-justice-department-says-aca-is-unconstitutional-06f8714d-7606-4104-9982-f057786828a7.html), the Justice Department almost always defends federal laws when they're challenged in court. Its departure from that norm in this case is a major development - career DOJ lawyers removed themselves from the case as the department announced this shift in its position.
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-06-07/trumps-justice-department-affirms-obamacare-unconstitutional
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/obamacare-constitution-political-cartoon.jpg
Sessions writes that the DoJ believes the law's individual mandate - the provision the Supreme Court upheld in 2012 - has become unconstitutional.
Notably, the three-page letter begins by saying that Justice adopted its position "with the approval of the President of the United States."
Specifically, Sessions writes that the mandate cannot be interpreted as a tax “because it will raise no revenue as Congress has eliminated the monetary penalty,” the department said in a brief filed in the Federal District Court in Fort Worth. (https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ACA.Azar_.filing.pdf)
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/obamacare-unconstitutional_0.jpg
As Axios reports (https://www.axios.com/trumps-justice-department-says-aca-is-unconstitutional-06f8714d-7606-4104-9982-f057786828a7.html), the Justice Department almost always defends federal laws when they're challenged in court. Its departure from that norm in this case is a major development - career DOJ lawyers removed themselves from the case as the department announced this shift in its position.
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-06-07/trumps-justice-department-affirms-obamacare-unconstitutional