Torture advocate John Yoo thinks that the President of the United States has the executive power to order a village of civilians slaughtered. But force federal contractors to disclose their political donations? That’s a bridge too far.
In an editorial former Bush-era Justice Department official Yoo and David Marston wrote for the Wall Street Journal, the authors argued that the “only purpose” of an executive order being considered by President Barack Obama to require companies seeking federal contracts to disclose political contributions “is to dangle the specter of retaliation.. and harassment.”
If a small businesswoman wants to sell paper clips to the Defense Department, Mr. Obama would force her to reveal contributions to groups such as Planned Parenthood or the National Rifle Association. These donations are obviously irrelevant to whether she made the most reliable bid at the lowest price.
While the editorial says that the order “represents the latest salvo in the Obama administration’s war on the First Amendment rights of its political opponents,” there’s no word from Yoo on whether the President has the executive power to torture executives to force them to disclose their political donations.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.