Obama administration clears way for hostages' families to pay ransom
Source: The Guardian
The families of more than 30 American hostages currently held around the world were given a green light by the White House to negotiate private ransom payments, despite a longstanding ban on making concessions to terrorist groups.
Barack Obama confirmed new policies on Wednesday for communicating with terrorist groups, and for families to pay ransoms to hostage-takers.
Despite insisting the US government would continue its policy of not making direct “concessions” or payments to hostage takers, the president met with families and former hostages at the White House and announced it would help arrange talks, and would not prosecute those involved in ransom negotiations.
“The last thing we should ever do is add to a family’s pain with threats like that,” Obama said.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/24/obama-administration-hostages-families-ransom
Basically this undoes the "material support" charges families previously could face for making ransom payments.
= new reply since forum marked as read
But leaving it up to case law to actually decide. If juries find the duress defense valid, then it's valid. That's really a decision for the courts--in this case, citizen juries--to make.
Otherwise we have another law that the Executive has simply decided is rescinded in some situations because he doesn't like it, taking power away from the Judiciary and citizens and reducing the power of the Legislature.
Perhaps we need a Constitutional amendment:
"he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" -->
"he shall take Care that only the Laws he approves of be faithfully executed".
What would we say if Reagan had simply instructed the Justice department to not investigate or prosecute any Voting Rights Act violations? Or Title IX violations? "Prosecutorial discretion"?
I know what we say over things Reagan did that skirt or ignored the laws, because as president he swore to uphold the Constitution, which includes the part about "taking care that the laws be faithfully executed," and I can't help but notice that the word "Executive" has "execute" (as in "the Laws"
as its root. "Executive" didn't mean "top ranked" but "with the power to carry out or perform," and all authority to execute the laws in the Executive branch starts with one person--the President.
