Sorry, No Fireworks This Time

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is constitutionally ineligible to serve as Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

According to the Ineligibility Clause of the United States Constitution, no member of Congress can be appointed to an office that has benefited from a salary increase during the time that Senator or Representative served in Congress. A January 2008 Executive Order signed by President Bush during Hillary Clinton???s current Senate term increased the salary for Secretary of State, thereby rendering Senator Clinton ineligible for the position.



Specifically, Article I, section 6 of the U.S. Constitution provides ???No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time.??? The provision is seen by most as designed by our Founding Fathers to protect against corruption.

Former President Richard Nixon circumvented this constitutional provision after appointing former Ohio Senator William Saxbe to the position of Attorney General. The Nixon administration managed to force legislation through Congress to reduce the salary for the position of Attorney General to the level that existed prior to Senator Saxbe???s appointment. This scheme, known thereafter as ???The Saxbe Fix,??? was also used to allow Senator Lloyd Bentsen to assume the position of Treasury Secretary under President Clinton.

???The Saxbe Fix??? may reduce the salary of Secretary of State to previous levels, but it does not affect what is a clear constitutional prohibition. It cannot change the fact that the salary had been increased while Senator Clinton served in Congress. (President Ronald Reagan reportedly did not appoint Senator Orrin Hatch to the Supreme Court because of this provision.) Simply put, the Constitution does not provide for a legislative remedy for the Ineligibility Clause.

???There???s no getting around the Constitution???s Ineligibility Clause, so Hillary Clinton is prohibited from serving in the Cabinet until at least 2013, when her current term expires,??? said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. ???Barack Obama should select someone who is eligible for the position of Secretary of State and save the country from a constitutional battle over Hillary Clinton???s confirmation. No public official who has taken the oath to support and defend the Constitution should support this appointment. And aside from the constitutional issue, Hillary Clinton???s long track record of corruption makes her a terrible choice to serve as the nation???s top diplomat.???

If she's really willing to be the team player she needs to be, then I hope she gets past all that stuff about Bill.

What about the Clintons' past connection (to criminals) like Ya Lin Charlie Trie (Immediately after the donation to Clinton's defense fund, Trie sent a letter to President Clinton that expressed concern about America's intervention in tensions arising from China's military exercises being conducted near Taiwan. Trie told the President in his letter that war with China was a possibility should U.S. intervention continue), Norman Hsu, James Riady, John Huang, and Johnny Chung (bank fraud, tax evasion, and two misdemeanor counts of conspiring to violate election law) and the Clinton's poor judgement in promoting them, sponsoring them, having them to the White House many times, creating potential national security risks, possible conflict of interest (with China) and campaign finance ethics. Why is the Senate Confirmation Committee only concerned with President Bill Clinton's conflict of interest in his Charity Donors and not re Hillary and Bill Clinton's past political donors, obligations to China, and other obligations that may be a conflict to our national security? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_United_States_campaign_finance_controversy

Oh please cut the crap!, do you honestly believe she is the only that has wipe her a** or others are going to wipe her, with any amendment of our Constitution. Get a grip!.

I am glad the she was appointed the secretary of state position. She would have made a good president, a very knowledgeable person, one respected all around the world. Mr. Obama can make speeches, and very good one. But, as far as making the decisions, he surrounded himself with very knowlegeable, poweful staff members that probably will make the final decision for him. Not to take nothing away from Mr. Obama, but I think he is there just to make history. And Hillary, welcome back to the white house. She is the one that is going to run the show. Indirectly of course. As a secreatary of state.

"LET HER BE"? What about that tiny matter of the Constitution that states she is inelibible? I guess the neo cons aren't the only ones above the Constitution!

According to the Ineligibility Clause of the United States Constitution, no member of Congress can be appointed to an office that has benefited from a salary increase during the time that Senator or Representative served in Congress. A January 2008 Executive Order signed by President Bush during Hillary Clinton???s current Senate term increased the salary for Secretary of State, thereby rendering Senator Clinton ineligible for the position.



Specifically, Article I, section 6 of the U.S. Constitution provides ???No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time.???