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Judicial Watch Announces Hillary Clinton Constitutionally Ineligible to Serve as Secretary of State
Ineligibility Clause of Constitution Prohibits Clinton Appointment
| Source: Judicial Watch
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - December 2, 2008) - 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 Bensen 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 Orin 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."
Visit www.judicialwatch.org for more information on Judicial Watch's
campaign against government corruption.