Obama gives Interpol free hand in U.S.UPDATE from the New York Times: “Obama administration and Interpol officials say the fears and accusations are based on a misunderstanding of how Interpol works and about the context and impact of the order, which was issued on Dec. 17 without any public explanation.” More from ABC’s Jake Tapper. ______________________________ Washington Examiner Editorial: “First, Obama has granted Interpol the ability to operate within the territorial limits of the United States without being subject to the same constitutional restraints that apply to all domestic law enforcement agencies such as the FBI. Second, Obama has exempted Interpol’s domestic facilities — including its office within the U.S. Department of Justice — from search and seizure by U.S. authorities and from disclosure of archived documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by U.S. citizens.” Orin Kerr at The Volokh Conspiracy: “The only INTERPOL office in the U.S. that I know of is the one in the DOJ run by DOJ’s Interpol-U.S. National Central Bureau. That office helps U.S. law enforcement get records from abroad and that sort of stuff. But I don’t even know if that office counts as INTERPOL’s ‘property.’ Even if that space counts as INTERPOL property, I’m not sure why it matters if the U.S. Government can execute a law enforcement search of that one office in DOJ. The purpose of INTERPOL is to share data among governments, so I don’t know if the U.S. would need to execute a ‘search’ to get that data.” Andrew McCarthy at the Corner, National Review Online: “Interpol works closely with international tribunals (such as the International Criminal Court — which the United States has refused to join because of its sovereignty surrendering provisions, though top Obama officials want us in it). It also works closely with foreign courts and law-enforcement authorities (such as those in Europe that are investigating former Bush administration officials for purported war crimes — i.e., for actions taken in America’s defense).” More from Threats Watch. Reference: Executive Order — Amending Executive Order 12425 | Executive Order 12425 of June 16, 1983 | United States International Organizations Immunities Act
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