Interpol gets immunity

[Kevin and 10]

http://www.newmediajournal.us/the_fifth_column/12222009.htm

The Fifth Column

Obama Extends Diplomatic Immunity to Interpol by Executive Order

The New Media Journal

President Obama has issued an amendment to Executive Order 12425, designating the international law enforcement agency Interpol as a "public international organization," thus extending diplomatic immunity to the law enforcement group

The amendment to the Executive Order -- which does not need to be put to the senatorial test of "advise and consent" -- reads:

"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288), and in order to extend the appropriate privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 12425 of June 16, 1983, as amended, is further amended by deleting from the first sentence the words "except those provided by Section 2©, Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of that Act" and the semicolon that immediately precedes them."

The text of Section 2©, which now applies to Interpol states:

"© Property and assets of international organizations, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from search, unless such immunity be expressly waived, and from confiscation. The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable."

Because of this move by the Obama Administration any and all Interpol offices in the United States cannot be searched due to its status as a diplomatically protected organization. It's offices are considered sovereign and its files are not subject to legal request, be it by subpoena or discovery.

The website ObamaFile.com notes, "If any branch of government wants to keep documents out of the hands of the US court system, just hand them over to Interpol until the smoke clears." It added that Interpol can maintain files on US citizens.

Diplomatic immunity, usually reserved for those who work at diplomatic missions throughout the United States, exempts persons and offices directly connected to foreign governments from being subject to search and seizure by law enforcement. It exempts said entities from US taxes and extends this protection to immunity from FOIA requests.

The amendment to Executive Order 12425, signed by Obama on December 17, 2009, declared Interpol records immune from search and seizure, "The archives of international organizations shall be inviolable."

By virtue of this declaration, any information that Interpol may have on political operatives or elected officials in the US -- including SEIU president Andy Stern, domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and President Obama himself -- would be immune from any attempts to bring the information to light.

Editor's Note: How convenient.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Editor's Note: How convenient.

I don't get that part. How is it convenient? I don't agree with diplomatic immunity per se, but I don't see how it should not be applied to Interpol as it is currently written.