Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror (Paperback)

~ Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr. (Author), Aziz Z. Huq (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though another book criticizing the Bush presidency is of questionable necessity, Schwarz (Nigeria: The Tribes, the Nation, or the Race) and first-time author Huq, both of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, offer a clear look at what history has to say regarding controversial decisions made by the current administration. Covering "what went wrong," "why untrammeled executive power" is bad for America and what can be done "to reestablish the checks and balances that define our government," this call for transparency and accountability has a satisfying reach and focus. The first section traces abuse of presidential power throughout the Cold War, particularly in regard to intelligence communities. The second section demonstrates how efforts to correct that abuse were tragically reversed following 9/11, resulting in an executive branch that enacts policies of questionable legality in the name of fighting terrorists. The third section takes those policies to task, holding them up to the light of the Constitution, but ultimately just keeps hitting the same note. The authors' conclusion doesn't propose much of a plan for saving the republic, but the essential ingredient-citizens who demand more oversight, less obfuscation and greater access to information-should get a smart, historically adept kickstart here.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

The single best account of the current executive branch's grab for power, with a new introduction on recent developments.

The abuses of the Bush White House—old news? Far from it. The work of the next administration will be to undo the damage that's been done, and this book will be the guide. As chief counsel to the Church Committee investigating executive branch abuses in the early 1970s, Fritz Schwarz is uniquely qualified to comment on the current administration's power grab.

Called a "masterly account of the roots of contemporary executive over-reaching" by former vice president Walter Mondale, Unchecked and Unbalanced puts our current political situation in historical perspective. A new introduction written for this paperback edition looks at the steps a new administration will need to take to restore the checks and balances of American government.

Schwarz (whom Bob Herbert of the New York Times described as one of America's "quiet patriots") and his co-author Aziz Huq, director of the Liberty and National Security Project at the Brennan Center, find today's abuses of a different, more frightening magnitude than those of the past. Whereas previous presidents and their staffs have sought to hide actions outside the law, this administration has instead sought publicly to justify NSA domestic spying, torture, rendition, and black sites through contorted and flawed legal reasoning ultimately designed to create a monarchical presidency.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: New Press (May 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595583475
• ISBN-13: 978-1595583475
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #798,018 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The right people to ring the alarm bells, May 6, 2007

By	Jesse Liberty "Silverlight Geek" (MA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror (Hardcover)

Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr. is senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He was chief counsel to the Church Committee. Aziz Z. Huq is associate counsel at the Brennan Center and previously clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court. This is a book you will not be able to put down, in which they demonstrate and document how the Bush administration has gone further than Nixon or Reagan ever dreamed to create a monarchical presidency with the acquiescence of a complicit Congress and a cowed judiciary.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Responsibly Written - Well Researched, May 23, 2007

By	Bob From New York "bookgroupbooks" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror (Hardcover)

The authors documents how the Bush Administration, in an effort to fight terrorism, has side-stepped the constitution, circumvented the Geneva Convention, and broken countless other laws. The authors describe how the net result is an erosion of the moral character of America, which, in the long run, is counterproductive in the war on terror.

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A Republic, If You Can Keep It", July 9, 2007

By	Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror (Hardcover)

Benjamin Franklin, when asked what type of government we had created, is said to have replied, "A republic, if you can keep it." "Unchecked and Unbalanced" shows why America is in danger of being transformed into a monarchy by the Bush Administration, reporting how this new theory of unchecked presidential power developed and why it is wrong. The authors also contend that the theory is not a response to 9/11, but long nurtured by Cheney and his assistant David Addington from at least the days of the Iran-Contra investigation, and even followed (to a much lesser extent) by Bill Clinton.

Executive branch lawyers now describe an ongoing (not just emergency) power to set aside legal checks imposed by Congress and to even act when Congress is silent. This authority extends to treaties as well, and at least one Office of Legal Council (OLC) leader claims coverage of judicial decisions as well.

Lincoln acted early on at the start of the Civil war without Congressional authorization, and even ignored an order by the Chief Justice. The difference between Lincoln and Bush is that Lincoln did not do so on an on-going basis, sought subsequent approval, and did not act in secret.

"Unchecked and Unbalanced" provides rationale for concluding that OLC's conclusions are wrong; it also asserts that the OLC claims were developed without adherence to professional obligations - eg. they failed to identify, let alone respond to, weaknesses in their legal arguments, and failed to mention key Supreme Court cases.

Finally, to protect our republic, the authors recommend Congress hold hearings and act, and that the Supreme Court follow suit. Unfortunately this is made difficult by executive branch supervision of intelligence gathering and distribution.