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Executive Order 12722 Constitutional Friction / Overreach (-0.19)

Executive Order 12722—Blocking Iraqi Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Iraq

George Bush George Bush
•
Thursday, August 2, 1990
•
4 min read (718 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President George Bush on 1990-08-02, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Blocking Iraqi Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Iraq." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: An early statesman would subject this decree to rigorous scrutiny under Article I, Section 8. The Framers deliberately committed commerce, taxation, tariffs, and revenue to Congress alone. To the extent this order imposes duties or financial burdens without explicit statutory pre-authorization, it creates friction with the separation of powers.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that the policies and actions of the Government of Iraq constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.
▪ All property and interests in property of the Government of Iraq, its agencies, instrumentalities and controlled entities and the Central Bank of Iraq that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, including their overseas branches, are hereby blocked.
▪ The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Order.
▪ This Order shall be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
Total Words
718
4,455 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
22.5
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
-0.19
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 12722, George Bush (Aug 2, 1990). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12722-blocking-iraqi-government-property-and-prohibiting-transactions-with.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By the authority vested in me as President by the constitution and laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the National Emergencies Act(50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code. I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that the policies and actions of the Government of Iraq constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. I hereby order: Section 1. All property and interests in property of the Government of Iraq, its agencies, instrumentalities and controlled entities and the Central Bank of Iraq that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, including their overseas branches, are hereby blocked. Section 2. The following are prohibited, except to the extent provided in regulations whch may hereafter be issued pursuant to this Order: (a) The import into the United States of any goods or services of Iraqi origin, other than publications and other informational materials; (b) The export to Iraq of any goods, technology (including technical data or other information controlled for export pursuant to Section 5 of the Export administration Act or services from the United States, except publications and other informational materials, and donations of articles articles intended to relieve human suffering, such as food, clothing, medicine and medical supplies intended strictly for medical purposes; (c) Any transaction by a United States person relating to transportation to or from Iraq; the provision of transportation to or from the United states by any Iraqi person or any vessel or aircraft of Iraqi registration; or the sale in the United States by any person holding authority under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended of any transportation by air which includes any stop in Iraq; (d) The purchase by any United States person of goods for export from Iraq to any country; (e) The performance by any United States person of any contract in support of an industrial or other commercial or governmental project in Iraq; (f) The grant or extension of credits or loans by any United States person to the Government of Iraq, its instrumentalities and controlled entities; (g) Any transaction by the United States person relating to travel by any United States citizen or permanent resident alien to Iraq, or to activities by any such person within Iraq, after the date of this Order, other than transactions necessary to effect such person's departure from Iraq, or travel for journalistic activity by persons regularly employed in such capacity by a newsgathering organization; and (h) Any transaction by the United States person which evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, any of the prohibitions set forth int his Order. For purposes of this Order, the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, juridical person organized under the laws of the United States, or any person in the United States. Section 3. This Order is effective immediately. Section 4. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Order. Such actions may include prohibiting or regulating payments or transfers of any property or any transactions involving the transfer of anything of economic value by any United States person to the Government of Iraq, its instrumentalities and controlled entities, or to any Iraqi national or entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by Iraq or Iraqi nationals. The Secretary may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the Federal government. All agencies of the United States government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this Order, including the suspension or termination of licenses or other authorizations in effect as of the date of this Order. This Order shall be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register. George Bush The White House, August 2, 1990.