Executive Order 13475 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23)

Executive Order 13475—Further Amendments to Executive Orders 12139 and 12949 in Light of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008

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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

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2 min read (350 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 W. Bush on 2008-10-07, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Further Amendments to Executive Orders 12139 and 12949 in Light of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: An early statesman would view this measure favorably under Article II, Section 3 (the Take Care Clause). The President operates strictly within the ambit of executing established laws and supervising departmental subordinates, respecting the supremacy of the legislative branch without fabricating novel statutory obligations.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ Section 1-103 of Executive Order 12139 of May 23, 1979, as amended, is further amended by: (a) striking "(7)" each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof "(6)"; (b) adding after subsection (h) "(i) Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."; and (c) by adding after the sentence that begins "None of the above officials .

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Total Words

350

2,046 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.23

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13475, George W. Bush (Oct 7, 2008). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-13475-further-amendments-executive-orders-12139-and-12949-light-the.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 104 and 303 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), as amended by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-261), it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Section 1-103 of Executive Order 12139 of May 23, 1979, as amended, is further amended by: (a) striking "(7)" each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof "(6)"; (b) adding after subsection (h) "(i) Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."; and (c) by adding after the sentence that begins "None of the above officials . . .", a new sentence to read "The requirement of the preceding sentence that the named official must be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate does not apply to the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Sec. 2. Section 3 of Executive Order 12949 of February 9, 1995, as amended, is further amended by: (a) striking "(7)" each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof "(6)"; (b) striking "and" at the end of subsection (g); (c) striking the period at the end of subsection (h) and inserting in lieu thereof "; and"; (d) adding after subsection (h) "(i) Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."; and (e) by adding after the sentence that begins "None of the above officials . . .", a new sentence to read "The requirement of the preceding sentence that the named official must be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate does not apply to the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Sec. 3. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. George W. Bush The White House, October 7, 2008.