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Executive Order 13761 Amended ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.06) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 13761—Recognizing Positive Actions by the Government of Sudan and Providing for the Revocation of Certain Sudan-Related Sanctions

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Friday, January 13, 2017
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5 min read (1,082 words)
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82 Fed. Reg. 5331

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (1,082 words) • ● Amended
🎯 Primary Mandate

The National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq .), the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201-7211) (TSRA), the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004, as amended (Public Law 108-497) (CPSA), the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-344) (DPAA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, find that the situation that gave rise to the actions taken in Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997, and Executive Order 13412 of October 13, 2006, related to the policies and actions of the Government of Sudan has been altered by Sudan's positive actions over the past 6 months.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President Barack Obama on January 13, 2017, this order concerns Recognizing Positive Actions by the Government of Sudan and Providing for the Revocation of Certain Sudan-Related Sanctions. The National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq .), the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201-7211) (TSRA), the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004, as amended (Public Law 108-497) (CPSA), the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-344) (DPAA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America…

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq .), the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201-7211) (TSRA), the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004, as amended (Public Law 108-497) (CPSA), the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-344) (DPAA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, find that the situation that gave rise to the actions taken in Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997, and Executive Order 13412 of October 13, 2006, related to the policies and actions of the Government of Sudan has been altered by Sudan's positive actions over the past 6 months.

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Given these developments, and in order to see these efforts sustained and enhanced by the Government of Sudan, I hereby order: Section 1 .

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Effective July 12, 2017 and provided the criteria in section 12(b) of this order are met, sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997, are revoked, and Executive Order 13412 of October 13, 2006, is revoked in its entirety.

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The revocation of those provisions of Executive Order 13067 and of Executive Order 13412 shall not affect any violation of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses, or other forms of administrative action under those orders during the period that those provisions were in effect.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
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"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)

Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.

Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
55 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

High Friction

Invokes broad unilateral or emergency executive authorities that test the constitutional boundary of the Take Care Clause.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Moderate Friction

The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.

Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
1,082
6,574 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.5
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.06
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 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 .), the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201-7211) (TSRA), the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004, as amended (Public Law 108-497) (CPSA), the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-344) (DPAA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, find that the situation that gave rise to the actions taken in Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997, and Executive Order 13412 of October 13, 2006, related to the policies and actions of the Government of Sudan has been altered by Sudan's positive actions over the past 6 months. These actions include a marked reduction in offensive military activity, culminating in a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, and steps toward the improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan, as well as cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism. Given these developments, and in order to see these efforts sustained and enhanced by the Government of Sudan, I hereby order:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Effective July 12, 2017 and provided the criteria in section 12(b) of this order are met, sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997, are revoked, and Executive Order 13412 of October 13, 2006, is revoked in its entirety. The revocation of those provisions of Executive Order 13067 and of Executive Order 13412 shall not affect any violation of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses, or other forms of administrative action under those orders during the period that those provisions were in effect.

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Pursuant to section 908(a)(3) of TSRA, I hereby determine that it is in the national security interest of the United States to waive, and hereby waive, the application of section 908(a)(1) of TSRA with respect to Sudan.

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Pursuant to section 6(d) of CPSA, I hereby determine and certify that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive, and hereby waive, the application of sections 6(a) and (b) of CPSA.

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

The function of the President under section 6(c)(1) of CPSA is assigned to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Sec. 5 . #sec-5

The functions of the President under section 6(c)(2) and the last sentence of section 6(d) of CPSA are assigned to the Secretary of State, except that the function of denial of entry is assigned to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Sec. 6 . #sec-6

The function of the President under section 8 of DPAA is assigned to the Secretary of State.

Sec. 7 . #sec-7

The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce are authorized to issue regulations, licenses, and orders, and conduct such investigations as may be necessary, to implement the provisions of section 906 of TSRA.

Sec. 8 . #sec-8

This order is not intended to, and does not, otherwise affect the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997, as expanded in scope by Executive Order 13400 of April 26, 2006, which shall remain in place.

Sec. 9 . #sec-9

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 departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Sec. 10 . #sec-10

On or before July 12, 2017, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and based on a consideration of relevant and credible information from available sources, including nongovernmental organizations, shall provide to the President a report on whether the Government of Sudan has sustained the positive actions that gave rise to this order, including carrying out its pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan; continued improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan; and maintaining its cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism. As much of the report as possible, consistent with sources and methods, shall be unclassified and made public.

Sec. 11 . #sec-11

(a) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and based on a consideration of relevant and credible information from available sources, including nongovernmental organizations, shall provide to the President an updated version of the report required in section 10 of this order annually thereafter. As much of the report as possible, consistent with sources and methods, shall be unclassified and made public. To the extent a report concludes that the Government of Sudan has or has not sustained the positive actions that gave rise to this order, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, shall provide to the President recommendations on appropriate U.S. Government responses. (b) Concurrent with the provision of the reports required in section 11(a) of this order, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, shall publish a notice in the Federal Register stating whether the Government of Sudan has sustained the positive actions that gave rise to this order.

Sec. 12 . #sec-12

(a) This order is effective on January 13, 2017, except for sections 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this order; (b) Sections 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this order are effective on July 12, 2017, provided that the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, has published a notice in the Federal Register on or before that date, stating that the Government of Sudan has sustained the positive actions that gave rise to this order and that the Secretary of State has provided to the President the report described in section 10 of this order. BARACK OBAMA The White House, January 13, 2017.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,761, 82 Fed. Reg. 5331 (Jan. 13, 2017).