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Executive Order 14114 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.56) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 14114—Taking Additional Steps With Respect to the Russian Federation's Harmful Activities

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Friday, December 22, 2023
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9 min read (1,831 words)
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88 Fed. Reg. 89271

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 9 min read (1,831 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Executive Order 14024 is hereby amended by redesignating section 11 of that order as section 12 and adding a new section 11 to read as follows: " Sec. 11 .

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 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 Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on December 22, 2023, this order concerns Taking Additional Steps With Respect to the Russian Federation's Harmful Activities. Amendments to Executive Order 14024 . Executive Order 14024 is hereby amended by redesignating section 11 of that order as section 12 and adding a new section 11 to read as follows: " Sec. 11 . (a) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and with respect to subsection (a)(ii) of this section, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, is hereby…

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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Executive Order 14024 is hereby amended by redesignating section 11 of that order as section 12 and adding a new section 11 to read as follows: " Sec. 11 .

▪

The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and with respect to subsection (a)(ii) of this section, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, is hereby authorized to impose on a foreign financial institution the sanctions described in subsection (b) of this section, upon determining that the foreign financial institution has: (i) conducted or facilitated any significant transaction or transactions for or on behalf of any person designated pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of this order for operating or having operated in the technology, defense and related materiel, construction, aerospace, or manufacturing sectors of the Russian Federation economy, or other such sectors as may be…

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With respect to any foreign financial institution determined to meet the criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may: (i) prohibit the opening of, or prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintenance of, correspondent accounts or payable-through accounts in the United States; or (ii) block all property and interests in property 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 any United States person of such foreign financial institution, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or…

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I hereby determine that the making of donations of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to subsection (b)(ii) of this section would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by subsection (b)(ii) of this section.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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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 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
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
64 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

High Friction

Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.

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

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

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

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ 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
1,831
11,772 characters
Estimated Read Time
9 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
27.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.56
Constitutional Fidelity
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 .) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq .), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States of America, in view of the Russian Federation's continued use of its military-industrial base to aid its effort to undermine security in countries and regions important to United States national security, including its reliance on the international financial system for the procurement of dual-use and other critical items from third countries, and in order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14024 of April 15, 2021, expanded by Executive Order 14066 of March 8, 2022, and relied on for additional steps taken in Executive Order 14039 of August 20, 2021, Executive Order 14068 of March 11, 2022, and Executive Order 14071 of April 6, 2022, hereby order:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Amendments to Executive Order 14024 . Executive Order 14024 is hereby amended by redesignating section 11 of that order as section 12 and adding a new section 11 to read as follows: "

Sec. 11 . #sec-11

(a) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and with respect to subsection (a)(ii) of this section, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, is hereby authorized to impose on a foreign financial institution the sanctions described in subsection (b) of this section, upon determining that the foreign financial institution has: (i) conducted or facilitated any significant transaction or transactions for or on behalf of any person designated pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of this order for operating or having operated in the technology, defense and related materiel, construction, aerospace, or manufacturing sectors of the Russian Federation economy, or other such sectors as may be determined to support Russia's military-industrial base by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State; or (ii) conducted or facilitated any significant transaction or transactions, or provided any service, involving Russia's military-industrial base, including the sale, supply, or transfer, directly or indirectly, to the Russian Federation of any item or class of items as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce. (b) With respect to any foreign financial institution determined to meet the criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may: (i) prohibit the opening of, or prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintenance of, correspondent accounts or payable-through accounts in the United States; or (ii) block all property and interests in property 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 any United States person of such foreign financial institution, and provide that such property and interests in property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in. (c) The prohibitions in subsection (b) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the date of this order. (d) I hereby determine that the making of donations of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to subsection (b)(ii) of this section would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by subsection (b)(ii) of this section. (e) The prohibitions in subsection (b)(ii) of this section include: (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to subsection (b)(ii) of this section; and (ii) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. (f) For purposes of this section, the term "foreign financial institution" means any foreign entity that is engaged in the business of accepting deposits; making, granting, transferring, holding, or brokering loans or credits; purchasing or selling foreign exchange, securities, futures or options; or procuring purchasers and sellers thereof, as principal or agent. It includes depository institutions; banks; savings banks; money services businesses; operators of credit card systems; trust companies; insurance companies; securities brokers and dealers; futures and options brokers and dealers; forward contract and foreign exchange merchants; securities and commodities exchanges; clearing corporations; investment companies; employee benefit plans; dealers in precious metals, stones, or jewels; and holding companies, affiliates, or subsidiaries of any of the foregoing. The term does not include the international financial institutions identified in 22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(2), the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the North American Development Bank, or any other international financial institution so notified by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.".

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Additional Amendments to Executive Order 14024 . Executive Order 14024 is hereby amended by striking section 7 and inserting, in lieu thereof, the following: "

Sec. 7 . #sec-7

For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 or section 11 of this order.".

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Amendments to Executive Order 14068 . Executive Order 14068 is hereby amended as follows: (a) in section 1, by striking subsection (a)(i) and inserting, in lieu thereof, the following: (i) the importation and entry into the United States, including importation for admission into a foreign trade zone located in the United States, of: (A) the following products of Russian Federation origin: fish, seafood, and preparations thereof; alcoholic beverages; non-industrial diamonds; and any other products of Russian Federation origin, as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce; (B) categories of any of the following products as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, that were mined, extracted, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Russian Federation, or harvested in waters under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation or by Russia-flagged vessels, notwithstanding whether such products have been incorporated or substantially transformed into other products outside of the Russian Federation: fish, seafood, and preparations thereof; diamonds; and any other such products as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security; (C) products containing any of the products subject to the prohibitions of subsections (a)(i)(A)-(B) of this section, as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security; and (D) products subject to the prohibitions of subsections (a)(i)(A)-(C) of this section that transited through or were exported from or by the Russian Federation, as may be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security;"; (b) in section 1, by adding new subsections (c)-(f) to read as follows: "(c) The prohibitions in subsection (a)(i) of this section apply with respect to: (i) products subject to the prohibitions of subsection (a)(i)(A) of this section imported on or after the date of this order or the date specified in any determinations made pursuant to that subsection, unless otherwise specified or authorized; and (ii) products subject to the prohibitions of subsections (a)(i)(B)-(D) of this section imported on or after the date specified in any determinations made pursuant to those subsections, unless otherwise specified or authorized. (d) The Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prescribe rules and regulations to collect, including through an authorized electronic data interchange system as appropriate, any documentation or information as may be necessary to enforce subsections (a)(i)(B)-(D) and (c) of this section as expeditiously as possible."; (c) in section 4, by striking "and" at the end of subsection 4(c), by striking the period at the end of subsection (d) and replacing it with "; and", and by inserting the following new subsection after subsection (d): "(e) the term "diamond" includes any diamonds classifiable under subheadings 7102.10, 7102.31, and 7102.39 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and under any other subheadings of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States specified in determinations made pursuant to section (1)(a)(i) of this order."; and (d) by striking section 5 and inserting, in lieu thereof, the following: "

Sec. 5 . #sec-5

The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, are hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions within the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Homeland Security, respectively. All executive departments and agencies of the United States shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to implement this order.".

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

General Provisions . (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (c) 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 persons. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR. The White House, December 22, 2023.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 14,114, 88 Fed. Reg. 89,271 (Dec. 22, 2023).