Executive Order 9216 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 9216—Authorizing the Adjutant General To Execute Certificates of Facts or Events Officially Recorded When it is Contrary to Public Policy to Divulge the Source of Official Knowledge or the Text of the Official Record

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Friday, August 7, 1942

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1 min read (164 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 Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1942-08-07, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Authorizing the Adjutant General To Execute Certificates of Facts or Events Officially Recorded When it is Contrary to Public Policy to Divulge the Source of Official Knowledge or the Text of the Official Record." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

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

▪ Formal executive instruction issued by the President establishing official administrative policy on Authorizing the Adjutant General To Execute Certificates of Facts or Events Officially Recorded When it is Contrary to Public Policy to Divulge the Source of Official Knowledge or the Text of the Official Record.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

164

910 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

24.3

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9216, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Aug 7, 1942). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9216-authorizing-the-adjutant-general-execute-certificates-facts-or-events.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by Article of War 38, Chapter II, act of June 4, 1920, 41 Stat. 759, 794, and as President of the United States, I hereby direct that paragraph 117a, Manual for Courts-Martial, United States Army (1928), be, and it is hereby, amended by adding thereto at the end thereof the following subparagraph: A certificate by The Adjutant General, or one of his assistants, of any fact or event officially recorded in any book, record, paper, or document on file in the War Department or in any of its bureaus or branches, is prima facie evidence of such fact or event in any case in which The Adjutant General, or one of his assistants, shall certify that it is contrary to public policy to divulge the source of official knowledge of such fact or event or to divulge the text of the official record Involved. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, August 7, 1942.