Executive Order 9660 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 9660—Conferring Certain Authority Upon the Chief of Counsel in the Preparation and Prosectution of Charges of War Crimes Against the Major Leaders of Japan and Their Principal Agents and Accessories

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Thursday, November 29, 1945

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1 min read (279 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 Harry S Truman on 1945-11-29, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Conferring Certain Authority Upon the Chief of Counsel in the Preparation and Prosectution of Charges of War Crimes Against the Major Leaders of Japan and Their Principal Agents and Accessories." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

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

▪ The Chief of Counsel shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be authorized by the Secretary of War.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Total Words

279

1,660 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

19.7

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9660, Harry S Truman (Nov 29, 1945). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9660-conferring-certain-authority-upon-the-chief-counsel-the-preparation.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes as President of the United States and as Commander in Chief of the Army and the Navy, and to enable Joseph B. Keenan, as Chief of Counsel in the preparation and prosecution of charges of war crimes against the major leaders of Japan and their principal agents and accessories (hereinafter referred to as Chief of Counsel), to perform effectively his functions and duties, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. The Chief of Counsel is authorized to select and recommend to the President or to the head of any executive department, independent establishment, or other federal agency, necessary personnel to assist him in the performance of his duties. The head of each executive department, independent establishment, and other federal agency is authorized to assist the Chief of Counsel in the performance of his duties and to employ such personnel and make such expenditures, within the limits of the appropriations now or hereafter available for the purpose, as the Chief of Counsel may deem necessary for the accomplishment of his duties, and to make available, assign, or detail for duty with the Chief of Counsel such members of the armed forces and other personnel as may be requested by the Chief of Counsel. 2. The Chief of Counsel shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be authorized by the Secretary of War. 3. The Chief of Counsel is authorized to cooperate with, and to receive the assistance of, any foreign Government to the extent deemed necessary by him for the accomplishment of his duties. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, November 29, 1945