Power Play: The Bush Presidency and the Constitution

Many presidents have sought to expand the scope of executive power, but the administration of George W. Bush arguably has done so in exceptional ways: It has denied the writ of habeas corpus to individuals deemed to be enemy combatants; It has suspended the Geneva Convention and allowed or encouraged the use of harsh interrogation methods amounting to torture; It has ordered the surveillance of Americans without obtaining warrants as required by law; It has issued signing statements implying that the president does not have the duty to faithfully execute hundreds of provisions of laws he has signed. Power Play analyses the Bush presidency’s efforts to expand executive power in these four domains and puts them into constitutional and historical perspective.