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US axes website for reporting human rights abuses by US-armed foreign forces

(www.bbc.com)
763 points tartoran | 3 comments | 23 Oct 25 14:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.78s | source
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mikeyouse ◴[23 Oct 25 14:35 UTC] No.45682307[source]▶
> Tim Rieser, former senior aide to Senator Leahy who wrote the 2011 amendment mandating information gathering, told the BBC the gateway's removal meant the State Department was "clearly ignoring the law".

We're in a really bad place... with a servile congress, it turns out there aren't really any laws constraining the executive branch. When everything relies on "independent IGs" for law enforcement inside executive branch departments, and the President can fire them all without consequence or oversight, then it turns out there is no law.

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softwaredoug ◴[23 Oct 25 15:47 UTC] No.45683230[source]▶
TBH The Right in the US has such a structural advantage, that Congress's silence becomes de-facto acceptance. Congress choosing to not do oversight becomes a de-facto repeal of the law.

The only other option is to find someone with standing being harmed and sue. And that will take time to wind through the courts, with not great chances at SCOTUS.

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rayiner ◴[23 Oct 25 15:53 UTC] No.45683312[source]▶
> Congress's silence becomes de-facto acceptance. Congress choosing to not do oversight becomes a de-factor repeal of the law.

Yes, but why is that surprising? If a majority of any legislature doesn't care to see a law enforced, they could vote to repeal the law anyway. It's only because of the artifice of the filibuster in the U.S. system that there's a meaningful difference between those two things.

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1. softwaredoug ◴[23 Oct 25 16:05 UTC] No.45683485[source]▶
I agree, I'm not sure it is surprising.

(there would be tremendous oversight if the GOP was in power in Congress, and the President was a Dem)

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2. titzer ◴[23 Oct 25 16:12 UTC] No.45683580[source]▶
"oversight"

Like the Benghazi and Hunter Biden investigations. In other words, sideshows.

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3. walkabout ◴[23 Oct 25 16:18 UTC] No.45683659[source]▶
One nice thing about pointless witch hunts that go nowhere despite enormous efforts is that you can be sure a much-quicker process ending with something like actual consequences would ensue if there were real criminality to investigate.

If all they can come up with is bullshit, things must be going ok, and if they’re committed to pursuing bullshit, odds are good they’d be thrilled to find something real to attack, if they could. Similar deal with Republican election complaints: if they don’t bother to investigate when they can, or find nothing substantial when they do, those concerns can be safely dismissed, which is nice.