Conyers Among Congressmen Suing Obama Over Strikes In Libya
WASHINGTON (WWJ/AP)- A bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers, including Michigan Congressman John Conyers, is suing President Barack Obama for taking military action against Libya without war authorization from Congress.
- John Conyers
The lawmakers say Obama violated the Constitution in bypassing Congress and using international organizations like the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to authorize military force.
The lawmakers want a judge to issue an order suspending military operations without congressional approval. They said they were filing their lawsuit Wednesday against Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
"It's the law," said Conyers, in a statement released Wednesday.
"The President cannot unilaterally take the country to war. The American people have grown weary of open-ended military conflicts that place our troops in harm's way and add billions to our national debt. This is one of the reasons why the President initially limited the scope of our military presence in Libya to exclude the use of American ground troops," Conyers said.
The other plaintiffs are Democratic Reps. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Michael Capuano of Massachusetts and Republican Reps. Walter Jones and Howard Coble of North Carolina, Tim Johnson of Illinois, Dan Burton of Indiana, Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland and Ron Paul of Texas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
