Law of the Executive Branch

The scope of presidential authority has been a constant focus of constitutional dispute since the Framing. The bases for presidential appointment and removal, the responsibility of the Executive to choose between the will of Congress and the President, the extent of unitary powers over the military, even the ability of the President to keep secret the identity of those consulted in policy making decisions have all been the subject of intense controversy. The scope ofthat power and the manner of its exercise affect not only the actions of the President and the White House staff, but also all staff employed by the executive agencies. There is a clear need to examine the law of the entire executive branch.The Law of the Executive Branch: Presidential Power, places the law of the executive branch firmly in the context of constitutional language, framers' intent, and more than two centuries of practice. In this book, Louis Fisher strives to separate legitimate from illegitimate sources of power, through analysis that is informed by litigation as well as shaped by presidential initiatives, statutory policy, judicial interpretations, and public and international pressures. Each provision ofthe US Constitution is analyzed to reveal its contemporary meaning in concert with the application of presidential power. Controversial issues covered in the book include: unilateral presidential wars; the state secrets privilege; extraordinary rendition; claims of "inherent" presidential powers that may notbe checked by other branches; and executive privilege.

Louis Fisher's work has for many years been indispensable to me while I served in Congress. His superb scholarship on the separation of powers and the encroachment of the imperial presidency will be ever more valued when the history of our era is written. With the publication of The Law of the Executive Branch: Presidential Power , Dr. Fisher makes an enormous contribution to the study of the presidency. The book is a masterwork of scholarship, a remarkable milestone in a remarkable career. We all owe him an enormous debt of gratitude.

Louis Fisher is Scholar in Residence at the Constitution Project. Previously he worked for four decades at the Library of Congress as Senior Specialist in Separation of Powers (Congressional Research Service, from 1970 to 1996); and Specialist in Constitutional Law (Law Library, from 2006 to 2010). During his service with CRS he was research director of the House Iran-Contra Committee in 1987, writing major sections of the final report. Dr. Fisherhas authored 20 books, almost 500 articles, and hundreds of reports. Dr. Fisher has been invited to testify before Congress nearly 50 times on such issues as war powers, state secrets privilege, NSA surveillance, executive spending discretion, presidential reorganization authority, Congress and the Constitution, the legislative veto, the item veto, the Gramm-Rudman deficit control act, executive privilege, executive lobbying, CIA whistleblowing, covert spending, the pocket veto, and recess appointments.