In an interesting turn of events, John Brennan was sworn in as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Friday — with a Constitution sans Bill of Rights.
When Brennan swore he would uphold the laws of the Constitution, he was not swearing on any of the amendments, specifically the Fifth Amendment, the very amendment Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was fighting to protect during his filibuster to block the vote on Brennan’s nomination for CIA director.
Just two days before Brennan was sworn in, Paul spoke for almost 13 hours on the unconstitutionality of killing an U.S. citizen who does not pose an imminent threat on U.S. soil with a drone because it violates the Fifth Amendment.
The Fifth Amendment reads:
Brennan specifically asked for a copy of the Constitution from the National Archives and the one chosen was the original draft dating back to 1787, so the Bill of Rights would not have been included for another four years.
“Director Brennan told the President that he made the request to the archives because he wanted to reaffirm his commitment to the rule of law as he took the oath of office as director of the CIA,” Josh Earnest, White House Deputy Press Secretary explained during a briefing.
Brennan may not have considered the absence of the Bill of Rights and its significance, but hopefully this will not be an omen of what’s to come.
