How Biden undermined and flouted the Taylor Force Act
A suit was filed against Biden and Blinken seeking to enforce the Taylor Force Act. The Court denied the Government’s motion to dismiss the action. What happens now is crucial. Op-ed.
It’s been more than one and a half years since Congressman Dr. Ronny Jackson, Stuart and Robbi Force (parents of Stuart Force) and Sarri Singer filed an action against President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken seeking to enforce the Taylor Force Act (22 USC 2378c-1).
The Act is named in memory of Taylor Force ob”m. He was an American war veteran, who was murdered by a Palestinian Arab terrorist, while visiting Israel. The Palestinian Authority (PA) awarded the terrorist’s family a stipend for his successful homicidal efforts, under its ‘Pay to Slay’ program.
Sarri Singer is an American survivor of a suicide bombing by a Palestinian Arab terrorist of a Jerusalem bus that killed 17. The PA also makes Pay to Slay payments to that terrorist’s family.
The Taylor Force Act, in summary, requires cutting of funding available for assistance for the ‘West Bank’ and Gaza (outside of three limited and expressly provided exceptions for humanitarian purposes not here at issue) that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority (PA), so long as the PA continues its despicable Pay to Slay program.
Pursuant to the Act, the Trump administration did in fact make cuts to aid payments.
As shocking as it may seem, the Biden Administration restored and even increased the funding, in flagrant violation of the Act. Under the Act, such funding is illegal unless the Secretary of State certifies in writing to the appropriate Congressional Committees that, among other things, the PA, PLO and any successor or affiliated organizations are taking credible steps to end acts of violence against US and Israeli citizens, have terminated Pay to Slay payments and revoked or invalidated any law or decree providing for the same.
The Secretary was unable so to certify because it would have been flatly untrue.
The Biden administration responded to the action by moving to dismiss the Complaint arguing, among other things, that Plaintiffs had no standing to bring the case. Standing is a highly technical requirement that is often invoked by the Government, as a threshold jurisdictional issue, to prevent a private action from being pursued to enforce federal law, without having to address the substance and merits of the case.
While the Court did dismiss the Complaint in part, it preserved the basic claim, ruling that the Plaintiffs had standing and had a plausible claim. The Court found:
(1) Defendants plausibly violated statutory authority and
(2) Plaintiffs had standing to challenge those alleged violations because they faced an increased risk of harm in traveling to Israel-harm that was “reasonably tied to Defendants and redressable by the relief sought”.
Plaintiffs then sought and obtained leave of the Court for expedited and limited discovery.
The documentary evidence obtained was staggering, it not only showed non-compliance with the Taylor Force Act; but also implicated a likely violation of the US anti-terrorism laws (18 USC 2339B).
Then, the horrendous events of October 7, 2023, occurred when Hamas committed sadistic murders, rapes, kidnappings and atrocities against US citizens, Israeli citizens and others. This reportedly included the murder of 45 Americans and kidnapping of 12 Americans (8 are still being held hostage, although only 5 are said to be alive).
Once again, the PA rewarded the perpetrators with Pay to Slay payments.
In light of all of the foregoing, the Plaintiffs sought and were granted leave to amend their Complaint, in March of 2024. It was then amended to include reference to October 7th and a claim was added dealing with payments to UNRWA, whose employees had been found to have participated in the October 7th massacre and are also alleged to have diverted funding to Hamas, a US designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The Biden Administration again moved to dismiss and the Court denied the motion on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Yet, despite it all, the Biden Administration continues brazenly to flout the Taylor Force Act and has even announced it is providing additional funding to the PA prohibited under the Act. All this while the PA continues flagrantly to violate the express conditions to funding provided under the Act. Besides being illegal, it is unfathomable why this miscreant behavior of the PA continues to be rewarded. If anything, the penalties should have been redoubled, including enlisting the EU and others to cease directly or indirectly funding the PA, until the Pay to Slay program was finally and truly ended.
Astoundingly, it is reported and the amended Complaint mentions, the Biden administration State Department admitted, in a non-public report to Congress, that the PA had not ended Pay to Slay and that it could not therefore certify compliance with the Act. Nevertheless, this did not result in a suspension of any further payments of aid money. This does not seem to be some inadvertent oversight or error. Rather, it appears to be a conscious policy to ignore the Taylor Force Act. Frankly speaking, it is inexcusable and immoral. It is tantamount to the condoning of this notorious program.
It is also important to note that the heinous Pay to Slay program is not a matter of executive fiat; it is actually embodied in PA law, a flagrant and egregious violation of the Oslo Accords, which explicitly provide: “Both sides shall take all measures necessary in order to prevent acts of terrorism, crime and hostilities directed against each other, against individuals falling under the other’s authority and against their property, and shall take legal measures against offenders.”
In essence, not only is the PA not preventing these horrendous acts it is actually encouraging and rewarding them. This includes honoring the murderous terrorists.
The Anti Terrorism Law-PLO (22 USC 5201, et seq.) and Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (120 Stat. 3318) also require limitations on aid and provide for other restrictions, unless the President or State Department, as the case may be, furnish certifications every six months that, among other things, the PA is adhering to the Oslo Accords. The fact is the PA has materially breached the Oslo Accords in a number of significant respects that go to the very heart of the agreement. This includes, but is not limited to, its cynical failure to root out terrorism.
In a republic like the US this kind of disdain for the law by government officials, seemingly without consequence should be inconceivable; yet, apparently, it is not. The apparent prevalence of this disdain for fully complying with the spirit and – it appears – even the letter of the law is appalling. The seeming impotence in the face of what amounts to a tyrannical exercise of executive power cynically flouting laws duly passed by Congress is one of the evils our Constitutional system of government was designed to eradicate.
Under Article I of the Constitution, there is a separation of powers. The power of the purse was reserved to Congress. The remedy for those in Government who may disagree with a law is to seek to change it, not to undermine or evade it.
However, it is unacceptable for a person or Department in the Executive Branch unilaterally to disregard the sacred responsibility of enforcing and/or complying with a law, because of a disagreement with the law or the policies it promotes. This should be an issue of profound concern to everyone, no matter the party or affiliation.
This is particularly galling in light of the magnificent bipartisan effort that led to the passage of the Taylor Force Act, which reflects policies that received overwhelming bipartisan support. In effect, a few people, who think they know better than everyone else or are guided by some compulsive commitment to ideological purity that demeans the wisdom of others and the will of the people, are unilaterally pursuing their own private policies.
Instead of doing what is just and right, they are promoting an immoral policy condoning and effectively financing the murder of innocent Americans, Israelis and others. Whatever virtuous sounding slogans they may declare about their desire to promote peace, the facts belie their presumptuous and specious assertions and they bear responsibility for the untoward outcome. By funding evil, peace is not being encouraged; it is only emboldening the wrongdoers. Those acting to effectuate this perversion of the law are, in essence, complicit in the ensuing despicable terrorist actions of Hamas and the wicked Pay to Slay program of the PA.
Congress must employ its power of the purse to defund those violating or failing to enforce these laws. It appears that in the current highly charged partisan atmosphere, the Department of Justice cannot be counted on to enforce the law against a member of the Executive Branch. It’s time to establish an independent special counsel’s office that is empowered to enforce these laws. Private actions should also be facilitated, by expressly providing for the same. Why shouldn’t any taxpayer or member of Congress be able to bring an action to enforce these laws?
Enforce the Taylor Force Act and other anti-terrorism laws. Terrorists must not be permitted to murder Americans, Israelis or others with impunity. May G-d protect us all.
