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Texas AG Threatens To Arrest U.N. Elections Observers

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Inuyasha
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01 Nov 2012, 8:16 pm

visagrunt wrote:
eric76 wrote:
In the United States there are Constitutional limits on the Federal Government that keep it from being all powerful. The Federal Government cannot legally just make any decision they want and force the states to abide by that decision.

There is nothing in the Constitution that gives Federal Government the jurisdiction over Texas state elections that would permit them to force Texas to change its laws to allow foreign election observers.


Nobody ever suggested that they could. What the federal government can do, is prohibit states from arresting and prosecuting representatives of foreign states and international organizations.

The issue isn't whether Texas (or Iowa) can say to foreign representatives, "keep out!" It's whether the Attorney General of Texas can make good on his threat of arrest and prosecution.

Empty rehetoric to appeal to the ignorant.


Actually, I think the Attorney General of Texas as well as the one from Iowa, are more than willing to challenge the Feds on this one.



eric76
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01 Nov 2012, 8:27 pm

It appears that the election observers DO NOT have diplomatic immunity and that Texas might be able to legally arrest the observers if they break Texas law:

http://wireupdate.com/texas-warns-election-monitors-to-abide-by-state-law-or-face-arrest.html

Quote:
In Washington, D.C. earlier on Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the OSCE's observation mission for next week's election is no different from previous elections. She said the U.S. government provides "certain privileges and immunities" but not diplomatic immunity for OSCE observers, but it remains unclear whether Texas authorities could arrest the parliamentarians if they break local laws.