Congress and an Unchecked Presidency

In theory, in a political system designed by its founders to rein in the abuse of power, any president inclined to authorize the torture and inhumane treatment of wartime detainees would find substantial obstacles standing in the way. Notwithstanding the various options for constraining presidential power, it seems uncontroversial to assert that, at some point and in some way, checking a president bent upon violating the law will require the intervention of the mainstays of the system of checks and balances—either Congress or the Supreme Court, if not both. The Constitution provides Congress with substantial authority to monitor and