Iran Deal Isn’t Legally Valid But That Won’t Stop Democrats

Today, the last pieces fell into place for the administration’s effort to shove a dangerous Iran nuclear deal down the throats of a reluctant Congress and American people. With the announcements of three more Democrats that they would support the pact, President Obama can now count on 41 votes in the Senate. That means not only can a veto of a resolution of disapproval be sustained but that it is entirely likely that the Democrats will filibuster the vote altogether, ultimately denying Congress the right to vote on the measure that they gave themselves with the passage of the Corker-Cardin bill. Nevertheless, some critics of the deal are pointing out a legal technicality that ought to render the entire vote count moot.

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As Rep. Mike Pompeo and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ David Rivkin pointed out in a Washington Post op-ed over the weekend, the 60-day period for review of the deal that was supposedly triggered in July should not have actually started. Since the administration refused to divulge to Congress the contents of a side deal between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency his implementation of the agreement is illegal.

Pompeo and Rivkin are right. The terms of the Iran Nuclear Review Act of 2015 sponsored by Senators Bob Corker and Ben Cardin clearly stated that the entire deal, including any “side agreements, implementing materials, documents, and guidance, technical or other understandings, and any related agreements, whether entered into or implemented prior to the agreement or to be entered into or implemented in the future” must be submitted to Congress. But the president has not done so. The Iran-IAEA agreement dealing with how the UN watchdog agency will get information about Iran’s past work on possible military dimensions (PMD) of their nuclear program has been kept secret.

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Read the full article here.