PUNCHING BACK: Sen. Ted Cruz is introducing legislation to fine the State Department for its failure to release a report on Iran.

The Obama administration was legally obligated to release a full report outlining the state of Iranian human rights by Feb. 25 but has so far declined to do so.

Cruz and other senators petitioned the State Department in May to comply with federal law compelling the report’s public release.

“That report was due by law on February 25,” Cruz told the Washington Free Beacon in an interview. “The Obama State Department simply ignored the law. They refused to produce the report. Months have gone by and they continue to refuse to produce the report.”

Angered by this delay, Cruz is gearing up to file legislation this week that would fine the State Department 5 percent of its budget for every 30 days it postpones releasing the report, according to a copy of the bill viewed by the Free Beacon.

Obama would veto the bill if it ever passed both chambers. But it’s at least an attempt to use the power of the purse to punch back and gain some leverage with this recalcitrant Administration.

Sadly, this is just another example of the Obama Administration ignoring federal law, as it did with the Bowe Bergdahl swap for the Taliban 5, and a whole host of other instances. Ignoring Congress–including the laws it has passed–has become the defining characteristic of the Obama presidency.