BREAKING: Congress Is Suckers

Close the door. Have a seat.
(AP photo)

Now it’s Congress’s turn to get Lando’d:

The Iran nuclear agreement includes two secret side deals covering a key Iranian military site and other past arms activities, according to two lawmakers who are demanding that Congress be granted access to the documents.

The secret agreements were reached between Iran and the International Atomic Energy (IAEA) on Tehran’s past nuclear arms work and are a central component of the Vienna accord reached by Iran, the United States, and five other states.

A key part of the nuclear agreement requires Iran to disclose all military nuclear arms work before international sanctions are lifted. The IAEA has until December to report on the past military activities.

Rep. Mike Pompeo, (R., Kan.), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee, said in an interview he first learned of the secret side deals by questioning IAEA officials.

Pompeo, who first revealed the agreements along with Sen. Tom Cotton, (R., Ark.), said there may be additional secret pacts the Obama administration has not disclosed to Congress as required by legislation covering congressional review of the Iran nuclear agreement.

Congress has been off-loaded its legislative responsibilities to the Executive branch for decades, effectively enabling the bureaucracy to write it’s own legislation filling out what Congress “intended” to do with vague, wish-list laws. Why? So that Congress doesn’t have to make so many tough choices which could impair congresscritters’ ability to get reelected. (See also: The Roberts Court) As a result, the Executive branch does more or less as it damn well pleases.

Now Congress has off-loaded its treaty power to the Executive, and is now somehow shocked, shocked to learn that the Executive branch is doing whatever it damn well pleases.