Ted Cruz Issues His Fourth Report Alleging Obama Abuses Power

Sen. Ted Cruz unveiled the fourth in his series of reports on what he has called the Obama administration's abuses of power – an issue that has dominated the freshman lawmaker's 16 months in Congress.

Appearing before the Federalist Society in Washington, Cruz, a Texas Republican, cited 76 instances of the administration's overstepping its constitutional authority, ranging from Obamacare to Benghazi.

"The president's taste for unilateral action to circumvent Congress should concern every citizen, regardless of party or ideology," Cruz warned.

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Cruz's office told Breitbart the issue is "extremely important to Sen. Cruz."

"He believes all administrations, no matter from what party, should be held accountable to following the rule of law and tenets of the Constitution," the office said.

"He will continue working to shine a light on this administration's lawlessness as long as it continues."

Cruz's report, while noting it's common for presidents to test the limits of their executive powers, accuses Obama of egregious power grabs.

"We have never seen a president disregard the law so brazenly and in so many contexts, with so little legal justification," he said.

Cruz said that rather than honor the rule of law, "Obama has openly defied it by repeatedly suspending, delaying, and waiving portions of the laws that he is charged to enforce."

Cruz points out that when Obama disagreed with federal immigration laws, "he instructed the Justice Department to cease enforcing the laws."

"He did the same thing with federal welfare law, drug laws, and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. In more than two centuries of our nation's history, there is simply no precedent for the White House wantonly ignoring federal laws and asking others to do the same."

Cruz has often bashed what he's described as Obama's "imperial presidency," and in his report he warns that it "threatens the liberty of every citizen."

"Because when a president can pick and choose which laws to follow and which to ignore, he is no longer a president," he wrote.

Cruz says the power-grabbing included:

• Implementation of parts of the so-called Dream Act by executive action, defying Congress' rejection of it;
• Extension of the deadline to enroll in Obamacare and "illegally" requiring people to violate their faith via the Obamacare contraception mandate;
• Targeting conservative groups for heightened IRS scrutiny;
• Secret collection of phone records from staff at The Associated Press;
• Threatening to arrest military priests during last fall's partial government shutdown;
• Selling thousands of guns to criminals in operation Fast and Furious, and then allegedly refusing afterward to comply with congressional subpoenas about the operation;
• Revealing sealed indictments in the Benghazi investigation.

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