Czar Investigations

Article II section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that:

" the President shall nominate, an by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law."

However, President Barack Obama has been taking advantage of a recent precedent by appointing government officials who are not subject to Senate approval. These "czars" have tremendous power to regulate and control enormous parts of the American economy and government. And, as powerful as these czars are, some of them may not have even been subjected to a basic FBI background check.

This has allowed Obama to appoint several people with radical left-wing views, including one who supported the "9/11 truthers" movement (which believes the Bush administration may have been behind the 9/11 terror attacks on America) and another who called for "white people" to be removed from powerful positions in the media to make way for "people of color" and gays and voiced support for virulently anti-American Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. These czars have responsibilities that include managing America's Middle Eastern policy, "diversity," the auto industry, science, so-called climate change, "safe schools," health care and even the dispersal of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Judicial Watch is concerned that some of these czar appointments raise significant constitutional questions. Our goal is to find out exactly what these czars are up to, what their missions are, and how much taxpayer money and government personnel they have at their disposal. In that effort, Judicial Watch has filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and document requests for all 41 of the czars that Obama has appointed so far. Several of these investigations have already resulted in lawsuits due to the Obama Administration's stonewalling with regard to the release of relevant documents. Judicial Watch has also been key in publicizing the connections some of Obama's czars have had to radical, racist and even communist organizations.

A complete list of Judicial Watch's coverage of Obama's czars is available.

Litigation
Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency - FOIA lawsuit for documents regarding "climate czar" Carol Browner
Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of the Treasury - FOIA lawsuit for documents regarding "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg
Judicial Watch v. Office of the Mayor of Chicago, et al. - FOIA lawsuit for documents regarding "Olympics czar" and White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett
Press Releases
Documents Uncovered by Judicial Watch Show Intervention by New, Controversial Federal Agency in Foreclosure Crisis Negotiation - June 16, 2011
Obama’s Executive “Pay Czar” Feinberg Received Six-Figure Salary According to Documents Uncovered by Judicial Watch - September 9, 2010
Judicial Watch Sues Treasury Department for Documents Detailing Meetings between Obama's "Pay Czar" Kenneth Feinberg and AIG - March 2, 2010
Judicial Watch Sues for Records on "Climate Czar" Carol Browner's Role in Crafting Policy - February 23, 2010
JW Obtains Documents on Obama FCC "Diversity Czar" Mark Lloyd's Official Mission, Duties and Responsibilities - November 18, 2009
JW Filed FOIA Lawsuit against Chicago Mayor Daley's Office to Obtain Records Related to Olympics Bid ("Olympics Czar" Valerie Jarrett) - November 12, 2009
Obama Administration Czars

as of April 22, 2011Afghanistan Czar Marc Grossman Intelligence Czar James R. Clapper
AIDS Czar Jeffrey Crowley IP Enforcement Czar Victoria A. Espinel
Asian Carp Czar John Goss Oil Czar Ray Mabus
Border Czar Alan Bersin Latin American Czar Arturo Valenzuela
California Water Czar David J. Hayes Manufacturing Czar Ron Bloom
Climate Czar Todd Stern Medicare/Healthcare Czar Donald M. Berwick
Consumer Czar Elizabeth Warren Middle East Peace Czar George Mitchell
Cyberspace Czar Howard Schmidt Mideast Policy/Central Region/Iran Czar Philo Dibble
Domestic Violence Czar Lynn Rosenthal Native America Affairs Czar Kimberley Teehee
Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske Performance Czar Jeffrey Zients
Economic Czar Gene Sperling Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein
Economic Czar Jeffrey Immelt Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings
Electronic Health Records Czar Dr. David Blumenthal Science Czar John Holdren
Energy & Climate Change Czar Carol Browner (resigned) Stimulus Accountability Czar Earl Devaney
Faith-Based Czar Joshua Dubois Sudan Czar J. Scott Gration
FCC Diversity Czar Mark Lloyd TARP Czar Timothy Massad
Food Safety Czar Michael Taylor Technology Czar Aneesh Chopra
Great Lakes Czar Cameron Davis Terrorism Czar John Brennan
Guantanamo Closure Czar Danny Fried Tobacco Czar Lawrence Deyton
Health Care Czar Nancy-Ann De Parle War Czar Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute
Health Foods Czar Sam Kass Weapons Czar Ashton Carter
Information Technology Czar Vivek Kundra Weapons of Mass Destruction Czar Gary Samore
Workplace Czar Chai Feldblum