FORMAL NOTICE OF CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION AND REQUEST FOR CONGRESSIONAL ACTION

This letter serves as a formal constitutional complaint and notice to Congress of executive actions on the high seas that violate Article I authority, federal piracy law, the War Powers Resolution, and binding Supreme Court precedent. The Constitution vests exclusive authority in Congress to define and punish piracy and offenses against the law of nations and to authorize war (Art. I, §8). Congress exercised this authority through 18 U.S.C. § 1651, criminalizing piracy as defined by customary international law, and through the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. §§ 1541–1548), which restricts the Executive’s ability to introduce U.S. forces into hostilities absent congressional authorization, reporting, and time limits. Executive actions involving seizure, detention, interdiction, blockade, or coercive interference with vessels on international waters—absent explicit statutory authorization—constitute conduct that would be criminal if committed by private actors and may further constitute unauthorized hostilities under the War Powers Resolution. Executive policy or operational necessity cannot override congressional limits. The Supreme Court has repeatedly confirmed these constraints. In Little v. Barreme (1804), the Court held that executive officers may not exceed statutory authority in maritime enforcement. In Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952), executive power was held to be at its “lowest ebb” when acting contrary to Congress. In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006) and Medellín v. Texas (2008), the Court rejected claims of unilateral executive authority to bypass or redefine statutory and constitutional limits, even in matters of foreign affairs and national security. When the Executive enforces piracy laws while simultaneously engaging in or authorizing piracy-like conduct or sustained maritime force without congressional authorization, it usurps Congress’s legislative power, nullifies federal law, and violates the separation of powers. Congress has an affirmative constitutional duty to investigate and remedy these violations. Legislative inaction constitutes acquiescence in executive overreach. Accordingly, I formally request that Congress immediately exercise oversight authority to determine compliance with 18 U.S.C. § 1651, the War Powers Resolution, and Article I of the Constitution, and that this complaint be entered into the Congressional Record.