John Brennan Sworn In On Constitution Without Bill Of Rights, Not Bible

by Tim Brown

Newly confirmed Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan took his oath in a swearing ceremony that was highly unusual. Brennan was not sworn in on a Bible. He was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden on a “first draft” of the Constitution, which does not contain the Bill of Rights.

The first draft included notations from George Washington. While this might sound historic and patriotic. It is anything but that.

So what is a “first draft” of the Constitution? According to Empty Wheel:

That means, when Brennan vowed to protect and defend the Constitution, he was swearing on one that did not include the First, Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendments — or any of the other Amendments now included in our Constitution. The Bill of Rights did not become part of our Constitution until 1791, 4 years after the Constitution that Brennan took his oath on.

I really don’t mean to be an a*****e about this. But these vows always carry a great deal of symbolism. And whether he meant to invoke this symbolism or not, the moment at which Brennan took over the CIA happened to exclude (in symbolic form, though presumably not legally) the key limits on governmental power that protect American citizens.

Here’s how the White House pushed the symbolism of this ceremony:

Hours after CIA Director John Brennan took the oath of office – behind closed doors, far away from the press, perhaps befitting his status as America’s top spy – the White House took pains to emphasize the symbolism of the ceremony.

“There’s one piece of this that I wanted to note for you,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters gathered for their daily briefing. “Director Brennan was sworn in with his hand on an original draft of the Constitution that had George Washington’s personal handwriting and annotations on it, dating from 1787.”

Earnest said Brennan had asked for a document from the National Archives that would demonstrate the U.S. is a nation of laws.

“Director Brennan told the president that he made the request to the archives because he wanted to reaffirm his commitment to the rule of law as he took the oath of office as director of the CIA,” Earnest said.

The Bible has been used because as the oath is taken it calls the God of the Bible to witness against the person taking the oath. This nonsense of swearing in on the Constitution, even the one that we hold to now as was done by Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), or the Koran is utterly un-American and has not been historically done. The symbolism is clear: according to Brennan and the Obama administration, they will not swear to uphold American citizen’s rights or State’s rights, for that matter, in so cavalierly performing this mockery of an oath.

If you think this is unimportant, perhaps you weren’t paying attention when Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was filibustering. I suggest you educate yourself a bit on that here.