Politics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people interested in governments, policies, and political processes. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Article one, section 9 of the US constitution, limiting the power of congress, states
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
Similarly, section 10 clause 1 (the contracts clause) denies state governments from the same. However, I can't find anything in the constitution that limits the president from unilaterally declaring someone attainted.
Does the president have the ability to declare someone attainted, or is he considered to be limited same as congress in this regard?
No, the President cannot. There is nothing in the President's enumerated powers that would give him the right to sentence a U.S. citizen to anything. If the president were to attempt to use an executive order as a bill of attainder, it would be struck down in court, as it violates the right to a fair trial, just like a bill of attainder passed by Congress.
The concept of a Bill of Attainder is not for the President to "declare someone attained", but rather, for the Executive Branch to punish without a crime being charged or committed by the citizen or proven in a Court of competent Jurisdiction (Judicial Branch), that is, adherence to the doctrine of Separation of Powers.
Bills of Attainder can take several forms. One common example form is an administrative (Executive Branch; state or federal) regulation that proffers an adhesion contract to an individual which provides for penalty (potentially imprisonment without the citizen having been charged with or convicted of a crime) for either refusing to accept or consider the contract, or purportedly violating the adhesion contract.
