This is NOT the Onion.
I saw this yesterday and I still can't fucking believe this. This is real.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
(From 2013)
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Wednesday offered legislative language that would "automatically" punish family members of people who violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, levying sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
The provision was introduced as an amendment to the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013, which lays out strong penalties for people who violate human rights, engage in censorship, or commit other abuses associated with the Iranian government.
Cotton also seeks to punish any family member of those people, "to include a spouse and any relative to the third degree," including, "parents, children, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, grandparents, great grandparents, grandkids, great grandkids," Cotton said.
"There would be no investigation," Cotton said during Wednesday's markup hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "If the prime malefactor of the family is identified as on the list for sanctions, then everyone within their family would automatically come within the sanctions regime as well..."
After some back-and-forth with Grayson and Royce, Cotton relented and withdrew the amendment.
So if your uncle violates this type of crime, YOU could go to prison for 20 years. Automatically - no investigation.
If this is not the ravings of a lunatic in a suit I don't know what would be.
6:42 AM PT: Thanks for the recs! I have to go offline for a while -- back as soon as I can and plan to respond to comments.
2:21 PM PT: Thanks for the terrific commentary. There are several who comment that the bill itself would have been relatively benign. I've had no time to analyze the bill itself but their points are well taken.
But even if so, this still leaves me with the impression then that Cotton didn't even know that the bill would read that more benign way. He didn't even talk like this and didn't even counter Grayson on this. So Cotton still looks as bad to me.
I have to go offline so thank you all again and back as soon as I can.
6:10 PM PT: Apparently I needed to do more research on this first. My apologies. I will try to write an update.