<< The Bush administration had made a point of claiming unlimited power under the << “the Obama administration has adopted the same stance.”

I am aware of the theory about 'imperial presidency', but I think we can agree that US president does not actually have unlimited power.

<< our Wikipedia link makes it seem like an honest mistake.

Yeah. Funny how the president did not address it himself, but instead we have mere 'leaks' to speculate on.

<< Which would not be a crime, though could have civil penalties if government immunity wasn't involved.

No. Factually wrong. It would be a crime were government immunity not involved. If you kill a person in US by a sheer stroke of bad fortune, you may still end up being convicted for a crime ( involuntary manslaughter ).

Naturally, this being government makes it fairly complicated, because the actual responsibility is spread across many decision centers, but, as the saying goes, 'the buck stops here' so one would think that if it was a.. mistake, it would be addressed as such and not quietly forgotten and dismissed.