Bush Erects Another Stonewall Against Accountability (by John Nichols for The Nation)

[marmar]

BLOG | Posted 07/09/2007 @ 12:59pm
Bush Erects Another Stonewall Against Accountability



Barely a week after he commuted the 30-month sentence of a former White House insider who was convicted of engaging in felonious attempts to thwart investigations of administration wrongdoing, President Bush has erected another barrier to getting to the truth about whether he and his aides have knowingly violated the law.

In a letter sent Monday to the Michigan Congressman John Conyers, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, and Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy ?, who heads the parallel Senate panel, Bush invoked executive privilege to deny requests by the committees for testimony from former White House counsel Harriet Miers and former White House political director Sara Taylor.

Bush's lawyers suggested that Miers and Taylor, both central players in the scandal that has emerged over attempts by the administration to politicize federal investigations and prosecutions, might speak with members of Congress about the firings of US Attorneys who did not go along with the administration's agenda. But the administration says that can only happen in closed-door, off-the-record "interviews" that would not be given under oath.

Conyers and Leahy have repeatedly rejected such proposals. The committee chairs say, correctly, that inquiries into whether the administration used the Justice Department for political purposes--particularly moves to fake up so-called "voter fraud" cases as part of a broader push to make it harder for elderly, low-income and minority citizens to cast ballots--must be open and above board.

That is not the style of this White House. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=212013

[BOSSHOG]

1. Leadership from the top of the party of integrity, honesty and accountability

Strange, about two months ago both tony snow and dan bartlett said that bush never talked to anyone in the administration about the US Attorney firings. So what conversations must be executively privileged? Or were dan and snowjob lying? Who would imagine that?