White House Declares Bush Emperor (by Chris Weigant at HuffPost)

[marmar]

Chris Weigant
White House Declares Bush Emperor
Posted July 21, 2007 | 05:28 AM (EST)


George Bush's White House has leaked a story (anonymously, of course) to the Washington Post which is truly stunning, and which should concern any citizen who values checks and balances in American government. They are asserting that Emperor Bush has a power usually thought of as "imperial" or "monarchical" -- the power to do anything he wants, then define it as "Executive Privilege," and thereby completely ignore Congress and the Judicial Branch.

This is not hyperbole. Well, OK, "Emperor" crosses the line into the realm of hyperbole -- chalk that up to my amazement at the sheer gall of what the White House is claiming. From the Post article:

Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege.

Got that? The Justice Department (i.e., the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C.) will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges against anyone Congress tells them to. This is an astonishing overreach on many levels. Once they wave the supposed magic wand of "executive privilege," then nobody can ever be held in contempt of Congress ever again, because contempt of Congress is a federal crime which must be prosecuted by (supposedly) independent federal prosecutors.

Bush is, in essence, saying that all federal prosecutors are no longer to be considered independent of the White House's whims.

I invite you to read the entire article, lest you think I overstate the case. A further excerpt:

Under federal law, a statutory contempt citation by the House or Senate must be submitted to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, "whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action."

But administration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases, such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive privilege. Officials pointed to a Justice Department legal opinion during the Reagan administration, which made the same argument in a case that was never resolved by the courts.

"A U.S. attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt charges or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case," said a senior official, who said his remarks reflect a consensus within the administration. "And a U.S. attorney wouldn't be permitted to argue against the reasoned legal opinion that the Justice Department provided. No one should expect that to happen."

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, added: "It has long been understood that, in circumstances like these, the constitutional prerogatives of the president would make it a futile and purely political act for Congress to refer contempt citations to U.S. attorneys."

So an anonymous "senior official" whose view reflects "a consensus" (i.e., this is probably an "official" leak instead of an "unofficial" leak) that the White House can do as it pleases. They are basing this not on a Supreme Court decision -- or even on any legal judicial precedent at all -- merely on what some Reagan-era lawyer at the Department of Justice thought sounded good back in the '80s, which (by the way) was never resolved by a judge. "It has long been understood" (by them) that they are right, and therefore everyone else is powerless to argue. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/white-house-declares-bush_b_57216.html

[Roland99]

1. Wait a minute! I thought theWhite House was NOT involved in the firings?

Or so they were screeching from the start of the scandal!!

If they were NOT involved, how the hell can they claim executive privilege???




Lying @#$%@#$!!


:mad:

[tanyev]

2. Hail Il Dunce.

[enough]

3. K&R