"The Coverup" & "The Coverage" ---Dan Froomkin reports..

[KoKo]

Froomkin (WaPo) has this comment and then gives snips of the coverage of Bush's Nixonian Obstruction of Justice (interference with a separate Branch of Government) in other newspapers. (Murray Waas notes that the Bloggers haven't really given this impeachable offense much attention.)Dem Congressman Maurice Hinchley has written another letter asking the Justice Department to proceed with the Investigation.

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Cover-Up Exposed?

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, July 19, 2006; 1:00 PM

Amid all the other news yesterday, the attorney general's startling revelation that President Bush personally blocked a Justice Department investigation into the administration's controversial secret domestic spying programs hasn't gotten the attention it deserves.

Bush's move -- denying the requisite security clearances to attorneys from the department's ethics office -- is unprecedented in that office's history. It also comes in stark contrast to the enthusiastic way in which security clearances were dished out to a different group of attorneys: Those charged with finding out who leaked information about the program to the press.

It is not common for a president to personally intervene to stop an investigation of his own administration. The most notorious case, of course, was the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973, during which President Richard Nixon ordered the firing of Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor who had been appointed to investigate the Watergate scandal. Among the many major differences, however: In that case, Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus resigned rather than follow Nixon's order.

Bush's action is also another example of what I have previously noted is a consistent White House modus operandi: That time and time again, Bush and his aides have selectively leaked or declassified secret intelligence findings that served their political agenda -- while aggressively asserting the need to keep secret the information that would tend to discredit them.

MORE on "The Coverage" at.......

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html

[welshTerrier2]

1. this is the smoking gun!

bush shut down an ethics investigation into his own conduct ...

what clearer breach of Constitutional law can there be?

[KoKo]

2. I know...but as Froomkin said...there's not much attention to this and

without someone at Justice raising a stink and resigning, where will it go? And who in Justice would have the stature unless it was Gonzales himself.

:shrug: We seem to be a country of laws just made to be broken, these days.

[welshTerrier2]

4. we don't need Justice to do it

where are the Democrats???

if a president shutting down an ethics investigation into presidential conduct is not a big deal to Democrats, what is???

Reid threatened to shut down and tie up the Senate once before - this seems like the perfect time to do it again ...

if he wants this story on page one, that would do it ... if he wants the American people to hear about this, it's going to take bold action ... you certainly can't count on the MSM to keep the story alive ...

[KoKo]

5. Reps.Maurice Henchley, Zoe Lofgren and two others wrote the letter

initiating the first investigation. Hinchley just wrote another letter requesting the Justice Department to continue it's investigation based on the latest revelations of Gonzales.

As far as Harry Reid shutting down the Senate. In retrospect it seems to me it was nothing more than a "stunt." He didn't follow up and Part II has not been released by Senator Roberts.

Who knows anymore...aside from the Black Caucus in the House and a few Progressive Senators there's not much left. Notice how the "powers that be" are going after Cynthia McKinney.

[EST]

3. This is gratifying...

A deadly serious, illegal activity. There is no room for qualifying, justifying or rationalization. This is, and must be, an impeachment offense. There is no room for equivocation or dissent even among republicans, although there is no doubt a few of the more ethically challenged will do so, that an investigation and a guilty verdict are called for.
I suspect that a case could be made for legal action against legislators who resist universal condemnation as accessories after the fact, or, more likely, since the underlying crime is still going on, indicted as co-conspirators.

Another underlooked at fact is the enormous reduction in stature illustrated by the requirement that Speedy Gonzales had to be deliver his spin under oath.
He must have forgotten that he had been sworn in when he openly lied about the bush signing statements, on TV, in front of millions. He lied, under oath, and should be immediately removed from office and indicted for lying and obstruction!
This is all deadly serious and should be treated that way.

[hootinholler]

6. So?

The freaking Supreme Court all but declared the administration guilty of war crimes!

Why should this be any different than the deafening silence that ensued?

-Hoot

[KoKo]

7. There's some new news that Dems might stand up to Specter on this

Bill that Bush wrote giving him past and present authority to Spy on us.

But, Obstructing Justice has got to wake some in Congress up or be another article for Impeachment down the road.

[loudsue]

8. You bet it should be enough to wake up Congress.

There should have been at least six articles of impeachment filed against bush since 9/11, and yet, with the executive, legislative AND judicial branches all infiltrated with republican cockroaches, we haven't seen a thing happen.

And, btw, HI KOKO01!!! :hug: I'm back in N.C.!!! I'll give you a call when I get unpacked.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Disturbed]

9. Busholini, the Silverspoon Sociopath violated the Law

at least 30 times then blocked investigation of those Felonies. John Dean is correct. This is "Worse Than Watergate"!