Executive privilege is as destructive of democracy as the divine right.

[originalpckelly]

It places the office of President and the occupant of that office, higher than the law and due process.

In the name of national security, we are told that our ignorance shall protect us.

I suggest that ignorance itself is the greatest threat to any people anywhere, especially ignorance of its leader's actions.

The President cannot and does not have any special privilege to ignore a duly sworn warrant or other lawful authorization to obtain information.

The President has an absolute right, as we all do, to due process and to have a warrant for all things private to the President, however, no government has the right to lie to its people or to keep them ignorant.

It is a crime of massive proportions, it is a crime against all Americans to obstruct our knowledge of our government's affairs.

It is time the crime is punished and further crimes be prevented.

As I have said before, each and every candidate for President of the United States should have to sign a pledge to waive any right to executive privilege, if that candidate should be elected to that office.

[aquart]

1. Divine right. Charles I went with that one.

Really went.

[Beetwasher]

2. Actually, It Can Be Argued That He Has No "Right" Whatsoever To Even Claim Executive Privelege

In order to keep anything from becoming public. He works for us, we pay him, we (theoretically) "hired" (or voted for) him, so he OWES us explanations as to how he reaches his decisions. We are HIS bosses. Executive privelege gives him more protections than the citizens whom he is supposed to be serving.

[originalpckelly]

3. It's not just about Bush.

It's the common favorite of President's in trouble to whip out Executive Privilege so that people in our country can be obstructed or lied to again.

[Beetwasher]

4. Oh, I Agree

Wholeheartedly.

[bryant69]

5. In part I agree and in part disagree

Obviously there are times when the President has to keep things from us; that's the nature of an open society in a world where not everybody is our friend. That said this privilege needs to be carefully and meticulously restricted, and our current congress has proven largely unwilling to reign him in at all.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[originalpckelly]

7. We cannot claim to be an open society and have government secrets.

The two are totally incompatible.

[bryant69]

9. Well do you think the nuclear codes should be accessible to US Citizenry?

How about lists of our clandestine operatives in other nations?

or in an truly open society would such things as nuclear codes and clandestine operatives be unnecessary?

Bryant

[DangerDave921]

10. good point

I think the overly secretive tendency of this administration is damaging. But I agree that the entire operation of the government cannot be made open to the public. That would include sensitive military information, battle plans, etc.

Also, I'm an attorney so I enjoy privileged communications with my clients. The reason is that we can talk openly about a case without fear that our communications will have to be revealed to anyone. If we didn't have that, I couldn't properly prepare a case because I wouldn't be able to ask the sensitive questions of my clients. Presidents have the same interest. They will argue that in order to properly do their job, they need to have candid discussions with their advisors. If everything that was said had to be revealed to the public, there would not be that candidness and it would put a freeze on their ability to discuss issues.

No Presidential candidate would ever - I mean ever - agree to waive executive privilege. It is a valid and useful privilege to have. How it is used in each specific case is another issue entirely.

[originalpckelly]

13. You assume the system of nuclear weapons control we have is the only one.

I think if we had to, we could probably think of a good way to secure our nuclear weapons, yet not have a secret piece of information.

You also assume that clandestine operatives are doing something good for America.

We must be mindful that all secrets are fragile. Reliance upon something so unpredictable for our defense will only hurt our society.

[BlooInBloo]

17. Oh boy.

[flyarm]

6. The Raw Story | White House, Pentagon cite executive privilege to hold up documents on friendly fire

The Raw Story | White House, Pentagon cite executive privilege to hold up documents on friendly fire victim Tillman

White House, Pentagon cite executive privilege to hold up documents on friendly fire victim Tillman

Michael Roston
Published: Friday July 13, 2007


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Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) revealed on Friday afternoon that the White House and Pentagon were holding up a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation into the friendly fire death of former professional football player and Army Corporal Patrick Tillman.

"he Committee wrote to White House Counsel Fred Fielding seeking 'all documents received or generated by any official in the Executive Office of the President' relating to Corporal Tillman's death," noted a press release from the Committee.

But the White House has apparently again invoked its executive privilege to hold up the documents sought by Waxman and Ranking Minority member Tom Davis (R-VA).

"The White House Counsel's office responded that it would not provide the Committee with documents that 'implicate Executive Branch confidentiality interests' and produced only two communications with the officials in the Defense Department, one of which was a package of news clippings," the Committee noted. "The response of the Defense Department to the Committee's inquiry was also deficient."

In their letter to Fielding, Waxman and Davis doubted that the two documents were the limits of White House-Pentagon communication over Tillman's death.

"It is difficult to believe that these are the only communications that White House officials had with the Department of Defense between April 22,2004, the day Corporal Tillman died, and May 29, 2004, the day the Bush Administration publicly announced that Corporal Tillman's death was a result of fratricide," they wrote.

They also explained what they believed was at stake in this probe.

"These questions have implications for the credibility of the information coming from the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan and raise significant policy issues about how to prevent the future dissemination of untrue information," Waxman and Davis wrote to Fielding. "They also have a profound personal impact on the Tillman family. It is for these reasons that the Committee requested documents from the White House."

The Committee said that it expected a response to the Friday letter by July 25. Waxman also scheduled an additional hearing on the announcement of Tillman's death for Aug. 1.

Full information can be found at the Committee's website.

[Richard Steele]

8. The way B*sh is claiming it, it's no different from "Divine Right" at all.

He's just taken the phrase and used it to mean
that he can do whatever he wants, and can tell
anyone else to do whatever he wants.

He's so far beyond any previous interpretation
of the term that it has become meaningless.

At this point, he's clearly behaving as a dictator.
He answers to no one; no rule or law limits his
actions in any way.

Sad thing is, so many in our Government are playing
along with it.

[originalpckelly]

14. Even a reasonable interpretation is intollerable.

The history of the CIA alone is one of continuous tyranny, whether at home or abroad.

[annabanana]

11. Not only "as destructive" but indistinguishable.

The damage that has been done to the body politic is a near mortal blow. If the American People don't show up to staunch the bleeding, the Republic will not recover.

[The Blue Flower]

12. Excellent comparison

Thank you for your inventive addition to the discussion about executive privilege.

[Az]

The same thing that toppled Communism, Feudalism, and religious dogmatic authority

Once a system or individual pronounces itself above or creator of the law it begins working against the people. At that point it becomes a question of control and might as to how long it will take before the system is toppled. It is tyranny.

[malaise]

15. It is the divine right in Bush's case n/t

[leftofthedial]

16. the bush cabal believe divine right

they just call it executive privilege to keep us from freaking out

[Nikki Stone1]

18. Oh, I thought this bunch HAD been arguing for the divine right. Didn't God pick our president?

That's what the freekazoid Cruella said.

[originalpckelly]

19. Indeed, of course, I want to know what Cruella thought about Clinton.

Was selected by God?