SHOWDOWN ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_07/011723.php

SHOWDOWN ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE....When Congress issues a contempt citation, it gets referred to the local U.S. Attorney for action. Today, though, in what the Washington Post called a "bold new assertion of executive authority," the Bush administration has announced a brand new exception to this rule: If the president has asserted executive privilege, then no U.S. Attorney will be allowed to pursue contempt citations against administration officials for refusing to testify before Congress.

So what happens now? Here are two possibilities. The first comes from Orin Kerr:

My amateurish guess is that this just adds another layer of litigation to the coming legal battles: it means that after the U.S. Attorney refuses to prosecute, Congress has to file a civil action seeking an order compelling the U.S. Attorney to refer the case to the grand jury. Courts then have to deal with that issue first, which could take a while as it works its way through the appellate process.

And the second from Karen Tumulty:

Where does that leave Congress? Barred from taking its case to court through the Justice Department, it may turn to its "inherent contempt" power to hold its own trials and even order officials to jail. The procedure was widely used in the 1800s, but hasn't been since 1934.

Marty Lederman, who predicted a couple of weeks ago that this would happen, has more details on pursuing these options here. Mark Kleiman, by contrast, thinks Congress should just start defunding the "non-essential" parts of the White House: the press office, the political office, and the White House Counsel's office. Says Mark: "Clinton won his {1995 budget showdown with Newt Gingrich} because Gingrich tried to shut down the government. Punishing and crippling Bush doesn't require shutting down any activity the public cares about."

[rockymountaindem]

1. So we could still prevail in this instance?

"Is it really over, mama?"

[Swamp Rat]

2. A hard rain's gonna fall.

[mod mom]

7. Wow-you got early photos of *'s colonoscopy.

We were right! He is a giant A-Hole!

[walldude]

8. Wow Swampy... your stuff is always good but that

is exceptional.... nice work! :toast:

[jgraz]

11. fuckin-A Swampy

Bosch woulda been proud. :toast:

[agent46]

12. Bosch on Bush!

~ very cool!

On the other hand, it could easily be...Bush on Bosch???:smoke:

And I agree - we don't need a weather man
to know which way the wind blows.

[JuniperLea]

16. Wish I could rec a post!

You've done it again, Swampy! You've got a creepy cool mind, dude. Man!

[shadowknows69]

17. Step away from the photoshop

You're getting too damn good and deep my friend. You have to be seeing pics of these lizards in your nightmares by now.

[Chico Man]

25. I must say that is incredible

[havocmom]

3. Defunding non-essential parts of WH is good start, so long as CONGRESS decides

what that actually involves.

Time to shut them down.

NOW

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

5. They could start with KKKarl's office.

Why should we, as American taxpayers, fund that POS?

[tridim]

14. What if Bush claims EP on cutting executive funding?

You know he'll try.

[havocmom]

15. He'll try, thus the "CONGRESS DECIDES" stimulation

And it is CONGRESS who signs the checks! He can't sign the damn checks! Cut him off and his corporate cronies too.

[tridim]

20. Who says he can't sign his own checks?

I'm awaiting executive Order #472631b, "The President can write and sign his own checks in a time of war."

This is where we're headed. Unless and until there are real consequences for his dictatorial delusions he's going to keep dictating. So far nobody is stopping him.

[marmar]

4. This needs to come to a head.....

You can't teach old, foaming-at-the-mouth Neocon dogs new tricks. They need to be put down (figuratively, of course).

[Hubert Flottz]

6. Let the long overdue smackdowns of BushCo begin.

They have asked for this fight from day one. They are not to be trusted or excused.

[opihimoimoi]

22. Old Chinese proverb: Never Trust a Loon....Bush is from Looney Tunes...

[IChing]

9. Quit talking smack and do a smackdown.

[Cha]

10. medialackeys like karen

tumulty had a hand in ensuring the bushit coup in 2000 that began the long arduous path to this door.

[C_U_L8R]

13. Take away his plane

and his chopper
and his weekend getaway at Camp David.

That's a start.

[opihimoimoi]

18. No Chit...take away that 747 of ours....and his friggen Chopper...and make him take a shower...his

diaps are leaking again....

[defendandprotect]

19. And be sure that we hold a Democratic majority, btw . . ..

from what I hear the votes were for an even bigger Democratic majority in Senate and House . . .
stolen.

[karlrschneider]

23. Do we (well, I don't) know what part of the budget funds Air Force One?

I don't begrudge the president having a nice airplane but this prick seems to have an attachment to it that none of his predecessors did...

[opihimoimoi]

24. His EGO is LUNARESQUE.....we have a PRICK in the OVAL OFFICE

An InEpt one at that

[Glimmer of Hope]

21. I like the "inherent contempt" option for trials. I just wish something would go down for once.

[mmonk]

26. As our system of justice has been corrupted

Inherent Contempt and congressional trials or impeachment seem the only viable options in attempting to save our system of government. What we cannot risk is corrupted judges determining what happens.

[progressoid]

27. Why not defund - AND - file a civil action.

Although I'm not sure Congress can file a civil action.

[bbgrunt]

28. kick for swamp rat.

[Swamp Rat]

29. Update:

:hi:

This is a work still in progress:

[walldude]

30. Very Dali-esque a kick for this one

You need to make posters of this and sell them..