John Dean: "Congress could send 15 plainclothes Capitol Hill police officers to arrest the AG...."

[seafan]

"... and take him into custody. Either the House or Senate, alone, would have the power to hold him until the end of the 110th Congress. In truth, a majority of either chamber of Congress has more power than a president, the Department of Justice, and federal courts to take summary actions against those who refuse to honor its processes."



Recent Developments in the Scandal over the Attorney General's Performance

By John Dean
May 18, 2007

.....

It's been clear for a while - and is becoming ever clearer - that the Attorney General ought to resign, or to be fired. Now, it seems that Congress is determined to force Gonzales from office or send him to jail, whichever they can do first.
This is plainly the right move - and anyone who does not understand why Congress is insisting on getting rid of Gonzales, does not appreciate the important and sensitive role the Department of Justice has in our government.

.....

Gonzales's Pattern of Condescending Behavior

Severing as White House Counsel, Washington government rookie Gonzales was politically baptized in the atmosphere of the first six years of the Bush Administration, when Republicans controlled the Congress. The job of Attorney General, then filled by John Ashcroft, must have looked easy to Gonzales -- with the GOP congressional leaders running Capitol Hill as if they were all on the executive branch payroll. The Republican Congress simply did whatever the White House requested.

Gonzales watched how Vice President Cheney and his "Lets see how we can trump Congress today" counsel David Addington sent the Government Accountability Office (GAO) back up to the Hill with its tail between its legs, after it had attempted to undertake oversight of executive branch activities. Cheney refused to provide GAO with information about his task force, which was developing the nation's energy policy in a way largely dictated by the energy industry. Congressional Republicans refused to back up GAO's efforts to litigate the scope of its investigative powers and the Republican judges that dominate the federal judiciary backed Cheney up, all the way to the Supreme Court.

Although the Democrats have taken control of Congress, the Administration is proceeding as if nothing has changed - and Gonzales is clearly aware of that. The Administration resists providing any information requested, almost without exception. Letters from the chairs of Congressional committees are treated like junk mail and ignored. Gonzales sends low-level witnesses to testify before Congress, and they provide minimal if not misleading information. Administration witnesses are uncooperative, and have even been known to walk out of hearings when asked to remain for further questioning.

.....

Recently, Gonzales's refused to fully comply with the subpoena for Karl Rove's emails regarding his involvement in the firing of the U.S. Attorneys. His refusal caused me to mull what it would be like if Congress were to proceed as Gonzales has -without a shred of respect for the other branches of government.
Congress could hold Gonzales in contempt by a simple majority vote (and that would not be difficult to obtain, given the feelings in both chambers about this Attorney General). It could hold him in contempt for his failure to respond to the subpoena he virtually ignored, or for his lies to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which I will explain shortly.

Congress has two routes to travel, once it holds any person in contempt. It can proceed by the statutory route, which requires the Department of Justice to handle the prosecution. But since the Attorney General could block that route, the Congress would have good reason to use its inherent powers and procedures, instead.
Thus, Congress could --taking a page from Gonzales's playbook -- send fifteen plainclothes Capitol Hill police officers to arrest the Attorney General and take him into custody. Either the House or Senate, alone, would have the power to hold him until the end of the 110th Congress. In truth, a majority of either chamber of Congress has more power than a president, the Department of Justice, and federal courts to take summary actions against those who refuse to honor its processes.

.....

It is painful to watch this implosion at the Department of Justice. If the Senate does not at minimum adopt a no confidence resolution, I wonder how much longer the career attorneys in the Department will stand for it, before they organize enough support, among themselves, to tell Gonzales that either he goes, or they go - which would simply shut down the Department of Justice.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Shut down the DoJ?!

Who could put a price on fun like that?

[calimary]

4. Even Bill Gates couldn't.

Shut down the DoJ... imagine that.

Sumbitch.

[salin]

19. Great, then Gonzo and his bushie acolytes get to replace *all*

the career civil service positions in the DOJ.

Its going to be hard enough to get rid of the political operatives already put into the civil service ranks compliments of Goodling.

[KharmaTrain]

31. The DOJ is Currently DOA

The department is massively compromised and ripped with dissent. Gonzo has been able to alienate himself from many in the department by first using the "performance" issue as cause for termination and then trying to pass the buck on McNulty...who, while a GOOP hack was still considered a prosecutor first. The fact we're hearing new leaks every day and this story continues to grow legs months after the first revelations signal a lot of stuff coming out from inside and the desire to get Gonzo out.

The acts of this regime have been criminal and we're just staring to learn the extent. It's still early...so much so we can't nail specific charges on things since they're both so nebulous and still outside our complete view...but each day we get closer to getting not just overwhelming evidence to force Gonzo and Rove out of the government, but indict them for assorted obstructions and perjury charges.

Methinks there's some hungry Prosecutors inside the DOJ that would love to "restore" the dignity to the agency and Rove and Gonzo's scalp would sure be a nice trophy piece.

Cheers...

:hi:

[bjobotts]

73. No further good can come out of Gonzales.

Gonzales demonstrates he has no pride or he would have removed himself in the midst of such strong opposition. He is compromised as AG and is ineffective as a leader deserving of respect. The hearings have shown that he has no integrity and works as if he is still Bush's WH counsel. At this point I think we've gone beyond just wanting his resignation. He has lied on several occasions, has politicized the DoJ., responsible for compromising investigations and been a part of election fraud, and now we see by Comey's story just how little regard he has for the law and was part of Bush's illegal spying operation. He needs to be arrested and treated like a criminal. Nothing would make me happier than watching Gonzales do the perp walk right out of the halls of justice to the jail, right along with his handlers...Bush, Rove, Rice and Cheney.

[3waygeek]

76. Has any good ever come out of him? n/t

[wiggs]

2. Our reps have a better idea...give him a vote of no confidence. That'll

fix him and teach all of them a lesson. After that things will be much better.

[yurbud]

7. they had a chance to give him a vote of no confidence at his AG confirmation

Back then, they at least knew about his involvement in torture memos.

To their credit, most Democrats voted against his confirmation.

These six didn't:

Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Bill Nelson of Florida, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Ken Salazar of Colorado.

[wiggs]

57. Congress should NEVER approve of a pres's personal attorney becoming

attorney general. This was a problem waiting to happen.

[Clark2008]

26. Hubby and I were laughing (in a morbid way) about what, exactly,

a vote of "no confidence" means.

I said it must mean something like a "black mark on his permanent record"(a la Rock N' Roll High School and Ferris Bueller's Day Off). Which means, exactly, NOTHING.

[wiggs]

58. I fear that these kinds of votes, statements, and hearings will only

serve to let off steam. I wait for one of them to amount to something

They do serve to inform the public (a certain portion anyway) but that is not good enough.

[KnaveRupe]

67. It's like this scene from "The Office"

Jim: Oh, what’s this?

Dwight: That is a demerit.

Jim (reading paper): “Jim Halpert, tardiness.” Oh, I love it already.

Dwight: You’ve got to learn, Jim, you’re second in command, but that does not put you above the law.

Jim: Oh I understand. And, I also have lots of questions. Like what does a demerit mean?

Dwight: Let’s put it this way. You do not want to receive three of those.

Jim: Lay it on me.

Dwight: Three demerits, and you’ll receive a citation.

Jim: Now that sounds serious.

Dwight: Oh it is serious. Five citations, and you’re looking at a violation. Four of those, and you’ll receive a verbal warning. Keep it up, and you’re looking at a written warning. Two of those, that’ll land you in a world of hurt. In the form of a disciplinary review, written up by me and placed on the desk of my immediate superior.

Jim: Which would be me.

Dwight: That is correct.

Jim: Okay, I want a copy on my desk, by the end of the day, or you will receive a full disadulation.

Dwight: What’s a dis … what’s that?

Jim: Oh, you don’t want to know.

[KamaAina]

80. I love it! "The Oval Office"!

And of course the company would be named....


.....


.....


"Dunderhead Mifflin"!!!!!

:rofl:

[deacon]

3. kick

[caligirl]

5. stunning words fromDean at the end, we could see animplosion at DOJ

if Congress doesn't find a way to rid Gonzo from the DOJ.


It is painful to watch this implosion at the Department of Justice. If the Senate does not at minimum adopt a no confidence resolution, I wonder how much longer the career attorneys in the Department will stand for it, before they organize enough support, among themselves, to tell Gonzales that either he goes, or they go - which would simply shut down the Department of Justice.

[Supersedeas]

71. an internal mass resignation in protest of the acting AG (hmmmm...)

[calimary]

6. Now THERE'S a visualization image I could really sink my teeth into:

gonzo being surrounded by 15 plainclothes DC cops - who arrest him, slap the cuffs on, and take him into custody!

Just imagine it...

Hey, look, some of us have been visualizing IMPEACHMENT for awhile now and it's progressed from an absolute flat-out taboo - an UNSPOKEN NO-NO that no one dared even think about behind closed doors. Now, it's being spoken of, OPENLY, it's gone mainstream, you have Senators AND Congresspeople from both parties (examples: Chuck Hagel, John Murtha, and Kucinich) talking about it in front of cameras and microphones, and kicking the idea around in public. It's all over the country in groups large and small, from protestors on beaches to city, county, and state legislative bodies bringing it up and in some cases voting for it unanimously.

This ain't going away, guys. It's only going to keep growing, with further evidence and justification and just outright criminality thoughtfully provided day after day by bushco itself. The idea of IMPEACHMENT has come a LONG way, babies! It started as a glimmer in the eyes of some really brave, Constitution-loving, America-loving, law-abiding patriots. And it's already come to this.

Why not build on that one image? I'm visualizing that crowd of plainclothes officers described by John Dean here - waiting in the reception area for gonzo, and then doing their legal, Congressionally-authorized duty.

One other thing. If they took this step, and really played Ultimate Hardball with gonzo, imagine how tight contradicta's sphincter will pinch! After all, she, too, is defying a Congressional subpoena, refusing to testify, flouting Congressional authority. As though she, too, believes she's above the law. Well, she ISN'T. Any more than mr. "Torture's Okay" is. If they lowered the boom on him, that might scare her bigtime - and force her to give up the ghost and comply with the subpoena Henry Waxman issued to her. Might very well be just the thing to compel her cooperation. After all, the clear message would be: Comply, dearie. Or YOU'RE NEXT.

[loudsue]

10. I love that picture you just painted of gonzo in cuffs, and condie in a dither.

Thanks for that!! I'll keep visualizing it, and grin a lot!

:kick::kick:

[disndat]

46. For Contradicta Rice

It might be the lesser of two evils, i.e., between a rock and a hard place. If she does testifies, she could be found guilty of treason, or something similar. She would also expose her 'husband' to the same charge, or impeachment, at the least.

[alfredo]

59. Kick. Thanks for the info

[wiley]

8. Gonezales

Throw him out!

[133724]

9. I heard that there was a small jail in the basement of the capital.

Specifically for these situations...

I don't know if it is true or not...

[Bucky]

11. Proceed with caution

Under such a scenario, there's a better than even chance Gonzales wouldn't recognize the legitimacy of Congress's authority. As the nation's top law enforcement officer, he's in a unique position to not only declare the action unconstitutional, but to resist arrest as well.

Such a move could easily degenerate into a showdown between two conflicting sets of men with authority and guns. Which in turn could devolve into a gunfight. At the DoJ building. At high noon. Welcome to Bush's America. If you try to arrest the guy with nominal command of the FBI, you don't send in just fifteen guys. You send in Chuck Norris.

A more plausible scenario (I pray) is the matter would get resolved by the Supreme Court. Sadly that body would stand a better than even chance of declaring 5-4 that Congress exceeded its authority.

[quiet.american]

13. No wonder Gonzales is smirking his way through all this.

Essentially, it seems all that can be done is a polite slap on the hand that he doesn't even have to show up for.

[Edweird]

14. I disagree with your assessment.

Whether or not gonzo "recognizes" congressional authority, they still have it. It's part of the checks and balances. gonzo has no business declaring what may or may not be constitutional. He is duty bound to follow the letter of the law. Furthermore, as the nation's chief law enforcement officer he is required to be above reproach. Not above the law. He has broken the law. Period. A subpoena from congress is the law,because congress makes the laws, not the DOJ, not w, and not the supremes.
gonzo may "control" the fbi, but they are also required to follow the law. Period. An arrest warrant is an arrest warrant, whether you think it is legitimate or not. Even for law enforcement officials. Actually, make that ESPECIALLY for law enforcement officials.

[Wednesdays]

41. Doesn't matter, as long as Gonzo has a handful of friends

who agree with him. And if they're armed to the teeth, it could get ugly.

Remember, we're dealing with folks who make up the law as they go along.

[krispos42]

15. Isn't the DC Metro PD answerable to Congress?

Seems to me they could quietly and legally arrest Gonzo and have him behind bars before anybody knew about it. I don't think Gonzo can declare any act unconstitutional; that's the job of the courts. With a valid Congressional contempt order, I don't see how Gonzo could claim he's beyond touch. Not with him in DC Metro's juristiction.

Then, with Gonzo under arrest there would have to be an acting AG. Who would that be? Aren't like the Numbers 2,3 and 4 at the DoJ resigned in protest now?

And would rank-and-file FBI agents or US Marshalls go to the mat to try to pry Gonzo out of the hands of DC Metro?

[hootinholler]

22. No.

The Capitol Police are, but the DC Metropolitan Police are not, they are under the City Council.

-Hoot

[krispos42]

69. I did not realize there were two police forces in DC

I thought "Capitol Police" was another term for the DC Metropolitian Police Department. My bad.

Thank you for correcting me.

[hootinholler]

21. Nope.

The Capitol police report to the Sargent At Arms of the Congress, not to the DOJ. He could piss and moan, but if Congress issued the warrant for inherent contempt, it would be executed and AGAG wouldn't have any say. It would then have to work its way up to the supremes.

-Hoot

[The Stranger]

34. "A unique position to . . . declare the action unconstitutional [and] resist arrest"?

Holy shit, where are you getting this from?

[dogday]

36. Wouldn't recognize the legitimacy of Congress's authority

He does that, and I guarantee you that not only will the Congress erupt, so will the Senate.. That is essentially saying congress does not have the power, and the Senate will also get on board, because if he thinks he can screw Congress, well the Senate can't be too far behind...

Oh, and don't forget about the Republikan Senators who are calling for his resignation and the people of the US who are watching this show....

[frogcycle]

61. I doubt that

They could show up, surround him, tell him to put his hands out - he's a little weasel - would not resist - and crying "mommmmeeee" at the top of his lungs is NOT going to bring fibbies running with guns blazing. I am not aware that he travels with a cadre of fbi bodyguards. He can't issue a verbal order to shoot if his life is not threatened - at least not one they are going to follow. Only if he could pursuade them, in the heat of the moment, that he was being kidnapped by terrorists, would he get them to actually use force.

They could call him in to testify, then Leahy could just interrupt the testimony and say "Sergeant at Arms, please take Mr Gonzales into custody." He'd be in the hearing room, on their turf, a quick elevator ride away from the dungeon.

This seems fanciful, but dammit, we are in uncharted waters. We have never had a breakdown of the constitutional roles like this. Nixon's foolishness was nothing compared to this. The congress needs to do its job, and if that means invoking previously-unused authority, so be it.

Man, the shit would fly!

If gonzo was in custody, would the current #2 automatically be the AG, would bush get to (try to) appoint another...? Or would gonzo operate from prison, like other mafia dons?

[MADem]

63. Yep, the gunfight would likely take place at the Supreme Court corral

And they've managed in the past to simply kick the can back down the road when it came to "who's top dog" re: these issues, but in this case they'd HAVE to rule...and we know they'd rule on the ButtMonkey's side...that ain't good...

[StefanX]

66. The AG can't "declare" something "unconstitutional"

That's the judiciary's job. The executive branch does what they're told. They have no power to decided whether a law is unconstitional or not. The legislative passes the laws, the judiciary makes sure they're ok, and the executive does what it's told.

[Bucky]

74. Actually Attorneys-General issue rulings on constitutionality all the time.

The whole reason they put Gonzo into the AG's job is because the previous AG, John Ashcroft, ruled the domestic surveillance program unconstitutional. His decisions are certainly subject to judicial review and oversight (tho I'm not sure the Bushies would agree to that), but every AG since Edmund Randolph has issued findings and overruled government actions they thought violated the Constitution.

[Raksha]

81. No, the previous attorney general ruled the surveillance program

illegal according to existing law, NOT unconstitutional. That's part of the attorney general's job, but he has no power to declare any law unconstitutional. Only the Supreme Court can do that.

[ProudDad]

83. Showdown at high noon

I'd buy a ticket to see that!!!!

[fooj]

12. Wow. This is absolutely unbelievable.

[krispos42]

16. This kind of talk gives me butterflies in my stomach.

THIS IS NOT SUPPOSE TO HAPPEN HERE!!!!

Hell, we're suppose to be above this! Why won't the fucker just resign and face the music like a man????

I guess I can't expect any senior member of BushCo to say "my being in this position is damaging the country", but, dammit, I keep hoping for some stupid reason.

[Disturbed]

17. Rethugs and Dems want Gonzo to resign.

They want this mess to go away before Busholini is dragged into it. I want him Impeached.Arrest him and then Impeach him.

[krispos42]

18. Can the AG be impeached?

Judges can be impeached, and in 1876 the Secretary of War (what would now be the Secretary of Defense) was impeached. Gonzo is on the same level as the SecDef as a department head.

Seems to me that Congress can just impeach the lying bastard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_States#Officials_impeached

[yodermon]

43. ANYONE can be impeached.

Karl Rove could be impeached.
Why Congress hasn't done so yet is beyond me.

Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleii.html#section4

What exactly is a "civil officer"? Any elected official? Political appointees? Career officials?

In my view, if Congress decides that, let's say, the chief of staff of the 2nd assistant to the deputy assistant secretary of transportation has to go, then they can IMPEACH & Convict him or her, end of story.

The Congress is really very powerful, if they would just remember.

[bdamomma]

49. we should all parade with Section 4 in front of the Senate Building!!

or hire a plane with a banner saying this.

[seafan]

45. Yes. See Dean's column on this from December 15, 2006:

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20061215.html


Here's the pertinent section:

The Constitution's Impeachment Clause applies to all "civil officers of the United States" - not to mention the president, vice president and federal judges. It is not clear who, precisely, is among those considered "civil officers," but the group certainly includes a president's cabinet and sub-cabinet, as well as the senior department officials and the White House staff (those who are issued commissions by the president and serve the President and Vice President).

Quite obviously, Bush and Cheney have not acted alone in committing "high crimes and misdemeanors." Take a hypothetical (and there are many): Strong arguments have been made that many members of the Bush Administration - not merely Bush and Cheney -- have engaged in war crimes. If war crimes are not "high crimes and misdemeanors," it is difficult to imagine what might be. Jordan Paust, a well-know expert on the laws of war and a professor at University of Houston Law Center, has written a number of scholarly essays that mince few words about the war crimes of Bush's subordinates. For example, many of their names are on the "torture memos."

Why impeach lower-level officials, rather than the "big enchilada," as Nixon used to say? There are multiple reasons.

Focusing On Bush Administration Officials

Lowering the aim of an impeachment effort to focus on those who have aided and abetted, or directly engaged in, the commission of high crimes and misdemeanors, would have all the positives, and none of the negatives, of going after Bush and Cheney. It would not be an effort to overturn the 2004 election, but rather to rid the government of those who have participated, along with Bush and Cheney, in abuses and misuses of power; indeed, many among them have actually encouraged Bush and Cheney to undertake the offensive activities.

Many of these men (and a few women) are young enough that it is very likely that they will return to other posts in future Republican Administrations, and based on their experience in the Bush/Cheney Administration, they can be expected to make the offensive conduct of this presidency the baseline for the next president they serve. Impeachment, however, would prevent that from happening.

It will be recalled that Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution states: "Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States." (Emphasis added.) After any civil officer has been impeached, under the rules of the Senate, it requires only a simple majority vote to add the disqualification from holding future office.

In addition, it is likely that the impeachment process of any official in a position below that of the president or vice president, would be treated the same as the impeachment of federal judges. The work is done in both the House and Senate by special subcommittees, so it does not consume the attention of the full bodies until the final votes.

(emphasis added)

[krispos42]

68. Very informative. Thank you both! n/t

[Dr.Phool]

23. You think this is bad?

Wait until next year, when Bush refuses to vacate the Oval Office. He'll claim god told him to stay.

It's time for Congress to take forceful action NOW. Arrest the prick. We're already at a constitutional crisis.


I can see it now. Nancy Pelosi taking forceful action.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[bdamomma]

30. Gonzo is part of the family, Bush will continue to support Gonzo

maybe that obstinate behavior will take Bush down too.

[Lord Balto]

65. It's a chess game

I played a game of chess once in which no pieces were taken for the first umpteen moves of the game. It got to the point where both of us knew that when someone finally took a piece, the whole system of attacks and counterattacks and checks and balances and levees and dikes would come crashing down and there would be a blood bath, so we just kept reinforcing our positions and plotting out further and further into the future in the hopes of finally winning in the end. Something similar is going on now between the Congress and the Executive and I suspect it is all about to come to a head, yes, possibly with the arrest of Gonzales. But remember, this all applies to the president as well, and HE could be arrested just as legally as the AG, though the SS would probably attempt to block it. That's another detail that would need to be taken care of in advance, but it could be done, and there are enough folks in the Washington bureaucracy who are fed up enough with this retarded chimp administration that we could see something very interesting and very exciting in a matter of days.

[krispos42]

87. All the attacks start like dominoes....

That point is coming, and probably faster than any of us realize.

Nothing so dangerous as a cornered, desperate beast.

[Philosoraptor]

20. There are several hundred bush apointees & officials that this should apply to.

[bdamomma]

50. this thuggish administration is bringing into every department

the strong political arm of this thuggish regime. Why isn't anything being done?? Just listening to Stephanie Miller she had Senator Dorgan on and these guys are watching this shit happen why isn't anyone speaking up. They see the injustices done and witnessing Rove's cronies getting appointments and asking their staff to do things they never did before, why can't they stop this. Oh, let me stop just sheer frustration. They are criminals.

[Ganja Ninja]

24. They can save themselves an extra trip and pick up Rove too. n/t

[L. Coyote]

25. "Congress is determined to force Gonzales from office or send him to jail"

Recent Developments in the Scandal over the Attorney General's Performance:
Alberto Gonzales Displays Contempt for Congress, And Perhaps the Department of Justice As Well
By JOHN W. DEAN
----
Friday, May. 18, 2007
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20070518.html

Lately, a week seldom passes when we are not reminded of the conspicuous contempt that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales holds for Congress, and the damage he is doing to the Department of Justice.

This week, Gonzales was again shown to have lied to Congress; his ineptitude as Attorney General has resurfaced in litigation that is going to damage the government; and after ignoring a subpoena from the Senate, he made a belated but insufficient response following an angry letter from the Senate.

It's been clear for a while - and is becoming ever clearer - that the Attorney General ought to resign, or to be fired. Now, it seems that Congress is determined to force Gonzales from office or send him to jail, whichever they can do first.

[pberq]

89. "force Gonzales from office or send him to jail"

Jail sounds better.

[nuxvomica]

27. I'm picturing a car chase with Gonzales in a white Bronco

That might make folks realize what these people are really about. If Congress took such action, Gonzales would be very scared but not so much of Congress as his own crowd.

[lonestarnot]

32. OMG. I can see it now.

[leftchick]

28. this is a great line about gonzo and his boosh....

"The culmination of Gonzales's incompetence, dissimulation, and hubris is shocking. The fact that Bush keeps him is testimony to Bush's own incompetence, dissimulation and hubris which are no longer shocking, but rather standard procedure."

I LOVE John Dean's writing, I just eat it up.

[bdamomma]

52. me too, and everything John Dean said in his book

Worse than Watergate, is coming true unfortunately.

[blondeatlast]

29. If anyone knows DC corruption, it's John Dean. It must be

hard to be so principled in that town.

[formercia]

33. Gonzo is going to jail

he knows it because he's very aware of the crimes he has committed or been a party to. It's just a matter of time.

He's just stalling and trying to do as much damage to the system as he can.

Junior and his unconstitutional wrecking crew can see the writing on the wall and they will take us all down with them if they can.

[Norquist Nemesis]

35. Someone from VT and PA should forward this on to the Senate Judiciary

Chair and Ranking member along with a few choice comments.

I'm looking forward to Thursday when Monica G testifies. Wonder if Gonzo will hang on that long.

[seafan]

37. Dean also dissects Gonzales' actions in raiding Jefferson's Congressional office.

In May 2006, Gonzales gave the go-ahead to the FBI to raid a Congressional office (Louisiana Congressman William J. Jefferson) under a search warrant. Notwithstanding many previous Justice Department criminal investigations of members of Congress, never before -- in over 200 years -- had there been such a tactic employed by an Attorney General.

Rather, longstanding procedures govern what occurs when the Justice Department is seeking documents from a member of Congress, and they most certainly do not include a raid. Yet Gonzales a man with no Washington experience before coming to town with George W. Bush and apparently little common sense, ignored those procedures, and the important separation-of-powers concerns that lie behind them. Despite the respect due from one branch to another, he treated a Congressman like a common criminal.

The result has been that Gonzales has tied his own Department's investigation into knots, because he did not understand what he was doing. On May 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard arguments in the case of Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2133 v. United States, the ongoing appeal emanating from the raid.

.....

"The Justice Department was wrong to seize records from Congressman Jefferson's office in violation of the constitutional principle of separation of powers, the speech or debate clause of the Constitution, and the practice of the last 219 years," Mr. Hastert and Ms. Pelosi declared. It is possibly the only thing that they have ever agreed upon, and their colleagues on both sides of the House were with them.

.....

What will happen when Congress loses in Rayburn House Office Building vs. United States - which I believe they will? It's very likely they will enact into law the informal understanding on this matter that has existed for over two hundred years. These are the kind of problems that are better left to the tradition of informal resolution, but Gonzales's actions have precluded that option in the future.

This longstanding tradition was described by former Solicitor and Deputy General Counsel of the House form 1984 to 1995, Charles Tiefer, -- now a University of Baltimore law professor -- when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Professor Tiefer explained a number of investigations undertaken by the Justice Department of members of Congress (he mentioned a half dozen members, as well as the ABSCAM sting by the FBI). However, he also noted the Gonzales raid "had all the elements of unconstitutional executive intimidation. It breached … a previously sacrosanct constitutional tradition without … a showing of unique necessity." He said it ignored "the House's protocols," because, among other things, it was preceded by "no prior notice to the House leadership, nor any kind of consent of consultation."

Members and Leaders of both parties have expressed a determination to codify these procedures, in order to protect the separation of powers, lest the executive branch treat its co-equal as less than what it is. Thus, Gonzales's approval of this raid, in the end and ironically, has provoked a battle that the Justice Department will lose. In the future it will be much more difficult to get the institutional cooperation of Congress with such investigations. This will hurt the government because it will hamper the Justice Department and not make the Congress look good. But Congress must protect the separation of powers which Gonzales has simply ignored.

This is another stunning example of a Bush appointee who, when he served as WH Counsel, mocked and undermined the authority of the critically ill AG Ashcroft.

Now, this same carnivorous appointee IS the AG.



People who despise and denigrate the government of The People of the United States should never be allowed to run it.

[Amonester]

60. "a determination to codify these procedures" which will be nullified

"a determination to codify these procedures" which will be nullified in another "new" signing statement issued by the deciding dicktatortot bureau as soon as they'll land on top of "our" desk...

> Members and Leaders of both parties have expressed a determination to codify these procedures, in order to protect the separation of powers, lest the executive branch treat its co-equal as less than what it is. <

"the executive branch treat($) its co-equal as less than what it is" is exactly what is going on for years (re: signing statements and/or else...)

Soooooooooooo... What does Congress intend to DO about them? Be good dogs, sit, and do nothing?

Oh! Yeah... Be "polite" and let the Exec war criminals continue to wreck havoc... like they've done since 11/06.

[Strawman]

38. K&R

[mile18blister]

39. My prediction: Memorial Day Recess Appointment

If * is afraid of a fight over a new AG, he'll bypass the Senate somehow. I hope I'm wrong. If he does something like this I hope Congress takes some action to curb recess appointment abuse. And I still want Gonzo indicted regardless of how he leaves office.

[Blackhatjack]

40. Dean is right! It can be done... and here is how....

Congress has the right to subpoena Gonzales to testify before Congress. He arrives to testify and the Sargeant at Arms is instructed to block the exits after Gonzales enters. The Congressional Committee opens the hearing, votes to hold the AG in contempt of Congress for perjury, recesses briefly, and an immediate vote is held on the floor of the House and/or Senate to hold Gonzales in contempt of Congress AND to hold him in custody until it concludes its investigation and it is decided what to do with him(open ended).

This vote would only require a majority to pass.

Once in custody of Congress, it would require a Supreme Court order to Congress to release him from custody and that would be dicey for the AG since Congress is a co-equal branch of government.

After taking Gonzales into custody, there would be no effective AG and no top officials left at the DOJ to carry on the day to day duties of that office. Bush could nominate anyone he wants to succeed the other top officials who previously resigned(ie. McNulty) but Congress could refuse to hold confirmation hearings on any nominated officials until Gonzales' status is decided, and the old Patriot Act provision allowing replacement without confirmation by Congress was eliminated.

It would brings matter to a head in a hurry, and it would put Bush in a bind. Who will have the courage to suggest that this plan be executed? That may be the million dollar question, because if you shoot and miss your Congressional career is over.

[zorbasd]

78. That would give Bush a huge

hard-on to use force against Capital Hill Sergeant at Arms to retrieve Gonzales. Perhaps he would use the heavily armed Blackwater goon squads aka "Republican Fedayen Guard."

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

84. If Chimpy could be baited into such a foolish strong arm...

...tactic for all to see this close to elections, they should definitely do it.

[seafan]

88. This is reminiscent of Jeb sending in the FDLE to rescue Terri Schiavo.

The judge on the case ordered the sheriffs to nip it in the bud. Jeb blinked.



(FDLE= FL Dept of Law Enforcement)

[ejbr]

42. The public tolerates this criminal behavior

by not holding Bush's feet to the fire over his support of him and his ridiculous statements of support. However, slowly but surely, the public is catching on to this brazen disregard to their role in society. They are acting like Fidel Castro's govt. with the complicity of Congress, the media and the ill-informed public. When will enough be enough?!!

[Vilis Veritas]

44. This whole process

seems slow as molasses to me. Both sides are dragging their feet and moving real slowly on the few top issues. Is this just me?

I can't help but see that neither side takes REAL action until the shop is comepletely destroyed. It is kind of like watching the theif on the closed circuit TV and then calling the cops after they leave the building...

"Hey 911, there was a guy in my house for the last two years raping justice and stealing everything we own, he left 30 minutes ago...can you send someone over?

[krispos42]

70. It's just you

Remember, we couldn't do anything until we took power, so the starting gun, so to speak, was very late. All this in 4 months I think is pretty impressive. The system was not designed to move particularly fast, remember.

[Time for change]

47. I have another idea

It's Bush's job to control the AG, for example by firing him for gross abuse of power.
Seems to me that his failure to do so in clearly an impeachable offense (Ok, it's one of innumerable impeachable offenses). Wouldn't it be better to impeach Bush over this than to send in the police to arrest Gonzalez?

Dean says it all with this statement: "the Administration is proceeding as if nothing has changed". Right. So, our Founding Fathers provided a remedy for that in our Constitution. And the same remedy was noted more than a decade earlier than that in our Declaration of Independence: "Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government".

Our country has the means to do that peacefully, without a violent revolution. I wish to God they'd take advantage of that process which was given them by our Founding Fathers, before it's too late to do it peacefully.

[GOTV]

55. Not enough votes in the Senate for impeachment to be effective n/t

[valerief]

48. Whoa! Talk about Dojball. nt

[tblue37]

51. Who did this?

Administration witnesses are uncooperative, and have even been known to walk out of hearings when asked to remain for further questioning.

And why were they not detained? Why wasn't there a big brouhaha over such a thing?

[seafan]

54. Here's one example from January, 2006:

From Think Progress
January 25, 2006

Bush Mine Safety Administrator Walks Out of Senate Hearing


On Monday, the Bush administration’s top mine safety official, David Dye, appeared before a Senate subcommittee to explain the administration’s response to the Sago mining disaster. Specifically, senators wanted to know why mine safety has been consistently underfunded under President Bush, and why regulations have been rolled back or weakly enforced.

Unfortunately, David Dye has a busy schedule. After an hour of questioning, Dye announced he had “some really pressing matters” to attend to, and asked to leave the hearing. Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) urged him not to: “Your presence will be required here for at least one more hour.”

But Dye insisted:

We have been diverted, dealing with these matters. We were happy to prepare for the hearing, but we really need to get back and attend to all this. There’s 15,000 mines in the United States, and we’ve got some really pressing matters.

The New York Times describes what occured next:

After Mr. Specter added, “That’s the committee’s request, but you’re not under subpoena,” Mr. Dye got up and walked out.

“I can’t recollect it ever happening before,” Mr. Specter said of the departure. “We’ll find a way to take appropriate note of it.”

[rudy23]

53. We have a Congress full of Democratic Arlen Specters

Scream bloody murder for the cameras, then do just enough to not stop Bushco from trampling the Constitution.

[GOTV]

56. I think you're right n/t

[katty]

62. SHUT Down the DOJ TODAY and get bush's TOADIES!

[StefanX]

64. "Arrest Abu G (the Senate has the power -- says so right here on senate.gov)"

A few weeks ago I posted a thread explaining how the Senate could arrest Condi (for not showing up when subpoena'ed). The same law applies to Albert Gonzales also.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=764094&mesg_id=764094

There's a lot of interesting discussion there, including threads on Kos, about how to enforce the "law" when the so-called "law-enforcers" WON'T.

[whistle]

72. So what is congress waiting for? The Bush administration is now

....a rogue operation in the government and must be stopped ASAP. Bush, Cheney Gonzales Rice and others are operating like terrorists against the interests of the people of the United States and for only a select few who are attempting to subvert the U.S. Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Impeach them all now!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

75. I'm sure the weasel is not far off 'resigning'

it will come

[deacon]

77. Congress MUST act-They can't let this stuff go n/t

[Kablooie]

79. You're right, the MUST act! but they won't.

There has been absolutely NO indication up to now that Congress is inclined to take ANY action against the Bushies except ask them nicely to testify against themselves. That's IT!

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

82. K & R Fitzgerald got excellent advice in the form...

...of an open letter from Dean on the justification/validity of broadening the scope of his investigation and, quite wrongly in my opinion, chose to ignore it:

---SNIP---

While I have no reason to believe you are easily intimidated, all I can say is that your investigation, thus far, is falling precisely within the narrow confines -- the formula procedure -- that was relied upon in the first phase of the Watergate cover-up by the Nixon administration.

So narrow was your investigation that it appears that you failed to learn that Bob Woodward had been told of Valerie Wilson's CIA post until after you had indicted Scooter Libby. While I have no doubt you know your way around the Southern District of New York, and the Northern District of Illinois, Washington DC is a very different place.

With all due respect, Mr. Fitzgerald, I believe you are being had. I believe that you were selected with the expectation that you would conduct the narrowest of investigations, and it seems you have done just that...

Entire letter here: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20051118.html

Now Dean is trying to help Congress catch a clue about what they legally can and should do, and I fear he will be ignored again.

From the OP:

It is painful to watch this implosion at the Department of Justice. If the Senate does not at minimum adopt a no confidence resolution, I wonder how much longer the career attorneys in the Department will stand for it, before they organize enough support, among themselves, to tell Gonzales that either he goes, or they go - which would simply shut down the Department of Justice.

On the topic of shutting down the DOJ, I wonder if that's something that BushCo would actually like to see, especially if there were some way of blaming Congress. Such a thing is not without precedent:

And then one day, the Nazis simply marched into the Berlin court buildings and took over Germany's judicial system...

http://www.crisispapers.org/Editorials/germany-1933.htm

[Maryland Liberal]

85. Recently, Gonzales's refused to fully comply with the subpoena for Karl Rove's emails regarding his

Please elaborate on "fully"

[BeHereNow]

86. Pahleeze- WTF are you saying? Didn't you get the memo???

Gonzilla is doin' a "heckuva job" at destroying the Constitution and Rule of Law.
What the hell is YOUR point?
:sarcasm:

BHN

[pat_k]

90. Finally, someone points out that the "balance of power" ISN"T "equally divided". . .

The "shared equally" BS is fascist propaganda. It implies that We the People can be overrules. The power to impeach our trump card. We gave the power to Congress -- to OUR representaives; the voice of the people.

It is LONG past time for them to stop pussy-footing around and use the power we gave and impeach bush and cheney.

[rug]

91. Maybe Bush would the restore habeas corpus.