executive privilege

Obama Finally Grows A Pair Over Fast And Furious

With the a contempt vote set to take place anytime against Eric Holder over the Fast and Furious gun running program, President Obama has finally taken a stand:

The White House granted Attorney General Eric Holder with executive privilege regarding Fast and Furious. Regardless of the action, Rep. Darrell Issa, R.-Cal., head of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee indicated he is moving forward with a contempt vote of the attorney general.

Executive privilege enables the Justice Department to withhold documents from Congress, even if Congress has issued a subpoena, as Rep. Issa has.

In a letter to Rep. Issa, Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote, "Although we are deeply disappointed that the Committee appears intent on proceeding with a contempt vote, the Department remains willing to work with the Committee to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues."

Of course the right is up in arms over this. The are acting like no President has ever done this before, despite Bush doing the exact same thing six times and the wingnuts championed it every single time.

Of course if I was Obama I would take it a step further. Instead I would turn over documents pertaining to Operation Wide Receiver, the name of the program back in 2007. Oh but Issa and the GOP don't want to hear anything about the inception of the program because there was a white Republican in the White House then and he did no wrong in their eyes.

Politics

Where’s The Proof, Darrell?

We have heard for months the chest beating of Darrell Issa, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Now it’s gone from chest beating to down right slander:

The Republican congressman who is taking over responsibility for congressional oversight calledPresident Obama's administration "one of the most corrupt administrations" on Sunday and predicted that the investigations he is planning over the next two years could result in about $200 billion in savings for U.S. taxpayers.

It sounds to me like Issa has already passed judgment without as much as a hearing or seeing evidence. The really makes for an impartial judge (NOT!).

And while on this subject, something that really irks me is that Republicans love using the power of Congress to enact oversight on the administrative branch, but when the administrative branch enacts oversight on the legislative branch, generally through the DOJ and criminal investigations, they label it as a “political witch hunt”.

It’s also funny how Republicans, like Issa, warned against investigating George Bush, warning the Democrats would suffer the same way Republicans did when investigating Clinton. Yeah that whole premise went the way of common sense in Washington. Of course I also blame the Democrats for falling for that whole BS line. But perhaps President Obama should take a page from the George Bush playbook and start claiming executive privilege on everything. Let that happen and you can bet the Republicans will be crying foul instantly.

Politics

Did We Forget About Executive Privilege?

I keep thinking back to the Bush years and every time someone in Congress wanted someone from the Bush administration to testify the Republicans would give cover to Bush by arguing about “executive privilege”. At that time so many of us on the left kept thinking “I wonder if they will do the same when we have a Democrat in the White House”. Well now we know:

Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, joined Sanchez in demanding Rogers' testimony on Friday, a day after Secret Service director Mark Sullivan took responsibility for the incident in an appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee.

Peter King was one of those that constantly helped Bush with cover from congressional testimonies. Apparently to King the White House should only be exempt if a Republican is in it. Forget what the actual issue is, because he sure didn’t want Bush officials to testify when it was about Walter Reed or the failing wars. Those issues are no where as important as someone showing up uninvited at the White House.

BREAKING: Rove And Miers Will Give Depositions

Didn’t expect this:

Former White House political adviser Karl Rove and counsel Harriet Miers have agreed to face questions from Congress about allegations of improper political influence in the Justice Department, the House Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday.

Both will give depositions to investigators from the committee, and claims of privilege will be "significantly limited," according to a statement from the committee.

Rove and Miers had been resisting congressional subpoenas about the matter since the House Judiciary Committee began trying to force Miers to testify in 2006. The Bush White House resisted, claiming she could not be compelled to appear. But a federal judge in Washington ruled that the former Bush administration officials had no grounds to invoke executive privilege in the case.

The committee, led by Rep. John Conyers, D-Michigan, has been investigating claims that Rove and his White House allies fired U.S. attorneys for political reasons and prosecuted officials whom they saw as opponents. Conyers called the agreement "a victory for the separation of powers and congressional oversight."

I can only guess they got some legal advice that made them decide it’s time to follow the law.

Change Has Come #4

No more secrets!

On his first day in office, President Obama put former president Bush on notice. His administration just released an executive order that will make it difficult for Bush to shield his White House records--and those of former Vice President Dick Cheney--from public scrutiny by invoking the doctrine of executive privilege. Shortly after taking office, Bush handed down his own executive order, amending the Presidential Records Act to give current and past presidents, along with their heirs, veto power over the release of presidential records, which are considered the property of the American people.

"[Obama]'s putting former presidents on notice that if you want to continue a claim of executive privilege that [Obama] doesn't think is well-placed, you're going to have to go to court," says Anne Weismann, the chief counsel for Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW).

This one could really turn out to be fun down the road. I can only imagine what is going through Bush and Cheney’s minds right now.

Exuctive Privealge After The Term?

Things look like they are going to get interesting next year:

“The Bush administration overstepped in its exertion of executive privilege, and may very well try to continue to shield information from the American people after it leaves office,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, who sits on two committees, Judiciary and Intelligence, that are examining aspects of Mr. Bush’s policies.

Topics of open investigations include the harsh interrogation of detainees, the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, secret legal memorandums from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel and the role of the former White House aides Karl Rove and Harriet E. Miers in the firing of federal prosecutors.

The article says that Bush might try the same thing Truman did in 1953 to get out of testifying before Congress after his term. The argument was separation of power, even after a President leaves office. In that case the Congress just backed down, but if our Congress keeps pushing on it then maybe we can get the Supreme Court to decide once and for all what separation of power really is and when does it end.

This Was Priceless

Bush during his press conference, talking about Russia's diplomatic reform; "I emphasis to them that checks and balances are important".

Why yes they are Mr. Bush!

Mr. Putin - to learn about these checks and balances, just watch George Bush. Whatever he does - do the opposite. Also wipe "executive privilege" from your vocabulary.

Was Tillman Murdered?

That is a possibility MSNBC is reporting tonight:

The investigation must be reopened now. Considering there were calls from the military to the White House regarding the death, then the investigation must be fully opened to the White House. Executive privilege can not be used to cover up a possible murder either. If this is found to be true then anyone involved deserves the same fate Saddam had - and I don't care if it's George Bush.

Executive Privilege On Tillman's Death

This White House isn't even human:

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.

"[T]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 Committe noted. "The response of the Defense Department to the Committee's inquiry was also deficient."

This is sick. They not only lied about his death, but are now trying to hide the reasons for the lie. This further proves that Bush has no respect for our troops, their lives or their families.

Cheney Gets A Subpoena

This will be so much fun:

The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program.

Also named in subpoenas signed by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., were the Justice Department and the National Security Council. The four parties have until July 18 to comply, according to a statement by Leahy's office.

The committee wants documents that might shed light on internal disputes within the administration over the legality of the program.

"Our attempts to obtain information through testimony of administration witnesses have been met with a consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection," Leahy said in his cover letters for the subpoenas. "There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this committee."

Now will he claim "executive privilege"? But Cheney isn't under the executive branch - his words. So if he tries to play that he is in the legislative branch, then the subpoena should stand. Just ask William Jefferson.

So If Cheney Isn't Part Of The Executive Branch?

Then the Democrats need to start the subpoenas and date him to try and claim "executive privilege". Sorry - that applies to the "executive" branch - a branch Cheney is not part of under his own "rules". Let's see how the administration argues it's way out of that one.

But He Wasn't Involved!

Yeah right! I am talking about old Gonzo, who has now landed in even more hot water:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales approved plans to fire several U.S. attorneys in a November meeting, according to documents released Friday that contradict earlier claims that he was not closely involved in the dismissals.

The Nov. 27 meeting, in which the attorney general and at least five top Justice Department officials participated, focused on a five-step plan for carrying out the firings of the prosecutors, Justice Department officials said late Friday.

There, Gonzales signed off on the plan, which was crafted by his chief of staff, Kyle Sampson. Sampson resigned last week in the wake of the political firestorm surrounding the firings.

So we find yet another lie the nation's top law enforcement official told Congress. And with this kind of behavior we are to expect Bush's people to tell Congress the truth not under oath? Bull shit!

I say the House and Senate need to just go ahead and put the subpoenas out. Clinton had 49 aides testify under oath, so we have a precedent. Congress wants to discuss Rove and Mier's conversations with Gonzales, not Bush, which takes the cover of "executive privilege" off the table. This is a showdown the White House will loose.

OOPS - Something Else Popped Up On YouTube!

Kos found this gem

Yup - that is wingnut darling supporting Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson. This is the same Rocky Anderson who called Bush a war criminal this week and said he should be impeached. Kos has a bunch of Rocky's diaries highlighted.

Hear that? It is the meltdown of the wingnut bloggers. Just when they thought it was so neat about the Hillary 1984 ad on YouTube. The maker of that ad has summed it up perfectly:

I made the "Vote Different" ad because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process. There are thousands of other people who could have made this ad, and I guarantee that more ads like it--by people of all political persuasions--will follow.

The only thing I would like to add to that is the difference the media age is making on politics. It was easy to sit there and deny saying something in past elections, but now thanks to the power of the internet, we have archives to go through and demystify any shades a candidate might try to cast over a previous part of their lives. Some are taking awhile to learn this. Tony Snow got caught with it yesterday when asked about his sudden support for executive privilege when 10 years ago he was so against it.

FEMA Gag Order Gets Some Local Level Attention

While the media has been strongly focused on the Middle East, a bombshell was set off last week with Hurricane Katrina. I posted about FEMA not allowing citizens in their trailer parks access to reporters. The only way they can talk to reporters is if a FEMA official is with them (sounds like the old Saddam "minders"). This not only infringes on the first amendment of the victims, but also the first amendment protection our free press and the very fabric of our society.

Well the story is starting to get a little more notice and even has some law makers in an outrage:

Members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation said Monday that FEMA’s policy restricting media access to residents living in FEMA-managed trailer parks is absurd, outrageous and denies park residents their rights as American citizens.

“FEMA just strikes you as a bureaucracy that’s out of control,” said U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Kenner. “You don’t lose your fundamental rights just because you’re living in temporary housing. It’s an outrageous pattern of behavior.”

Jindal was referring to a July 15 article in which The Advocate detailed an incident in a Federal Emergency Management Agency-operated trailer park in Morgan City where a reporter and photographer were ordered off of the site.

The two had been invited into a trailer occupied by resident Dekotha Devall and her family. But during the interview a security guard ordered the reporter and photographer to leave.

The security guard called the police after the reporter attempted to give Devall a business card, an act the guard said was forbidden

Bob Taft Gets Another Blow

This is huge news from my state:

For the first time in Ohio history, the state Supreme Court ruled that the governor has a limited power to withhold documents from the public when the information is “made for the purpose of fostering informed and sound policymaking.”

But in a 5-2 decision, the court majority said even if the governor asserts what is referred to as “executive privilege,” citizens can gain access to information if they can show a “particularized need to review the communications to or from the governor when the communications are made for the purpose of fostering informed and sound policymaking.”

The ruling by the GOP-controlled court was in a public records case filed by state Sen. Marc Dann, a Democrat from the Youngstown area who sued Gov. Bob Taft after seeking records about what Mr. Taft knew and when he knew about investment losses at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, chief among them the $50 million rare-coin investment managed by Toledo area coin dealer and Republican fund-raiser Tom Noe and a $215 million loss in a hedge fund run by MDL Capital Management, of Pittsburgh.

Bob Taft is the lowest approved governor in the country. He is the first in the state of Ohio to be convicted of a crime while in office and this adds another first to his legacy. No wonder why people are overwhelmingly supporting Ted Strickland, a Democrat, to be the next top dog in the state.