Executive, Privilege! No Way, Jorge.

As we have said before, executive privilege goes out the window if Congress asserts that it is investigating a crime.

Nixon got busted for using the IRS against his "enemies" and trying to use the CIA to block FBI investigations into Watergate. These acts were considered an abuse of power, as they should have been.

The Bushites, in turning the DOJ into an arm of the Republican party election theft machine is the most serious abuse of power I have ever seen. No president should ever be allowed to get by with the kinds of abuses of power this president and vice president have committed, becaue if they are allowed to get by with wholesale law breaking, the it's every man and woman for themselves.

Any foolish ideas we have of a nation under law are just that; foolish in the extreme.

Christy at FDL looks at the Bush Administration’s invoking of executive privilege:

What (Fred Fielding) and the White House are doing is playing a game of chicken with Congress, and they are using Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers, among others, as their own personal shields from accountability. But this only works for so long as Congress allows them to play their silly game. The trump card in all of this is a threat of contempt, not against the subpoenaed witnesses, but against the President himself for falsely claiming a privilege to which he is not entitled in this matter.

This is the card that John Dean recognizes from his Watergate days - and it is one with which Fielding is also intimately acquainted. It is their bluff of assertion of privilege that is the current bet on the table. Congress ought to call the bet - and raise with a threat of contempt if testimony is not immediately forthcoming and if documents are not immediately delivered.

But while we await the next move, it is worth asking a few questions, starting with whether former Fielding research boy, now Chief Justice John Roberts, will recuse himself from any consideration of this matter if and when it reaches that point of constitutional consideration? The separation of powers issues hang in the balance on this one, and the ambitious Mr. Roberts ought not be allowed a second bite at an apple he has already infested.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. The Lantern has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is The Lantern endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

....And The Truth Shall Set Us Free

Dean: The Misunderestimated Mr. Cheney

Cheney ought to be water-boarded, since for him, the right to do so to enemies of this country and its constitution is a "no-brainer."

FindLaw's Writ - Dean: The Misunderestimated Mr. Cheney:

Vice President Dick Cheney has regularly claimed that he is above the law, but until recently he has not offered any explanation of why.

In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a law that Cheney believes does apply to him, whether that law be major and minor. For example, he has claimed that most of the laws passed in the aftermath of Watergate were unconstitutional, and thus implicitly inapplicable. His office oversees signing statements claiming countless new laws will not be honored except insofar as the President's extremely narrow interpretation allows. He does not believe the War Powers Act should be honored by the President. Nor, in his view, should the President be bothered with laws like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). In fact, it appears Cheney has actively encouraged defiance of such laws by the Bush Administration.

John Dean on Alberto Gonzales

John expects Gonzo to resist leaving his post and Bush to refuse to fire him. In my mind this is not an altogether bad thing. The very dark cloud that hangs over Gonzales, and therefore Justice, extends widely over the White House as well, especially with Bush backing Gonzo.

We no longer have a lame duck in the White House, we have a dead duck, and as long as Gonzo stays the investigations and hearings will continue. More career Justice Department Lawyers will come forward and more crimes will be uncovered; from election manipulation, as if that weren't enough, to God knows what.

So, let Lil Alberto stay, until he takes down all the Bushites with him!


The ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, called Attorney Alberto Gonzales's command performance on Thursday, April 19, 2007, his "reconfirmation hearing." Needless to say, this was hyperbole -- for Gonzales has already been confirmed by the Senate long ago and thus will serve until he resigns or the President removes him. Neither of those events appears likely, although this saga has not yet ended.

By and large, the Gonzales hearings had few surprises. But the few that did occur were quite telling: There was a stunning lack of Republican support for Gonzales on the Judiciary Committee, and there was a remarkable change in White House procedures for contacts with the Department of Justice. (not really surprising, John. The Rethugs have figured out that impeachment is not on the table for a very good reason. The longer these asshats stay in office the more likley it is that the Republican Party is finisihed, for a very long time to come.

What was not surprising, however, was Gonzales's determination to stay in the job and Bush's disinclination to remove him- for this is consistent with the GOP presidential standard. Let's look at each of these features of the hearings, in turn.

The Striking Lack of Republican Support for Gonzales

There are nineteen members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ten Democrats and nine Republicans. Based on the conduct displayed during the Gonzales hearing it appears that the Attorney General has the support of only two Republicans: Senator Orrin Hatch (R.UT), who tried repeatedly to rehabilitate Gonzales during the hearings; and Senator John Cornyn (R.TX), who sought to protect fellow Texan Gonzales. Both Hatch and Cornyn are hardcore conservatives. (without a conscious, of course)

Running throughout the questions were statements relating to Gonzales's competence. In the afternoon session, Senator Coburn (R. OK) did not mince words: He made it clear that he had found that the Attorney General had acted with incompetence, and that he believed there their must be consequences for Gonzales's mistakes. Accordingly, in a striking fashion, he called for Gonzales to resign.

Even when Orrin Hatch tried to rehabilitate Gonzales, Hatch all but conceded the Attorney General's incompetence, at least regarding the firing of the eight U.S. Attorneys. But Hatch tried - unsuccessfully - to balance that with vague statements as to all the good Gonzales has supposedly done.

Senator Arlen Specter said everything short of actually calling Gonzales a liar, for all of his conflicting statements about the handling of the dismissal of the U.S. Attorneys. In addition, Specter said while he would not call for Gonzales to resign, he strongly suggested that he do just that, and that if he did not, the President should send Gonzales back to Texas.

The lack of GOP support for Gonzales is not good for the White House, which needs all the friends it can find, now that the Democrats control Congress and they are undertaking their responsibility to conduct oversight. Having an attorney general with zero clout on Capitol Hill - which is now the case for Gonzales - leaves the White House all the more exposed.

Column continues


....and the truth shall set us free.