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Bush Claims Executive Privilege on Subpoenas
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Michael Abramowitz and Amy Goldstein
Washington Post
June 29, 2008
The White House invoked executive privilege yesterday in withholding subpoenaed documents on fired U.S. attorneys out of confidence that it can prevail in court and weather a political storm by blaming Congress for overreaching, administration officials said.
White House counsel Fred F. Fielding said in a letter to the chairmen of the Senate and House judiciary committees that President Bush will not make available the requested documents or permit testimony by two former senior aides about White House and Justice Department calculations in the firing of nine federal prosecutors.
Striking a theme used by other presidents being investigated by Congress, Fielding wrote that Bush is taking the position to preserve what he termed a “bedrock Presidential prerogative: for the President to perform his constitutional duties, it is imperative that he receive candid and unfettered advice” from top aides.
Advisers would be “reluctant to communicate openly and honestly” if they feared being dragged before Congress to testify or provide documents of their deliberations, he wrote.
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Coming on the same day the Senate torpedoed Bush’s immigration plan, Fielding’s letter and the White House’s statements threatened to worsen the already strained relations between the administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress, which has launched aggressive investigations aimed at exposing White House wrongdoing.
The statements from all sides yesterday called to mind the harsh rhetoric in Washington heard at the height of the Watergate scandal.
“This is a further shift by the Bush administration into Nixonian stonewalling and more evidence of their disdain for our system of checks and balances,” said Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Increasingly, the president and vice president feel they are above the law.”
The White House’s action yesterday did not address the separate Senate subpoenas this week for documents related to the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program. If Congress insists on those subpoenas, a senior administration official said, “we will have to deal with that. . . . I am not going to speculate at this point.”
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July 30th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Bush = War-criminal
He has complete disdain for all forms of law, constitution and habeas corpus rights.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Wow.
They sure love this argument, that we can’t prosecute them because then they would be afraid to break the law…!
The real game being played here is to try to paint advisory jobs as “not really having any effect” by drawing a distinction between advice and action.
To that end, I have two comments:
1. When acting as an advisor in an official position, your advice IS your action, and is subject to prosecution.
2. If the president wishes to insulate his advisers from the consequences of his actions then, “Fine” — subpoena The President!
…Next, they’ll try to say they can’t be held liable for giving out orders because they didn’t actually /CARRY/ them out, and that as a nation, we need to assure our leaders that they will not be held responsible for their orders otherwise they won’t give any… (And the problem is….)
Sort of a reverse-nuremburg defense.
WOW!
July 30th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
AMEN!….# 1 This United Nazi Police States of America has no law anymore. Its what ever they can get away with(what we allow them) becomes the “new law”!
July 30th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Shrub flips the bird to everyone. Whats new.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
This Is madness! There is only so much Americas will take. This guy is his own goverment.
Impeach the hell out of him NOW!
July 30th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Well, it really looks like think tank and walker are pushing it to the limit, so people will finally begin to say what they would really like to say, about what should be done.
I hear it all the time at work, “will someone please ##### that ###### ######!
I will not speak those words.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
@ Utter Disbelief:
How would you like that? The leaders say “I didn’t DO it” and the soldiers say “We’re just following orders!”
Remeber Mukasey in congressional hearing when he got barked at: “WHERE DOES IT STOP? WHO’S RESPONSIBLE”.
I’ll tell you where it stops. It stops here and now. ENOUGH!
July 30th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
What does he have to fear, neither the congress or the American people have any guts and are for the most part acting like a bunch of damn sheep. In any other country, except England who happens to be more sheeppish than the U. S., there would have been a revolution by now. We are not even to the point of demonstrating in the streets yet. What’s it going to take? Do we have to wait until they decide to take the first borns? Letters haven’t worked, e-mail’s haven’t worked, blogging hasn’t worked, phone calls haven’t worked and a complete change of party majority in congress as a result of the last election didn’t work. If we want change that only leaves one thing…the only question is now, or later.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I AM MAD AS HELL AT THESE TRAITORS I JUST CAN’T LOOK AT THESE DISGUSTING PERSONS ANYMORE WHO PROFIT FROM DEATH AND DESTRUCTION. SICKENS ME. SICKENS ME.
Arhgoierfgoiawrgh43wq4395 (&”=§($&Z !” &=$
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July 30th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Gee! Do you suppose Bush has something to hide?
July 30th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
People won’t wake up until they are either dead or in a prison camp.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
This is very sad. I liked the article until I read the part that Congress is ….”the White House’s statements threatened to worsen the already strained relations between the administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress, which has launched aggressive investigations aimed at exposing White House wrongdoing.”
As I said, this is sad, very very sad.
Rhonda
July 31st, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I can’t wait for the day that “executive privilege” will manifest itself with the exclamation ” Mr. President ,you have the right to remain silent !” DTTNWO
July 31st, 2008 at 3:46 pm
You know what interests me? The fact that tons of other countries do not have freedom of speech, but they organize and go out and take a beating, go to jail, die and more, to fight for some rights, or food and whatever else. And Americans have freedom of speech and they dont ban together and use it. Many African countries take a beating to vote but damnit they do it, Chinese fight back and they take a beating (Tibet), and on and on and on………
July 31st, 2008 at 5:37 pm
The whole thing is set to a hair pin trigger set to explode at any second. The word recession / depression
Is the trigger for the total devaluation of the US dollar. That triggers default which triggers collection by the banks and the USA goes into receivership of The International Monetary Fund. The Bushes and the Cheneys are Busy looting every US trust account, Emptying out the banks, Stealing National treasures Changing title deeds,transferring assets off shore, counterfeiting the Declaration of Independence, you cant even imagine what these people are doing now to make sure that assets are moved out of US coffers and into the private property of individuals. Executive privilege is the last of this mans problems.
His lies are compounded with interest daily and the effects of his causes are way overdue! No person should be surprised or in denial of the blatant theft and corruption you will see in the next few months. Your President betrayed you. Your President betrayed your country. All truths related to the history of the United States of America are revealed to the people of this country now. To: Caroline Kennedy the sole survivor of the JFK family I send love to you, You have been very strong and remained very beautiful
and deserve to be commended daily for your bravery. I lift you up.
Love to all MCB