Broader Privilege Claimed In Firings
WASHINGTON - Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege.
The position presents serious legal and political obstacles for congressional Democrats, who have begun laying the groundwork for contempt proceedings against current and former White House officials in order to pry loose information about the dismissals. 
Under federal law, a statutory contempt citation by the House or Senate must be submitted to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, “whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action.”
But administration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases, such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive privilege. Officials pointed to a Justice Department legal opinion during the Reagan administration, which made the same argument in a case that was never resolved by the courts.
“A U.S. attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt charges or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case,” said a senior official, who said his remarks reflect a consensus within the administration. “And a U.S. attorney wouldn’t be permitted to argue against the reasoned legal opinion that the Justice Department provided. No one should expect that to happen.”
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, added: “It has long been understood that, in circumstances like these, the constitutional prerogatives of the president would make it a futile and purely political act for Congress to refer contempt citations to U.S. attorneys.”
Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University who has written a book on executive-privilege issues, called the administration’s stance “astonishing.”
“That’s a breathtakingly broad view of the president’s role in this system of separation of powers,” Rozell said. “What this statement is saying is the president’s claim of executive privilege trumps all.”
The administration’s statement is a dramatic attempt to seize the upper hand in an escalating constitutional battle with Congress, which has been trying for months, without success, to compel White House officials to testify and to turn over documents about their roles in the prosecutor firings last year. The Justice Department and White House in recent weeks have been discussing when and how to disclose the stance, and the official said he decided yesterday that it was time to highlight it.
Yesterday, a House Judiciary subcommittee voted to lay the groundwork for contempt proceedings against White House chief of staff Joshua B. Bolten, following a similar decision last week against former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers.
The administration has not directly informed Congress of its view. A spokeswoman for Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the Judiciary Committee’s chairman, declined to comment . But other leading Democrats attacked the argument.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) called it “an outrageous abuse of executive privilege” and said: “The White House must stop stonewalling and start being accountable to Congress and the American people. No one, including the president, is above the law.”
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) said the administration is “hastening a constitutional crisis,” and Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) said the position “makes a mockery of the ideal that no one is above the law.”
Waxman added: “I suppose the next step would be just disbanding the Justice Department.”
Under long-established procedures and laws, the House and Senate can each pursue two kinds of criminal contempt proceedings, and the Senate also has a civil contempt option. The first, called statutory contempt, has been the avenue most frequently pursued in modern times, and is the one that requires a referral to the U.S. attorney in the District.
Both chambers also have an “inherent contempt” power, allowing either body to hold its own trials and even jail those found in defiance of Congress. Although widely used during the 19th century, the power has not been invoked since 1934 and Democratic lawmakers have not displayed an appetite for reviving the practice.
In defending its argument, administration officials point to a 1984 opinion by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, headed at the time by Theodore B. Olson, a prominent conservative lawyer who was solicitor general from 2001 to 2004. The opinion centered on a contempt citation issued by the House for Anne Gorsuch Burford, then administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
It concluded: “The President, through a United States Attorney, need not, indeed may not, prosecute criminally a subordinate for asserting on his behalf a claim of executive privilege. Nor could the Legislative Branch or the courts require or implement the prosecution of such an individual.”
In the Burford case, which involved spending on the Superfund program, the White House filed a federal lawsuit to block Congress’s contempt action. The conflict subsided when Burford turned over documents to Congress.
The Bush administration has not previously signaled it would forbid a U.S. attorney from pursuing a contempt case in relation to the prosecutor firings. But officials at Justice and elsewhere say it has long held that Congress cannot force such action.
David B. Rifkin, who worked in the Justice Department and White House counsel’s office under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, praised the position and said it is consistent with the idea of a “unitary executive.” In practical terms, he said, “U.S. attorneys are emanations of a president’s will.” And in constitutional terms, he said, “the president has decided, by virtue of invoking executive privilege, that is the correct policy for the entire executive branch.”
But Stanley Brand, who was the Democratic House counsel during the Burford case, said the administration’s legal view “turns the constitutional enforcement process on its head. They are saying they will always place a claim of presidential privilege without any judicial determination above a congressional demand for evidence — without any basis in law.” Brand said the position is essentially telling Congress: “Because we control the enforcement process, we are going to thumb our nose at you.”
Rozell, the George Mason professor and authority on executive privilege, said the administration’s stance “is almost Nixonian in its scope and breadth of interpreting its power. Congress has no recourse at all, in the president’s view. . . . It’s allowing the executive to define the scope and limits of its own powers.”
Research editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
Time to invoke inherent contempt. Of course that will be irrelevant now that Chimpy gets a colonoscopy and Darth Cheney will assume the powers of the Presidency. God help all of us. Our worst nightmare has been realized. Look out Iran, you are about to be bombed.
“I suppose the next step would be just disbanding the Justice Department.”
More likely Congress will be disbanded. Who would notice?
Once again Congress has more than sufficient grounds upon which to invoke contempt. If Congress accepts the notion that Bush is above the law, then we should shut it down, burn the constitution, and accept Bush as dictator. Maybe we could save some money in the process. I assume Bush and his henchmen would make the same argument about impeachment, but then, impeachment is off the table, isn’t it. Is blogging the best we can do now in this country?
Such a simple solution escapes the minds of Democrats hell-bent on narrow-thinking.
When the executive has so overstepped the bounds of power so as to threaten the Republic, the Constitution and congressional oversight, the solution is removal or attempted removal from office via impeachment.
Stop playing games, pretenting and “acting” like congress people. Instead do your job and begin impeachment proceeding immediately. Othewiser stop whining and bend over.
It’s so hard to ger anything done, so impeachment is what we should of been doing all along. DON’T PLAY THEIR GAME!
Could it be so that the title of the president should be abandoned for The Emperor? In that respect things could get simpler - think about saved money and tax cuts when the congress and the senate are discharged. Or, the money could go to fund the war on terror.
I mean, all these theater about democracy. Lucas films do not seem to reflect stuff long ago in a far galaxy.
If anyone still doubts that a coup is taking place must be braindead, and that especially means you Pelosi and co. Complacent, naive, overweight, overindulgant america is about to wake up in 1984.
Who would have ever believed in the past that the US would be ruled by Dictatorship as it is now.
in the face of such contempt for democracy, and considering the total inadequacy of the increasinglly useless scrap of paper called the constitution, might it not be time for some brave people to engage in a Julius Cesar-ian solution?
What else is left to do?
The last time a king George tried to impose his treacherous will on the populace he was met by a scappy bunch sharpshooters. Lock and load people, it’s coming sooner than you think.
REALITY CHECK: Quasi Dictator?
Et tu, anyone?
STAY TUNED:
Due to Executive Authority, Declares that the Constitution of the United States of America does not apply to the Presidency.
Why do the Republicans want to make the presidency so strong, if polls indicate that the next president will likely be a Democrat? Think there are going to be any more elections?
re: Happy Days, “who ever thought we’d be ruled by a dictator?” the original writers of the constitution were very aware of it, the ole “checks and balances” approach. However they were relying on a Congress to not end up being a bunch of spineless sellouts.
I love to see Bush literally piss on all the members of the Congress and call it executive privilege, because this Congress deserves it. This is the best time to IMPEACH before he actually starts pissing. I see it coming.
A chimp is much smarter than Bush-and to refer to him that way is a major insult to simians. Bush–or as I like to call him, “humany,” is essentially the representative of human beings on earth for any space travellers who happen to fly by. No wonder they dont introduce themselves.
Get out the brown shirts and get ready for some “IRON HEEL”. It’s time to stomp out the domestic terrorists who threaten to disrupt the selling of the Constitution to corporate America.
Hoa binh
I have a difficult time coming back to this page because I have to look at that picture of two coniving, treacherous, disgusting specimens smiling through their venomous teeth. They’re smiling because they just gave each other blowjobs on the whitehouse lawn, in front of the entire nation.
Time for Congress and the Supreme Court to go home. It is all over but the shouting and there will be no one left to hear it. The Rule of Law is no longer a viable recourse for the American public, unless you are on board W’s little raft. The law, as it stands today, is revelent only to the NeoCons. Anything the rest of us have left can be soaked up by W when he declares Martial Law which could be anytime now. There aren’t too many carts left to overturn.
Executive Privilege = Divine right of Kings
Here we go! If Congress does not stand now — it never will. As in history, it will join the useless legislative legions that caved and complied to brutal dictators and social psychopaths of the past. The only difference is that in this chapter of our human story — Mama Nature may very well intervene and take us all out for disrespecting our lease on life and the life of the planet. Life is so wonderful and the world is so beautiful — except for the folly the sick idiots among us make of it. What waste! How tragic! How stupid! Very, very stupid!
Haven’t you people shot these goons dead yet?
Look, in the parlance of the moderately cool Matrix Trilogy, If you’re waiting for your politicians to act, you’re looking for acts of Mercy from a ‘Smith’.
They’re part of ‘The System’.
Good luck with that.
jm2c
The flood lights are on; the deer are in the headlights; and now is the time for all good citizens to come to the aide of their country. IMPEACH NOW! IMPEACH NOW! IMPEACH NOW! This is the last call!
It seems likely that Congress will sit still for this assault on the last remnants of the Constitution because either they are Bush loyalists or they are Dems who think a Dem will take the White House in 08. With a Dem in the White House, the completely specious, legally baseless “unitary executive” theory will be theirs to abuse. So goes the thinking, I suspect. Of course it will not work out quite that way. The Repubs (and their elite paymasters) always have a fall back. One clue - Bill Clinton barely got a single judicial nomination through without prior, unofficial vetting by Orrin Hatch. Stopping this madness is going to take more than Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi’s weirdly banal and enervated complaints.
The Cross-Eyed Dictator–er. Decider has given you folks the finger. Again.
When do you plan on doing something about it?
Bad dye job on Speedy Gonzales’ hair.
Good thing the Loonitary Dicktatorette is “relying” on an “opinion” written by another of their consigliere, because it’s those opinions - like, torture is cool, Geneva Conventions are quaint, warrant-less spying is super cool - and not the actual LAW that is important in, er, what is this stuff called again?
Oh, right. Democracy. Which, it turns out, does allow for the ARREST of sitting President if said Loonitary Dicktatorette violates the FISA laws. Go ahead, check it out, says it right there in black and white. And, since said Cheneybush have CONFESSED to violating the FISA laws…
No contempt. No cult member opinions. No Constitutional crisis. Just perp walk and arraignment.
Well if President is standing in the way of justice, then the solution should be quite obvious: remove the president from power.
It is way past time for impeachment. So I say to Nancy Pelosi, and her colleagues, “Put impeachment on the table, and let’s eat! Because ‘we the people’ are hungry for it!”
P.S. And let’s remember: US Attorneys DO NOT SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF THE PRESIDENT. They work for We The People - the President is the manager we hired to make sure OUR employees do their job.
Mammon speaks through Bush?
http://www.bushisantichrist.com/
It’s time to stop the dictatorship before it officially starts. I’m going to start tonight.
Anyone up for a molotov cocktail?
If at first we don’t secede, try, try again!
Does this mean we need to trade in our blue, green, red or black shirts for brown ones?
Here’s how bad things are getting. When asked about his reasoning in this matter, tony Blankly (well named neocon shill) of the Washington Times on Diane Rehm’s weekly news round-on NPR said he “was astonished” at the suppossed reasoning of such a proposition.
A few minutes later a caller to the show suggested tha given the President’s increasingly bizarre behavior the only reasonable response left was impeachment.
I was waiting for the usual howling down on the part of the panel and Diane Rehm to this possibility, but all they said was “well they probably don’t have the votes and there isn’t enough time to make it happen”.
Even the fossilized punditry in DC is starting to get it that this guy is nuts and failure to at least try and do something is only making them an accomplice to his high crimes and misdemeanors.
“A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people”
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King George of America is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness of his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
They’ve been getting away with everything for 6 years, culminating in a feeling of invincibility. How obvious does this need to become for Democrats to feel a pang of self-respect?
Democrats in Congress are like the abused spouse who keeps coming back for more. Everyone yells at them the words of empowerment but they are stuck in a cycle of abuse.
Whatfools wrote:
“If at first we don’t secede, try, try again!
Brilliant!
But before we tear ourselves apart state-by-state, let’s see if we can find a prison to throw the D.C. crooks into. Because we really do need to establish a tradition of law and democracy on this savage continent.
“America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without an intervening period of civilization.”
– John Fowles
malatesta:
“I have a difficult time coming back to this page because I have to look at that picture of two conniving, treacherous, disgusting specimens smiling through their venomous teeth…”
Rest easy Malatesta.
The dear editoral team at Common Dreams unfortunately forgot to include the caption from the original poster, it reads:
“WANTED!!
For crimes against humanity!
“If you see these two odious villains, feel free to do whatever you like with ‘em, but just don’t let them get away…
…with any more Lies, Deceit, Mass Murder and Grand Theft / Larceny from the Public Purse.
“!! Arrest on sight !!”
Harry Reid may bluster that it’s “outrageous abuse of executive privilege” & that “No one, including the president, is above the law.” But the Dems will roll over for this, & do absolutely nothing.
Rozell, the George Mason professor says the administration’s stance “is almost Nixonian in its scope.” This charge is deeply unfair — to Nixon. // As horrific an abuser of presidential power as Nixon was, in his wildest fantasies he was never like the gang now occupying the White House. When Nixon was president, I loathed him viscerally. But compared to the present crew, he was a sweet angel.
The senior official is wrong.
The Congress can have its own contempt trials. They do not need to rely on the DC US Attorney, according to Prof. Jonathan Turley:
COUNTDOWN-KEITH OLBERMANN
July 17, 2007
JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV.: Hi, Keith.
OLBERMANN: Let‘s start with the constitutional history here. Walk us through this phrase I doubt many people have heard of before, “inherent contempt.” What is it and what could it mean for Harriet Miers?
TURLEY: Well, people may not realize this, but Congress routinely used to try people. In fact, in 1796, they held a full trial for a person for congressional bribery. They would routinely send the sergeant-at-arms who had arms and weapons to use and men to collect people and bring them to the Congress against their will, and they could hold them for the period of that session of Congress.
And they did this so often it actually became something of a burden. They still have that power, to hold the trial on the floor for someone in contempt. But they decided that they would be best to leave that to the Department of Justice so that they could increase the penalty and so that they did not have trials every week on the floor.
OLBERMANN: So is this still on the table and if it could be used against Harriet Miers—it sounds like it‘s a new-found weapon or an old weapon that has been newly found. Could be used against anyone in the administration who tries to hide behind executive privilege?
TURLEY: Technically, it can be, it is more likely that they would first proceed under the Section 192, which is the congressional contempt statute. And under that they would ask the U.S. attorney in D.C. to prosecute her.
This is a classic form of contempt. The sort of most straightforward act of contempt is not showing up. And I am not too sure why the White House did that. It was, in my view, a rather silly thing and dangerous thing to do.
She could have shown up and still invoked privilege, but instead, she did not show up and there were plenty of questions that might have been asked her which did not involve privilege.
So go to the U.S. attorney. The U.S. attorney who did earlier, in the Anne Gorsuch scandal in the Reagan Administration, refused to follow such a contempt procedure.
But the White House eventually backed down in that case. She resigned and they handed over the documents.
PJD:
“…in the face of such contempt for democracy, and considering the total inadequacy of the increasingly useless scrap of paper called the constitution, might it not be time for some brave people to engage in a Julius Cesar-ian solution?”
Answer: I strongly believe it’s just *a matter of time* now PJD. The ‘Ides of March’ repeat performance is not so very far away now.
Historical quote:
“As the Senate convened, Caesar was attacked and stabbed to death by a group of senators who called themselves the “Liberators”; -they justified their action on the grounds that they committed tyrannicide, not murder, and were preserving the Republic from Caesar’s alleged monarchical ambitions… ”
++++++++++++++++++++++
These Govern-mental goons have really, TRULY upset too many among their former brethren now. Something will give, -and soon.
How are corrupt presidents usually buried?
Should we order extra flags or anything for the upcoming ceremony?
…
Seriously, why isn’t secession possible?? Do the fundamental christian corpratists need ALL 50 states???
I cannot be the only one here who has pictured this.
A sustainable country, where war is right up there with HFCS? Where children can play in the “street” because there arn’t any cars??
We (humans) can create any reality we want… The USA seems to be spiraling out of control. I am an American who wants to live in a different reality… Do I have to move… Or is change genuinely possible… I’m young… but time is passing.
Any ideas? I would be happy with Oregon (mountains and ocean).
Read Executive Order 10999 (allows the government to take over all food resources and farms.)
E.O. 10998 (allows the government to seize all means of transportation, including personal cars, trucks or vehicles of any kind and total control over all highways, seaports, and waterways.)
E.O. 11000 (allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.)
In fact, it you look over this site, which is now a bit dated, you will find below the main article, a list of EO’s covering the martial law powers.
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm
Oh, I forgot EO 11921 (allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when a state of emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot review the action for six months. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has broad powers in every aspect of the nation. General Frank Salzedo, chief of FEMA’s Civil Security Division stated in a 1983 conference that he saw FEMA’s role as a “new frontier in the protection of individual and governmental leaders from assassination, and of civil and military installations from sabotage and/or attack, as well as prevention of dissident groups from gaining access to U.S. opinion, or a global audience in times of crisis.”)
There’s a bunch of them on the books and they cover everything.
During the sixties/seventies and eighties, all of us who were part of the revolution for change worked our butts off - for Blacks - for women - to get out of Viet Nam - and get Nixon out of the White House. Most of us were in our late teens/ early twenties and thirties. We were a constant irritation and unending voice -We worked hard and we eventually burned out. But we saw many changes.
Now here is what many in my generation finds maddening!
Zoom forward to today - Most people in those same age brackets as we were, are doing NOTHING!
All they do is blog blog blog - text text text - call call call - and drink from their bigger and bigger beer bongs - Why in the hell aren’t they in the streets making noise about what is happening to their country because of this disgusting man ? (see photo in this article - ugh)
Instead, they are going to blogs with empty words?
The young today are almost total losers –
and with their addiction to electronic gadgets they are more then ready for the “Big Bother” cameras/ monitors to be placed in their homes - In fact they will probably say “cool” when the equipment is installed.
bush/ cheney et al are riding the gravy train because very few angry citizens are making enough noise on a daily/ weekly basis.
When will America reach it’s “Network” moment?? Geesh .. you would think by now most people would be “madder then hell” and screaming it from their windows … but no, they just sit at their computer saying they are angry and making the “Dems and Nancy Pelosi” the scapegoats - Open your own damn window, get out on the street and let butthead know you personally are sick of him !!
Impeachment is just a part of the answer - a ground swell of unending anger would also do the trick!!
So far, Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink have done most of the work - strong women indeed, but they can’t be everywhere all the time! Where are the rest of you … and especially the men ?? blog blog blog - blah blah blah!!
Those of us who have done more then our share are waiting for the rest of you to get up off your butts and do yours!!
Malatesta, I understood everyone’s blog except yours. I’m sort of new with political issues and political discussions, but I’ve sure learned some great lessons here from you good folks.
So Malatesta, could you please explain what it was the two bad guys were doing to one another, was it a good, or a bad thing?___ Thank you.
I’d like to see that photo of Bush and Gonzales showing their fingers too.
Surprizingly i have thought those same thoughts about bush and cheney in the context of the ides of march. It amazes me that rational people who feel a sense of dispair would be willing to fantisize the unthinkable. There is only so much that a country of law abiding people can take before they break. Watch out you bushies, there will be a day of reckoning and you won’t have to wait for the rapture. You can try to ignore us but you can’t keep a good people down. I belive in the goodness of people and the Constitution but those people can only take so much b***s***. Let the revolution begin now!!!
I bet Cheney bombs Iran while he is in power for a couple hours tomorrow, while Chimpy is at the vet.
Wake up yankees! You are under dictatorship!!! Congress is powerless and is a mockery.
SORRY, THERE IS NO MORE DEMOCRACY LEFT WITH YANKEES TO EXPORT.
HAIL DICTATOR GEORGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please,___ scroll back up and take a real good look at bush’s face and head. The only thing missing is a set of small horns. Really!! That is a face and the expression of pure evil. It isn’t just his actions, evil is pouring out of the man. He has sold his soul to the devil.
God help us,
Executive signings exempt the president from Congressional Laws. Executive priviledge exempts the president from any oversight by the other branches of gov’t. It’s time for the Judicial branch of gov’t to act like the independent and coequal branch it was designed to be and force the Prezs hand.
Rozell: “What this statement is saying is the president’s claim of executive privilege trumps all.” It most certainly does not. It may be an inconvenience, but we don’t have a King here, just a guy who has to SHARE power with the other two branches. If that leads to the kind of kangaroo courts that impeached Clinton for a BJ, I’ll take it.
Bush is really scary.
WhatToDo,
I asked the same thing. Why can’t we go back to 1861 minus the Civil War? I really think that the way to scare the pants of this Administration is to blindside it with secession. Maybe it would be good for W and Co. to experience what Lincoln endured, especially the anguish of trying to save a country ripping apart at the seams. Maybe it might also stimulate this Congress to actually do its job.
The very first post, by Claudius, provides the answer: “inherent contempt”; that is the inherent constitutional powers of both House and Senate, separately and unaided by statute, to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents and other records.
Enforcement of subpoenas, issued by either House on its own authority, unaided by any statute, is by arrest and commitment by House or Senate itself. The legality of such commitments may be inquired into via habeas corpus proceedings–unless of course, House or Senate commits the recalcitrant witness to GITMO, in which a statute deprives the courts of jurisdiction.
The Washington Post article fails to mention each House’s inherent powers. Members of Congress are similarly reticent. Why? Are we to believe they actually do not know the extent of their powers?
brucetylerwick,
I suspect one of two reasons. Either the Congress is too chicken to step up and enforce the inherent contempt charge, or they are in kohutz with the Bush Administration. My guess, is the latter more than the former.
Regarding der Bush’s colonoscopy, it is nothing unusual to have Cheney in charge. America is so used to being run by an asshole that it is natural to assign another one to hold the fort while the first is being checked.
Claudius,
Yes, and as you’ve doubtless noticed; Bush Administration reliance on “prosecutorial discretion” eliminates the need to use (or threaten to use) the president’s pardoning power–the OTHER big drawback to statutory contempt!
If either House were serious about securing testimony or records, each body would rely first upon its own authority, unaided by any other official or body. That is the normal procedure for enforcing the privileges of a legislative body. For statutory contempt, however, consent of all three branches is required, just to enforce a subpoena!
Also, if House or Senate were serious, you’d be advising them (and they’d be executing your instructions).
Evelyn Smith,
What is was the two guys were doing, in my reference, was neither good nor bad. I’ll try to explain my feeble attempt at sarcasm.
Clinton was IMPEACHED for lying about a blowjob, a given.
These guys think they can do whatever the hell they want legally, illegally, ethically, unethically etc. and incessantly LIE about it, and yet nothing is done. The image I had was of them snickering and denying what everyone just witnessed, all the while not giving a shit that everyone knows they’re lying.
I’ll try to be less obtuse in the future.
This is not at all funny. I’d heard the news before reading this piece and I still trembled at every word.
Professor Rozell has it wrong when he says it’s almost as bad as Nixon. Nixon replaced Cox with another special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who took the privilege question through judicial channels. This move makes Nixon look like one of the Framers.
This is how far we’ve come, folks, and how badly we’ve lost our way. Meet the unitary executive theory applied. The very phrase is a call for an American dictatorship, and it is being used to obliterate every word in our Constitution. It didn’t start here and it won’t stop here.
For all that, I would not give up all hope and urge that none of you do either. John Conyers has raised the threat of inherent contempt, contrary to what the article says. There’s a countermove in store, but the spectacle must play out. There really is no choice.
occasional observer,
I agree with you and brucetylerwick. I truly hope that Conyers, Leahy, et. al invoke inherent contempt, because as both of you astutely pointed out, it may be the only way to go.
Darn, thought someone might explain it in detail. Well, just as well we don’t.
Wow. I also just read that Rep. DeFazio (D-Ore) who is a member of the U.S. House and sits on the Homeland Security Committee…. was DENIED access to the White House documents on Continuity Of Government! WTF!
general strike - national strike
strike!
What exactly is inherent contempt and is it realistic given congressional impotence over impeachment? How might it be more effective than moving to impeach? What is the process?
Occasional Observer
What are you referring to when you say “there’s a countermove in store”. How do you know and what is it?
Please ask the question, “why are they (Bush, Cheney, and gang) accumulating so much power in the executive branch?”
For US based muti-national corporations, to be able to compete in this global economy, they must have the political power and natural resources to do so.
Also, please beware of the agent provocateur.
When the Roman Empire was in the falling stage, very similar situations were on the menu of the day.
And we did not built any amphitheatre anywhere on earth, or an acqueduct, or some long-lasting road - we tend to bomb those infrastructures and I wonder how long all this will last and if this is a tragedy or a comedy, or both
It’s interesting how the US Empire is often compared to the Roman Empire, usually in cautionary tones concerning it’s impending downfall. The comparison is often made to the glory days of it’s great empire. It may be a tragically apt comparison in that the Roman Empire was built and sustained with incredible acts of brutality, terror, coercion and bloodshed. Whole towns were massacred with the sole purpose of terrorizing the people of the next town, which were subsequently enslaved. And onward marched the Empire. Slavery, terror, brutality, that’s all any Empire really operates on, be it Roman, Christian, Communist or Democratic.
PS May the collapse begin.
I’ll sieg heil that….er….I’ll second that.
medic6869..”please be aware of the agent provocateur”. Does that exempt you?
The 70’s war protestors were dumb as rocks!
They made no real changes in the policy of the government and in fact they set the stage for the complete decline of Democratic Institutions in this country.
Remember not one person went to jail for lying country into US Viet conflict and the massacre of 2 million North and 2 million South Vietnamese, hundreds of thusands of Cambodians and Laotians with still thousands suffering today from our use of agent orange.
What did the leaders of protest do at wars end, they sure as hell dod not want to raise their taxes or to pay for the misery of Vietnamese all they gave a damn about was the wall with American names on it for people to weep at and they went to work for government, bent over or spread their legs and hollered for more freebies and bought all the toys they could.
Now they are living off of the easy gains made dring easy economic times and whining about how it is someone elses fault.
What did they make better in the states?
They destroyed unions, children are worse off today in country than then, it takes twwo peopel working full time to earn a livable wage that used to take just one member of family , they got abortions, money for women who got pregnant and their men left them, turnedd our military into a mercenary Warrior Class that everyone has to worship, gave woemn equal opportunity to kill if they are in police or military, wwent to work for corproations or governemtns that believed corproations were American enterprise,became the largest work force in US history by becoming part of the over 57,5 % who now work in government so what advancements did they give US?
Nixon was removed and Ford helped kill over 300,000 in Timor and some 200,000 Indonesiasns.
Our military continued killing and training latin American killer squads to protect our military Industrial friendships, Regan went on an illegwal killing spree in Nicaragua, Honduras El Salvador, Chile, and Argentina by training their militarys at school of americas, armed mexicos military to kill communist farmers protesting losing their land to American corproations whose children now flood our borders by Regan and protestors induced property so they could have cheap wine and veggies, Carter signed the Carter Doctrine that said CE Asian and ME oil was ours, Regan traded arms with Iran to keep our americans captured in iran there until he got elected, Americans helped Saddam kill a few million Iranians and shot down a civilain airliner and then bush lied about Kuwait so we could kill Sasddams military might and possibly Saddam Clinton caused Ruwandan and Darfur conflicts and paid to have a Congo PMs oplane downed, bombed aspirin factorys and poor people in Afghans and tried to kill more than his predesssor Bush I had done in Iraq and funded Islamic radicals to disrupt the Balkans so we could inbade and destroy the old Yugo nation whiule these 70’s style protesotorsd laughed and lined up trying to get a chance to pull a Lewinsky on clinotn or hsi wife for that matter, and then we got Bush; but what were the protestors doing but making money begging for more freebies and living off of an ever growing militarization of the US.
Now some of them come out and say we fought so hard and the rest of nation let us down and today the kids, their kids, do not care.
The kids today are smarter than the old war protestors in that they know it will not make one damn bit of difference what they do. Things are only going to get worse in this country and they may as well enjoy and get whatever financial means they can before it all goes to hell.
They sure can’t look up to the old hippy war protestors of the past who let this country go to hell while they enjoyed memories that did nothing to change the system except streamline the ability of those in charge of it to gain more strength over our popualce.
the war is not being protested because it was immoral, it is beign protested because people are afraid; afraid the days of easy money are long gone, the days of governemnt freebies is almost gone, the days when beign white menat you got the job over yellow brown or black even if they were smarter and more capable than you, afraid edthey may get sick and the governemtn won’t have a freebie to payu for it and they would lose their fancy homes SUV’s and make believe profits of their 401K’s and last but not least they are afarid that the Arabs, latrin Americans, Africans, Asians who we let our coporations rip off their resources and kill them if they protested may come here and mete out the ssame thing as e decline ito a 3rd world nation.
That is what they are afraid of and if killing Iraquis would make therm safer they would just as gladly kill them but those tactics do not work anyomore and otheir leaders do not give a damn if they live or die just as long as they, the leaders get the power and money.
“And onward marches the empire”
Is anyone surprised, he is “The Decider.” You Bush voters must be very proud of yourselves about now.
libertas fugit July 20th, 2007 4:52 pm
“RE: Executive Orders
There’s a bunch of them on the books and they cover everything.”
Executive Orders have no constitutional basis. They are and always have been an “abuse” of executive power which has gone unchallenged by Congress.
“Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) called it “an outrageous abuse of executive privilege” and said: “The White House must stop stonewalling and start being accountable to Congress and the American people. No one, including the president, is above the law.””
Really Senator? And will you and Nancy Pelosi continue to perform the “stonewalling” song & dance routine or will the Democratic Party grow a spine and IMPEACH these criminals?
At this stage of the game, the only Democrat who will get a vote from me is Dennis Kucinich. H.R. 333 - IMPEACH!
Agents provocateurs are used against political opponents. It has been documented that provocateurs deliberately carry out or seek to incite counter-productive and/or ineffective acts, in order to foster public disdain for the group and provide a pretext for aggression; and to worsen the punishments its members are liable for. Some agents are directly assigned to provoke unrest, and violence.
Rebelnow, if this is the role that I play, then no, I am not exempt.
I thought the U.S. was such a tough country, you know, attacking countries and engaging in combat and all.
It looks like a nation of wimps to me, allowing the criminal Bush administration to get away with anything it wants while we preach to the choir on blogs. We really showed them, didn’t we. What a joke. The Zionists and their puppets are laughing their heads off at us.
I have repeatedly asked WHY is our Congress so reluctant to impeach these people who CLEARLY have a long list of impeachable offenses?
It is the ONLY thing that may prevent their continued ravaging of the Constitution and their destruction of our country. And yet, the very congressman quoted in the article are NOT out there as co-sponsors of HR333, the Kucinich resolution on impeaching just Cheney. NO ONE has yet introduced one for George W!!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM????
It makes NO DIFFERENCE that they cannot count enough votes to WIN at this point. If this imperial presidency goes unchallenged, the so-called democracy is over.
###
insanity reigns supreme and the food and water?soon there will be none except for the elite…
Folks, just head over to Amazon and get a look at the customer reviews of Crossing the Rubicon by Mike Ruppert. Impeachment could be “a cakewalk.”
hide behind
while lots of bad things happened after the vietnam war ended and certainly the regime got tougher - i think its really unfair to blame those who got their blood spilled in american streets to end legal segragation, to end the war, for that event - i think you really need to look at the perpetrators for the proper locus of blame and direct the rage you rightly feel in that direction. dont blame the vietnam era protestors for not ending war for all time but take up the cause in your own -
medic6869
you should lay your cards on the table - this is an open forum -are you an agent provocatuer? and if not then who is?
and also - isnt unrest a wee bit justified about now??
The United States has been A National Socialist ruled country for far longer than Bush has been in office and just as long as the people could be kept in dark by having lots of government handouts and consumer goods not much was said of the true politics and economics of nation.
Today you have the real politic out in open and it is your personal fears beginning to show up only because of its obviousness.
Why are your favorite political partys and personages so helpless today?
It isn’t that they are helpless but you who are helpless, and they know it.
Who or whom else can you turn too and why is it you are begging for the trivial priveleges of some form of health care or a tax break from those who now do not need you any longer.
To retain their powers all they have to do is satisfy a little over 18% of the populace while someone else will only influence 17% in home states as it is only around 35% of americans voting; and the polical partys want to keep it that way.
Executive Branch Privelege Grants is part of trickle down economics, from the executive branch and their military corproate backers to the elected in DC and then to the same in home states.
I knew a man years ago, actually I count many much like him to have known, who lost most of the use of both his legs in a logging incident, not an accdent it was his won damn fault, and instead of ending up collecting his welfare after getting a measely 12,000 he began his own buisness.
The buisness never made much more than a somewhat stable living, what with having to pay for recurring medical bills, and he died from complications around ten years after the incident.
He never begged a day in his life; not to the government or anyone else, nor did he cry about how bad he had it.
He never took any crap off of anyone and got around using crutches, no wheel chair or hadicapped parking for him.
Loggers acted out the roles of being a tough and stupid bunch then, especially after drinking on shutdown for vacation, and this night a flatlander called my friend a FN cripple; my friend got up balanced on one crutch hit the flatlander with a righthanded blow side of the head hard enough to damn near cold cock him.
One thing loggers knew was that you had to make do with what you had and not to waste energy or time doing it; my friend had done so.
Someone bought a round as the flatlander lay there, and we mostly laughed about the incident, as the barkeep got him back on his feet and then onto his old stool.
The flat lander asked if anyone had called the cops, which brought a rather loud laugh from most of us that quickly stopped after he began insisting that the cops be called or he would do it himslef.
The barkeep who himself was a busted up logger but not so busted up anyone of us younger fellas dared to take him on even if he was a grouchy old SOB, grabbed full pictures of beer by the tops and placed one in front of each of them, leaned over to the flatlander and friend and said, “You two just sit here finish these beers and sort it out:” then looking at the flatlander, “because if you head to that phone or try to leave before it is done I can assure you I will be all over your ass before you move three steps”.
They sat there drank the beer and a few more before the night was out and though neither would probably like the other much in life an understanding was made.
At closing time I being the most sober in the joint ended up giving my friend a ride home and the flatlander to the motel down the road he was staying at.
The next morning, I drove to the motel and gave the guy a ride back to his car.
Don’t know who he was and don’t realy care to find out but he did tell me to apologize to my fiend because he did not know if he had the night before or not, Told him I would, wished him good luck and he was gone.
No one mentioned that night much until the day we put friend in ground and had drank a few beers in memory.
Maybe because we did not think it out of ordinary, and to this day I wish that more ordinary people like him were still living.
Instead I see a bunch of whining people each trying to out deal or out steal the next guy and when they can’t they look for some freebe from our government, We are civilized now and want to call the cops and government to take care of our problems or if someone even cusses at us or calls us a hate name and we are afraid of offending even a dumb flatlander, who knows we are afraid, and will call the cops or pass a law to take care of it.
My friend with the crutches damn well knew, he wasn’t a big sized man, that if he missed he would in all probability get the crap beat out of him but he would go down swinging.
We would of sat there and watched him get beaten.
Sound cruel or insensitive?
Not amoung those there because each understood you had to stand up for yourself and once you had made a decision come what may it was your decision.
Too damn many people today with too much conditioning but not enough education who say they are standing up for someone elses rights when in reality they are hiding behind a group because they don’t have the courage to stand alone for what they believe in and try to convince others by words instead of deeds.
You say, I’m a red neck or throwback, could be, and one cannot do that today because the bullys would always win.
Psssst, hate to tell you but in case you haven’t noticed, the bullys have already won.
When it comes to cripples, the people of this nation have crippled themselves by taking the easy way out and allowing others to make decisions for them allowing rules and regualtions that bankrupt nation and to restrict and protect them until it is now the government who rules and insults them.
I am too ignorant to contribute and too tired of reading so many whiners and seeing the crocodile tears flow; besides I can do my own research on legality of issues and to the very few who have helped enlighten myself I say thank you.
There is a law of survival and it looks like this nation has surrendered even that to a form of government they deserve.
Too many who use words wantng others to do the deeds they know need doing because they are not yet to the point of being destitute or desperate enough to take a risk and hopeing that a miracle will happen.
Hell God parted the Red Sea didn’t he?
Yes but he wasn’t elected to that position and even he depended upon Moses to get the people to that point.
Goes to show even a guy in a flowing robe may have more courage than most and if nation will not listen then maybe we should civily part from it and go our own way unitl it does.
They most certainly do. They wrote the law that makes it illegal to fire a U.S. attorney for political reasons and not going after Democrats is a political reason, so you bet. Now if you want to drag the courts in we will have 2 branches to one, no matter how they have packed the courts. As they used to say, “the whole world is watching”.
“Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) said the administration is “hastening a constitutional crisis,” and Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) said the position “makes a mockery of the ideal that no one is above the law.”
Blah, blah, blah. Nothing but hot air and BS coming from these two clowns.
Hey Chuckie, got a news flash for you. We’re already in a constitutional crisis. One that has been helped by you spineless lackey’s in Congress bending over and grabbing your ankles and saying, “Thank you sir, may I have some more?”
Tell me, what part of King George’s body do you prefer kissing? His royal feet or his royal arse?
And Henry, go fly a kite. No one’s buying your dog and pony shows, except you clowns in Congress.
Yes, both President Cheney and his loyaly sidekick, the Smirking Idiot Chimp, are above the law.
How is that, you ask? When your boss in Congress, Nancy Pelosi, proudly proclaimed–after us dumbass voters fell for your lies and voted for a Democratic majority and change–that “impeachment is off the table.”
Since you yahoos in Congress seem oblivious to everything except bribes, oops, i meant to say “campaign contibutions”, let me explain this: When Pelosi took impeachment off the table, she gave the two at-large war criminals, Bush and Cheney, the green light to continue with their march to tyranny.
Aided and abetted by clowns like Pelosi and you, Henry.
So stop your belly aching and whining. Either impeach or go home, since you’re no longer doing the job you swore to when you took your oath of office.
This President has make it known from day one he has nothing but contempt for US laws! I never cease to be amazed that he hasn’t been impeached yet. He is the most contemptuous b…… in this country! He has never been fit to serve a day as commander in Chief! He has thumbed his nose at the law, the Constitution and the American people’s opinion. How much more are people going to take before they kicked his sorry a.. out of office?????????
It really is time for a new, improved accountability moment for this mafia.
Hey Deepa
Even if the yankees have no more DEMOCRACY to export, they have PLENTY OF DICTATORSHIP. They have been exporting this COMMODITY to the world for a long time. Don’t you find it in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and now in Palestine. They had it in Iran in the form of Shah, Pinochet in Chile, Marcos in Philippines, to name a few. WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD CALL DICTATORSHIP, YANKEES CALL IT DEMOCRACY!!!!!!!!
SORRY! LET ME CORRECT MY FIRST STATEMENT. YANKEES HAVE PLENTY OF DEMOCRACY TO EXPORT!!!!!!
Little reported there has been a subpoena out for Rice to appear before Waxman for two months now that she has completely ignored.
I called Waxman’s office and asked him why rice hasn’t been held in contempt and got the “… takes’ time … must run course … blah, blah, blah” answer.
I then asked what would happen if the average Joe ignored a Congressional subpoena if we’d still be walking around free? No answer.
Look, there is enough evidence to impeach every member of this administration and than some for numerous crimes and still this so-called opposition party plays Patty-Cake and hopes we won’t notice that although they go through the motions there will be no justice done because the fact of the matter is we the people don’t matter. It’s over folks. This country for even before bush was a lost cause. Bush&co just happen to be the destruction of what was left of this country on steroids.
If these do-nothings don’t do what is right, it’s up to us to do what’s necessary.
But that won’t happen either. For outside of the few political junkies that actually follow what’s going on most of the people are too busy, too ignorant, too brainwashed, too stupid, too much in debt to know what’s going on or give a shit.
I think the only good thing about living in our period of history in the United States is that it sure sheds light on how difficult the making and maintenance of a democratic resistance actually is. No revolution was ever able to get off the ground with anything but groups of people who were steeped in the stupidity of what had gone before. So can the process of revolting really be dismissed if it remains a neccessity, and you have to go with what you have? That’s where we’re at now as a people. Imagine how much harder it must have been in parts of the world where the democratic experience had NEVER been a reality, places like Russia, China, Cuba. Not so easy to look down one’s nose at all that anymore. If fighting back were easy, if building democracy were easy, it would have been over with centuries ago.
The Chimp has no worries. He has Roberts and Scalito in his pocket. Welcome to the Facist States of America.
“Badges? We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you no stinkin’ badges!”
— Reply to Humphrey Bogart
From - The Treasure of Sierra Madre
The question is not why dosen’t congress act,the question is what does Bush hold over thie head.
On the streets protesting?
In the lat 50’s I got thrown off a bus by 4 crackers , the driver and three inbreds, for sitting in the back of the bus, my crime was I was a white yankee boy siting with a freind who was black.
After being thrown off the bus I was poperly shown Southern Hospitality of Hot Springs Arkansa white boys until it was all I could do to crawl to a wall and try to breathe.
Being a stupid White yankee I then got thrown out of a movie theater for sitting in the balcony with the same friend and got the living tar once again beat out of me by my own cousins,by step fathers lineage that is.
Was I a civl rights protestor, HELL NO!
I was a New England Yankee brought up on Revolutionary war heros and principles of my nation and as aa american no dam white or black person was going to tell me who I talked or sat with or who I could associate with.
I admit I was antiwar, my family tho military was also anti Vet war, went in service anyways got out and yes I protested.
but the signing of a make beleive peace treaty did not end my protesting I was still an American and my freinds hwo needed help from other americans were shuttled aside evn by those protestors of the war as they got laid and made by self infatuation on what a great job they did.
Protestors did nto end =Viet Conflict or the reasons for the conflict to even take place they just let themselves be bought off is all.
Most of the older ones made a living by hanging out with their ilk traveling in the same circles making moeny while doing nothing but giving speeches for one pseudo cause or antohter and the overall picture was they helped governemnt get to its point of National Socialism.
I never quit riding in back of bus or sitting in balcony for rest of summer and my step dads cousins , one got a slingshot driven marble right between his eyes, his brothers backed off becaue of what we used to call a wop knife, a Stilleto switch blade and they damn well knew I would use it.
One thing bullys do fear is someone who does not fear them even if it was just a yankee youth.
What most protestors of the Viet Era forgot was while they were getting high on the anti war they forgot what and the hell country they were supposed to be living in and made it into something else.
They threw out the dishwater and continued to eat off of the dirty plates.
Look at these two scumbags looking at us and laughing. A fitting caption here would be “So we screwed you all to the wall. What are you going to do about it?—hell, what CAN you do about it?”
I’m wondering if this nefarious Bush cabal has McFadden and Whitehead’s 1979 song “Ain’t no stoppin’ us now” piped into the White House?
These people don’t give a rat’s arse about this Country or the Constitution. I honestly don’t see anyone stopping them! And until they’re held accountable, they’re liable to do anything including Martial Law.
My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of tyranny, of thee I sing;
We cannot let fascism ring!
Impeach Gonzales.
No question of congressional authority, no executive privilege, and most importantly, NO WAITING.
The train has left the station–the coup d’etat occurred in 2000, and was graciuosly helped along by Nader voters. Seems like a long time ago, huh?