Now that a judge has officially ruled that Bush's "executive privilege" argument is hogwash, the Congress has, quite rightly, ordered them to testify next month on what they know about the firing of the 8 US Attorneys 2 years ago. Their response? To drag their feet and demand "more time" to prepare their responses. As if two years hasn't been enough.
White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers yesterday asked a federal judge to delay an order to cooperate with Congress while they appeal the ruling.
The court filings indicate that Bolten and Miers will continue to resist subpoenas from the House Judiciary Committee as the Bush administration heads into its final months.
Can't imagine why, can you? 'Course, there's the election in November to consider. Wouldn't want the Bush Administration looking bad right when Old John McC is pimping his hopes on looking just like the Emperor. But though the delay would most likely get them past November, the Bush Admin's lawyers aren't making very strong arguments.
In their filings yesterday, Bush administration attorneys wrote: "Whatever the proper resolution of the extraordinarily important questions presented, the public interest clearly favors further consideration of issues before defendants are required to take actions that may forever alter the constitutional balance of separation of powers."
Um, guys? It's the president who altered the Constitutional balance of powers, not the Congress. It's Bush who is the first president in history to claim the Constitution doesn't apply to him if he says it doesn't. Not even Nixon went that far. The Congress would be perfectly within its rights, after 2 solid years of stonewalling, to arrest them both and throw them in jail.
In any case, what exactly do you think still needs to be discussed? We've been through this and through it and there are only a few dozen people - all of them in the Bush White House - who think this "executive privilege" scam is for real. And I seriously doubt that of those dozens anyone but Cheney actually believes the US president was intended to have the powers of a king. So come off it. Get real. This is just more stalling.
Which the Democratic Congress will undoubtedly let you get away with. Or maybe not.
"The Bush-Cheney administration continues to defy our validly issued congressional subpoenas for information relevant to the politicization of the Department of Justice by this White House," Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.
But Rep. Lamar Smith (Tex.), ranking Republican on the House Judiciary panel, said the White House "has the right to appeal," and he urged Democrats "to achieve a negotiated settlement" with the administration.
Right. Well, why wouldn't he say that? Bush has won almost every "negotiation" he's had with the Democrats and they've given him almost everything he's wanted, so why not do it again? There's no reason, really, to expect it to turn out any different.
What do you think. guys? January? February?
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