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...
Never be allowed. By the White House.
..."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."
Congress's and the people's remedy -- convening a grand jury to challenge executive privilege -- will not be allowed. You cannot challenge executive privilege. You are prevented by... executive privilege. The White House -- right down to its chief of staff -- is separate, without accountability, and well above the rest of us.
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."
Henry Waxman's response?
"I suppose the next step would be just disbanding the Justice Department."
Eyes wide open, please. When the Bush administration spends so much time using legal arguments, they're tying up Congress so it can't do other work and they're diverting our attention from something they don't want us to focus on.
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