No executive privilege for presidential advisers means more accountability

[babylonsister]

http://www.star-telegram.com/225/story/810811.html

No executive privilege for presidential advisers means more accountability


There goes an activist judge again, encroaching on President Bush’s ability to do his job.

Oh, wait. U.S. District Judge John Bates, who on Thursday rightly slapped down yet another administration attempt to stretch presidential prerogative beyond the law, is a Bush appointee.

Bates said that former White House counsel Harriet Miers could not claim executive privilege to avoid a congressional subpoena.

Bates also ruled that current Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten should provide a more detailed description of documents he’s withholding as privileged, though the judge didn’t order the material turned over.

snip//

Earlier in the investigation, the White House proposed letting the aides talk privately with members of Congress, without a transcript and not under oath. The committee refused those conditions, and properly so.

Evidence is continuing to show that the U.S. attorney firings were just part of a pattern of perverting the Justice Department’s reputation for fairness, and the public needs to know the extent to which White House aides were involved.

[sharesunited]

1. This whole "unitary executive" theory is crap.

It's just an excuse to reject accountability.

Co-equal does not mean disrespecting Congress and its oversight role.

We get a chance every four years to shape the federal government in a very profound way, by choosing someone as president who can at least get this one big thing right.