http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/15385The Importance of Scott McClellan's Testimony Before the House Judiciary Committee
by John W. Dean | June 20, 2008
-- Including Possible New Obstruction of Justice Charges for Scooter Libby and Karl Rove
— from FindLaw
Former Bush White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has agreed to testify before the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on June 20. He was invited, of course, because of his revelatory new book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception.
Florida congressman Robert Wexler, a member of the committee, has succinctly explained why he and many others expect McClellan’s appearance to be potentially highly significant: “The allegations made by McClellan that Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and possibly even Vice President Dick Cheney, together conspired to obstruct justice by lying about their role in the Plame case relates directly to the core of US executive power and the Constitution. If true, the allegations made by McClellan could amount to an obstruction of justice charge for Scooter Libby and Karl Rove.”
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Candidate Obama’s Exceptional Position on the Crimes of His Predecessor
Barack Obama would truly be a president of change if he held a predecessor administration criminally liable for its misconduct. It has long been something of an unofficial standard of comity between out-going and in-coming presidents to overlook the misconduct of the previous administration. But no president is compelled to do so.
During the primaries, Obama was asked this question. His response was so striking, I have quoted it in full: “What I would want to do is to have my Justice Department and my Attorney General immediately review the information that's already there and to find out are there inquiries that need to be pursued. I can't prejudge that because we don't have access to all the material right now. I think that you are right, if crimes have been committed, they should be investigated. You're also right that I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt because I think we've got too many problems we've got to solve.”
He continued, “So this is an area where I would want to exercise judgment -- I would want to find out directly from my Attorney General -- having pursued, having looked at what's out there right now -- are there possibilities of genuine crimes as opposed to really bad policies. And I think it's important-- one of the things we've got to figure out in our political culture generally is distinguishing between really dumb policies and policies that rise to the level of criminal activity. You know, I often get questions about impeachment at town hall meetings and I've said that is not something I think would be fruitful to pursue because I think that impeachment is something that should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. Now, if I found out that there were high officials who knowingly, consciously broke existing laws, engaged in cover-ups of those crimes with knowledge forefront, then I think a basic principle of our Constitution is nobody is above the law -- and I think that's roughly how I would look at it.”
Obama’s unusual and laudable perspective is why McClellan’s appearance, and the diligence of the House Judiciary Committee, are the reason that this may not be merely a matter of passing interest. If a congressional committee, like the House Judiciary Committee, develops a prima facie case that would make it appropriate for President Obama’s attorney general to fully investigate the matter. Needless to say, if we have a President McCain, the Congress happens to uncover even far more heinous crimes than obstructing justice, you can be certain that nothing would happen -- other than the Bush and Cheney team leaving government without a scratch.
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