White House: Hill Can't Pursue Contempt Cases

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.

washingtonpost.com

this is ridiculous! the separation of powers and its assurance of checks and balances has been broken down. if it wasn't obvious before, the administration must have some very nasty skeletons in the closet to blatantly push this filth into the faces of this country's citizens.

theres no more law, no more checks and balances, just the will of the executive branch enforced by executive order and safeguarded by executive privilege. i think we've come too far for partisan fighting, now the troops need to band together to keep our nation safe from those who look to destroy us for their own personal and political gain. this has to be criminal!

its sickening to see those in power trample the constitution and the spirit of what our nation was founded on all the while telling us its in our best interest. right now, whats in our best interest is to know what they're trying to hide at such great lengths!

the whole time we (as a nation) have watched with apathy from the sidelines...where do we go from here? im scared we'll wake up one day asking "where are we going, why is it so hot and what are we doing in this hand basket?"

and clinton's probably wishing he had thought of this one.....

I know I kind of wish he had. then the republican response to it would have kind of dealt the idea a death blow and it wouldn't be usable now.

there's no reason for the bush administration to be protecting their "executive powers" to this extreme unless of course......they have broken a few laws and they think they might be impeached or going to jail because of it..

I still say that the best evidence that we have that things are not right at the white house, is they way they are acting.

I mean, why fight laws against torture, unless you are torturing the prisoners, right....

and why fight so hard against having a few of your people answering congress' questions....unless you already know, people won't like the answers...

This the way it goes... you have a president with no regard for the law being enabled by a congress controlled by his party for most of his tenure allowing him to get away with murder; then when the other side gets control of congress and tries to assert its rights, then the president says up yours. It doesn't matter the party either; the result is the same, abuse of power... some of us have understood this for years, others are just getting it and still others need to be reminded that denial is not a river in Egypt.

Before the year is out the mettle of our system will be tested in ways that made watergate seem tame. The much maligned French would have taken it to the barricades by now, we want to be distracted by Paris (Hilton) instead.

what do we do now though, is there anything that can be done to fight this gross arrogance? surly theres some way to over turn a claim of an executive power. couldn't the judicial branch rule in favor of revoking the privilege or order, unfortunatly as unlikely as it would be considering the current makeup of the supreme court? is it even possible to go back after the current administration has left office to pursue criminal charges or is anything protected by executive privilege always protected in the future as well?

[edit on 7/21/2007 by bokinsmowl]

i found a quote on digg.com that pretty much sums it up..

Congress: Hi, we would like to talk to certain members of the White House staff regarding an oversight investigation.

White House: um, no.

Congress: Cmon, please, maybe we can negotiate something.

White House: um, ok, how about the hearings take place behind closed doors, we only answer what we want, and we don't have to take an oath, k?

Congress: No. Here are some subpoenas.

White House: um, executive privilege.

Congress: Since Ms. Miers ignored our subpoena, we're considering charging her for inherent contempt.

White House: um, executive privilege.

American Public: LOL, HARRY POTTER

scary huh...

Like I said before the series of events that are shaping the way our political system moves to totalitarism.

This are not longer isolated cases here and there, they are all coming down the same path one after another.