By Kenneth J. Theisen, 7/20/07
On Thursday, July 19, 2007 the Bush regime declared that
Bush is god. Okay I exaggerate a
little. But the regime did make a claim
of “executive privilege” which is virtually the legal equivalent of raising
Bush’s word to the level of the ten commandments. But then what do you expect
from a man who claims to take direction from god.
The Bush administration is now asserting that Congress is
not able to mandate that a U.S. Attorney in the Department of Justice pursue contempt
charges in cases where the executive branch refuses to provide testimony or
documents to Congress. This latest battle arises in the Justice Department
firings” case. Congress has subpoenaed
White House documents in the case and also required the testimony of former
White House counsel Harriet Miers. The
regime has failed to comply with the documents” subpoena and the administration
has directed Miers not to testify, asserting that compliance with the subpoenas
is trumped by executive privilege.
The House Judiciary Committee has warned the White House
chief of staff, Josh Bolten, he possibly faces a contempt citation if he does
not turn over documents related to the firings. A subcommittee of the Judiciary panel held
that the executive privilege claim is out of order. The Judiciary Committee ruled the same in the
case of Miers who failed to show up to testify last week before Congress.
Current White House Counsel Fred Fielding has stated the president’s current
and former top advisers are immune from congressional subpoenas.
In situations such as this, Congress normally issues statutory
contempt citations against those who fail to comply with their subpoenas. The
citations are then referred to the Justice Department’s U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia for prosecution. But
now the Bush regime is stating that the Justice Department will not be permitted
to prosecute the contempt charges. The Justice Department is headed by Attorney
General Gonzales, a loyal lapdog of the regime. Gonzales is the man who ordered
the firings and has been in the hot seat over them for the last several months.
But according to a story in the Washington Post, a senior Bush
regime official said, “A U.S. attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt
charges or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case. 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.” If both branches of government hold to their
positions we have a potential constitutional crisis. If Congress backs down, the executive branch
will have gained one more power on its way to dictatorship.
This latest maneuver is consistent with past actions of the
regime which has tended to ignore the other branches of government whenever it
interferes with its fascist agenda. When
Congress occasionally timidly challenges the administration by investigating
the regime’s actions, the president has stonewalled. Words such as “national
security” and “executive privilege” are thrown out as if they are some sort of
mantra with magical powers. If Bush had
his way he would have a law enacted that says “my word is law.” But if this
latest action of the regime is allowed to stand, he may not need such a law.
If Congress is not able to force the Department of Justice
to pursue the statutory contempt action it does have another historic
remedy. Congress has the inherent
contempt power to enforce its subpoenas.
Inherent power refers to those actions which are necessary to enforce
other designated powers such as the right to issue subpoenas. The Bush regime
has repeatedly claimed inherent powers for the president due to his role as
commander-in-chief to do such things as ignore the Geneva Conventions against
torture and to use extraordinary rendition to send alleged “terrorists” to
other countries for torture.
Under Congress” inherent contempt power, Congress could hold
a trial of Bolten and Miers for their failures to comply with the subpoenas. Such trials were a regular feature of the
political landscape in the 19th century. But the last such trial was held during the
FDR administration. Such an action now
by Congress would surely create a furor in Washington and set up a showdown with the
Bush administration. It remains to be
seen whether the Democratic leaders who have taken impeachment “off the table”
would take such a bold step as trying administration officials for contempt.