by Deb Cupples | Either ours is a nation of laws or not. Apparently, the Bush Administration thinks not.
Yesterday, President Bush -- with Attorney General Michael Mukasey's support -- indicated that he would assert executive privilege to prevent the House Oversight Committee from viewing a report on the FBI's interview of Vice President Dick Cheney regarding the leaking of ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity by White House staffers in 2003.
The Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for the report in June. Committee chairman Henry Waxman responded:
"The claim of executive privilege is ludicrous.
"We are not seeking access to the communications between the Vice President and the President. We are seeking access to the communications between t he Vice President and FBI investigators. The Vice President talked wi t h the FBI investigators voluntarily and he did so knowing that what he said could be disclosed publicly in a criminal trial. Mr. Fitzgerald told us that 'there were no agreements, conditions and understandings' that limited Mr. Fitzgerald' s use o f the interview i n any way.
"This unfounded assertion of executive privilege does not protect a principle; it protects a person.
"The President is wrong to shield Vice President Cheney from scrutiny. In our system of government, even the Vice President should be accountable for his actions." (Waxman's statement)
If it's not Vice President Cheny, it's his ex-assistant Scooter Libby, or the telecommunications companies that helped the Bush Adminsitration illegally spy (without warrants) on Americans for God-only-knows-what reason.
President Bush seems to have a long list of people -- both inside and outside the government -- that he wants to shield from scrutiny and accountability.
Despite Congress's and citizens' right to know something about what our bureaucrats and politicians are doing with our tax dollars, the Bush Adminsitration seems determined to keep many things from us.
Part of the Justice Department's letter to Congressman Waxman seemed odd:
"If the Committee refrains from citing the Attorney General for contempt, the Department is prepared to continue the accommodation approach we have been taking in this matter by making available for Committee review, under the same terms we have previously made reports available, the remaining interview reports (other than those for the President and the Vice President) and other subpoenaed documents. Please do not hesitate to contact this office if you would like additional assistance regarding this matter." (Letter from Justice Department to Waxman)
If the Committee doesn't cite Mr. Mukasey for contempt? That's a strange way to preface the Justice Department's statement of willingness to cooperate with Congress. It sort of sounds as though the Justice Department is threatening to not cooperate at all if the Oversight Committee issues a contempt citation.
For those coming in on the second act, below is Congressman Waxman's brief summary of the Valerie Plame issue:
"Five years ago, one o f t he nation' s most carefully guarded secrets - the identity of
covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson - was repeatedly revealed by White House officials to the media."This was a serious breach o f our national security. CIA Director Michael Hayden
disclosed to the Committee that Ms. Wilson "worked on some o f the most sensitive and highly secretive matters handled b y the CIA," that she 'faced significant risks to her personal safety and her life,' and that the disclosure o f her identity 'placed her professional contacts at greater risk' and undermined the trust and confidence with whi ch future CIA employees and sources hold the United States.""President George W. Bush ' s father, the former President Bush, has said: ‘I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who . . . expos[e] the names of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious o f traitors.’
"For the last five years - first in the minority and now in the majority - I have tried to
investigate what really happened. And the White House has resisted oversight every step of the way."
Links to other relevant documents are here.
Other BN-Politics Posts:
* Bush Shoots congress the Bird Again
* Newsweek Says We Should Pardon Torturers?
* Indymac Targeted in Fraud Investigation?
Comments