WHITE HOUSE AIDES MUST ANSWER TO CONGRESS
Topic: Executive Office of the President, Once in a Lifetime01. August 2008 |
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U.S. District Judge Robert Bates issued a ruling yesterday that White House aides cannot use executive privilege to make them immune from Congressional subpoenas. The decision compels former White House counsel Harriet Miers to testify and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten to provide documents about fired U.S. Attorneys. It would also appear to force Karl Rove to testify about his role in politicizing the Justice Dept.– and prosecuting former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.
The Washington Post’s Del Quentin Wilbur reports that the White House has not decided whether to appeal the decision. There are still obstacles to getting Miers, Bolten, and Rove to spill the beans– like how much they claim selective executive privilege in refusing to answer questions. But the ruling is a meaningful victory for executive branch accountability.-MB
understandinggov.org
This ruling is great but there have been several rulings that have gone ignored. The Executive Branch has run amuck under President Bush and I fear by the time anything comes of this ruling there will be new issues to deal with and all of the current “scandals” will be nothing more than a footnote in history. Besides, this administration has found loopholes in every ruling and continues to act as a supreme power without regard for the interest of the citizens of the US as a whole.
comment at 02. August 2008