[Dean's World] Aziz P: executive privilege trumps all

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Aziz P:
executive privilege trumps all
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1184932894.shtml


   Earlier, we learned that the President's assertion of executive
   privilege amounts to claiming that any member of the executive branch,
   even former members who are not presently employed by the Executive,
   are [1]immune to subpoena:

     the House Judiciary Committee announced that Miers was set to
     refuse to appear at a hearing today. Miers's attorney, George T.
     Manning of Atlanta, said in a letter to the committee that the
     administration's assertion of executive privilege gives her
     "absolute immunity" from being forced to testify on Capitol Hill.

   Now it seems that [2]the Justice Department refuses to acknowledge the
   authority of Congress to pursue claims of contempt.

     Under federal law, a statutory contempt citation by the House or
     Senate must be submitted to the U.S. attorney for the District of
     Columbia, "whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the
     grand jury for its action."

     But administration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no
     power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases,
     such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared
     that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive
     privilege. Officials pointed to a Justice Department legal opinion
     during the Reagan administration, which made the same argument in a
     case that was never resolved by the courts.

     "A U.S. attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt charges
     or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case," said a
     senior official, who said his remarks reflect a consensus within
     the administration. "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."

     The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he
     was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, added: "It has
     long been understood that, in circumstances like these, the
     constitutional prerogatives of the president would make it a futile
     and purely political act for Congress to refer contempt citations
     to U.S. attorneys."

   So, the President's claim of executive privilege trumps federal law.

   This will be useful during the Hillary Presidency, I suppose.

References

   1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/11/AR2007071100249.html?hpid=sec-nations
   2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071902625.html?hpid=topnews