Dems React to Privilege Claim

[sabra]

Source: MSNBC

From NBC's Mike Viqueira and Ken Strickland
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D) released this statement: "We are extremely disappointed with the White House letter. While we remain willing to negotiate with the White House, they adhere to their unacceptable all-or-nothing position, and now will not even seek to properly justify their privilege claims. Contrary what the White House may believe, it is the Congress and the Courts that will decide whether an invocation of Executive Privilege is valid, not the White House unilaterally."

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D) added in his own statement: "The President seems to think that 'executive privilege' is a magic mantra that can hide anything including wrongdoing. Show me an Administration that craves secrecy, and I'll show you an Administration that probably has something to hide."

Read more: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/09/262389.aspx

[graywarrior]

1. COVER UP.

Just like Watergate. Take em down!

[dubyaD40web]

2. Helluva quote by Schumer.

He's dead on.

[Xipe Totec]

3. I would only drop the word 'probably'

otherwise a great quip!

[LostInAnomie]

5. That's exactly what I thought.

Take out the qualifier and make it sound certain.

[Malikshah]

8. Moi aussi

It is clear they are trying to hide something.

The Democratic leadership needs to hammer this home--it should be their mantra until these folks are brought to the hearings to testify under oath.

[BlueEyedSon]

14. Me three! (strike "probably")

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. Yo tambien

[aquart]

46. Yeah, I really hated the "probably."

He must be a lawyer.

[AndrewJacksonFaction]

10. I agree

[Gregorian]

4. ALL HAIL KING GEORGE!

Schumer hits it on the head. Of course that's why there was a revolution. Of course that's why there's a Constitution.


If it's off the table, then it's not America. Just go to sleep. They win. It was all for nothing. That ain't going to fly. Not over my dead body.

[Jelybe903]

33. No More Bullying

Brute force, no matter how strongly applied, can never subdue the basic human desire for freedom and dignity. It is not enough, as communist systems have assumed, merely to provide people with food, shelter and clothing. Human nature needs to breathe the precious air of liberty.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

[ejbr]

6. Problem

Bush has already stacked the courts and republicans have no conscience (notice how many have no concern over treason, wiretapping or the murder of our soldiers and innocent iraqis.)

I doubt Bush or Cheney will even get a slap on the wrist. The Democrats are too chickenshit to impeach for fuck's sake.

[Edweird]

7. Why, exactly, is Conyers willing to "negotiate"? There is a subpoena, right?

So,comply, or face contempt. None of this "we'll testify, but only on our terms" bullhockey. I want it under oath. In public. We've earned it.

[cui bono]

22. I think he's just showing that the Dems are being reasonable while the

WH is being ridiculous. The WH keeps making claims that the Dems are being confrontational, so I think this is Conyers way of showing that it's the WH that is doing that, that the Dems are being civil and reasonable. If he just came back really hard nosed the media would spin it as him being a rabid Dem on a witchhunt.

That's my take anyway.

[lefador]

49. Indeed the country is going to the shitter in a handbasket...

... but god forbid people think that Democrats say anything remotely hostile and mean, we would not want some knuckle dragger to have its feelings hurt! Think of the children!!!

This is akin to have your house on fire, and your main concern being on what people may think of your table manners. I.e. with such misplaced priorities and lack of spine, chances are that you will end up with your house reduced to a bunch of ashes... and deservingly so IMHO.

Sad... Just for once, I want to have a Dem leader say that the FUCKING MORON IN THE WHITE HOUSE HAS STEPPED OVER A BOUNDARY TOO MANY. And yes, say the F word, in a world where we have killed thousands of innocent people in our name based on a lies and infinite greed... anyone soccer mum who gets offended because his/her precious child may have been exposed to the F-word should be forced to be sent over to Iraq and clean pieces of human remains off the site of the latest massacre d'jour. We care so much about the sensibility of some precious self absorbed assholes who are the offspring of some of the most selfish pricks the world has encounter, and who will no doubt grow up to do any drug under the sun, explore in the most promiscuous ways any of their precious self entitled peers around them, and clean up their act just in time to enter the work force so they can continue their circle and keep on screwing everyone around them. But jee golly, god forbid they will ever have to hear anything remotely mean from liberals in this country trying to defend the interests of the many against these pricks who will no doubt fuck us, and not in a verbally way...

[cui bono]

52. Personally I would be dropping the f-bomb all over the place

and that's why I'll never go into politics. But if Conyers and Leahy are taking all the right legal steps, so why cuss along with that? That would only turn the public off. I think it's smart for them to do it just as they're doing it.

[LiberalLovinLug]

9. All Talk no Action

".....extremely disappointed......blah blah....unacceptable all-or-nothing position......blah blah......not properly justify.......blah blah.....unilaterally........blah blah......hide wrongdoing.......blah blah......craves secrecy.......blah blah.......something to hide.....blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah x(

[brentspeak]

24. "Concerned" much?

[paparush]

50. Ironically similar to Bush being All Hat and No Cattle

[HuffleClaw]

11. "it is the Congress and the Courts that will decide..."

so take 'em to court. and do it NOW.

[man4allcats]

12. The MSM is playing this up like it's big news, but of course

we all know it is hardly newsworthy. There is nothing in any way surprising or unexpected in this latest action of junior's. The only surprise will come if the Dems actually respond in a manner that is truly newsworthy.

[benld74]

13. ENOUGH with the WORDS! Do Something all ready!

[Pacifist Patriot]

18. My feelings exactly.

[abq e streeter]

19. Exactly

I sent a sort of angry reply to Schumer and Dscc (DCCC?) asking me to sign an online petition re: Scooter Libby, in which I said that until I see some real backbone from our "leadership" I "won't sign any more of your silly little petitions." I mean ,jeez, we have a bunch of criminals trying their best to create a fascist dictatorship and , I know, I'll write 'em a letter and ask 'em to stop, that should do the trick... Thank god for people like Waxman and Conyers though...

[NewJeffCT]

15. Leahy had a good line

"I have to wonder if the White House's refusal to provide a detailed basis for this executive privilege claim has more to do with its inability to craft an effective one," he said in a statement.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Congress-Bush.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

[Javaman]

16. Okay, so now will the dems step up to the plate and hold moron*

in criminal contempt?????

inquiring minds want to fucking know!

[aasleka]

23. !

Don't wait till 08, stand up and do the right thing. Since the energy commission this has been coming and it is about time Congress said screw the poles and assert itself before there is no need for Congress.

Conyers knows about the caging lists and i suspect it is the tip of the iceberg, this is why Goodling needed protection to testify and why the White House is so scared now. Under oath they could ask them anything...

i have a reoccuring dream where tens of thousands of people walk into DC and through the White House gates and i wake up when they reach the oval office when a man slaps his hand on the desks and shouts "ENOUGH!"

[cui bono]

20. And... they can't claim executive privelege if they're willing to let them speak

in private with no oath or transcripts. It's either top secret and a matter of national security or whatever or it's not. There is no middle road there and if they try to pav one it will be full of potholes.

[Squatch]

21. So...what in the fuck are you going to do about it, Senator?

I have a sneaking suspicion that you are going to do absolutely positively NOTHING.

[cui bono]

25. I think he'll hold them in contempt.

It does take a little time to get the paperwork in order and filed, or whatever they do with it. They had to wait for the WH response first.

I understand the impatience, but they do have to follow procedures.

[Javaman]

29. He better damn well. nt

[paparush]

51. And the Jug-Eared Prick will just claim that Executive Privilege shelters him/them from

the Contempt Charge. And who is Gonzo gonna send to enforce the Contempt charge? Please.

If a full chamber (House or Senate) passes a Contempt Citation -
Following a contempt citation, the presiding officer of the chamber is instructed to refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia<2>; according to the law it is the "duty" of the U.S. Attorney to refer the matter to a grand jury for action.

What do you get for Contempt?
The criminal offense of "contempt of Congress" sets the penalty at not less than one month nor more than twelve months in jail and a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. Those penalties are enforced upon conviction, even if the Congress which initiated the contempt citation has expired.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_Congress

[MsMagnificent]

53. Oh my

those penalties are sure sounding excessive to me... :sarcasm:

What do they have to worry about when King George will just commute & pardon?

[karlrschneider]

26. Disappointed, great...but are they CONCERNED?

:eyes:

[depakid]

35. But do they "strenuously object"

to repeated violations of established law and procedure?

(line from Demi Moore in A Few Good Men).

[karlrschneider]

36. Why do you hate them so much?

:D

[DFW]

27. Give 'em a day to read the editorials, and then

Cite them for contempt of Congress and force it to a court battle (which we'll lose if Anthony Kennedy
gets to rule on it), and the more important battle for public opinion. If "executive privilege" isn't
good enough to shield Bill Clinton from a sex affair and his attempt to cover it up, then it certainly
isn't good enough to shield Cheneybush from felony charges. Maybe it is OK for RobertsThomasAlitoScalia,
and probably OK for Kennedy, but if so, it is time for the impeachment and removal of a few SC "justices."

I wonder, if a SCOTUS member is an incompetent asshole who refuses to uphold the Constitution, can he
be addressed as "Mr. Injustice?"

[young_at_heart]

28. Bush's legacy----the Secrecy president

His list of "secrets" must be very long indeed!

[jonnyra]

30. If our press was not owned by right wing

propagandists the one and only question Snow job and all the other white house liars would be asked is "what is the administration hiding". Over and over again this should be the one question...WHAT IS THE ADMINISTRATION HIDING? No white house spokesman should be allowed to say a fucking thing without being peppered with that question from all sides..WHAT IS THE ADMINISTRATION HIDING?? When will we stand up as moral society and demand answers from the war criminals, liars and thieves?? WHEN??

WHAT IS THE ADMINISTRATION HIDING??

[Rosa Luxemburg]

31. If you ask many people about this they don't know about it (and don't care)

the fault of the media of course?

[acmavm]

32. The dems sure SOUND good. Too bad they never back anything they

say up with action.

I would absolutely love to be wrong when I say that I imagine our dems will huff, and they'll puff, but in the end the house of bush** will still be standing.

Hasn't it dawned on anyone in our party that they don't give a fat rat's patoot what we say. They blatantly lie in response or just ignore us all together.

Shit, Gonzo still being allowed within the 'city limits' of Washington, D.C. just floors me. He's lied enough times, and it was televised. The world's seen him in action. And where is he? He's in the White House telling his minions that he'll be serving out his term.

So talk is less than cheap. It's worthless.

[LordJFT]

34. schumer's quote should be our battlecry that we repeat over and over

[The M Double]

37. Ditto below

".....extremely disappointed......blah blah....unacceptable all-or-nothing position......blah blah......not properly justify.......blah blah.....unilaterally........blah blah......hide wrongdoing.......blah blah......craves secrecy.......blah blah.......something to hide.....blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah"

I couldn't say it any better!

[argyl]

38. If the Supreme Court upholds these imperious claims of executive privilege,

which they most likely will, given this Court's regard for ideology over rule of law,could the majority voters be open to impeachment proceedings?

These assholes think they're as bulletproof as Cheney. If they fail to act upon 220 years of established law aren't they as derelict in their duties as this current administration?

[Danieljay]

43. they ARE bulletproof. The deck is stacked. n/t

[The_Casual_Observer]

39. Dear freepers, if this move by jr sounds good to you, remember,

in 2009 the shoe will be on the other foot.

[mvd]

44. I wouldn't even want our Democratic President to be..

like this. This whole unitary executive philosophy is a poison to democracy. Bush has to be held in contempt, or else Bush will think he's free to bully the Congress. I doubt that a more gutsy Congress would have changed this arrogant asshole and his cronies' action here since they are so desperate in a Nixonian way, but at least they will be forced to consider that the Congress will assert their Constitutional powers.

[liberal N proud]

40. bu$h no longer sees him self as a president over a republic but rather

he has promoted himself to dictator over the "Homeland", sound familiar? Heil!

[humbled_opinion]

41. Wow think of the Precedent he is trying to set in the Executive..+

Amazing that more Conservatives are not pissed off at this too.. I mean truly this issue of so much power in the hands of on branch of government should transend partisan politics.

[Danieljay]

42. key words to notice: "....and the COURTS that will decide" In other words, we are screwed..

The Court is stacked and the Dems have themselves to blame for allowing the nominations to go through.

Damn this is infuriating.

[Jack Rabbit]

45. Issue a contempt citation against anybody who doesn't answer a subpoena

That is the proper congressional response to a claim of executive privilege.

Show me executive privilege in the Constitution. I can't find it.

[roxnev]

47. It is the whole Republican Party

Over 40 us senators and 125 members of the house help him hide this shit. It could not happen with out this suport. It is the whole Republican Partythat is crooked :evilgrin:

[lefador]

48. Huh... I see a strongly worded letter in the horizon for Bush and Co.

I am sure this time the Dems will not even use "pretty please" in their letter. That will show these fascist assholes!!!!!


I don't know what's worse, the sheer stupidity of the republican base who support these assholes in power through thick and thin, or the sad denial that the Dem bases has displayed for the better part of 3 decades.

At least I hope they deliver the letter electronically, I would hate to see a tree wasted in this monumental waste of everybody's time.

Biggest attack in US soil in modern history due to incompetence, biggest loss of death due to a natural disaster (hey, what was that final body count for Katrina, anyone knows? Cares?), biggest strategic blunder in the form of an endless war on a concept (seriously, who is going to sign the peace in name of terror? What's next a war on bad manners?), biggest deficit in any nation's history, billions lost or unaccounted for, voting rights compromised en masse, a supreme court stacked with reactionaries for the better part of the next two decades...

But gee golly, I am sure one of these days the Democrats will do something, I mean one of these days for sure. Seriously, I thank my lucky starts I was raised somewhere else where the left never lost its teeth, because what passes for liberalism these days in this country is pathetic.