David Swanson: Let Rove Lie (AfterDowningStreet)

[marmar]

Let Rove Lie
Submitted by davidswanson on Sun, 2007-03-25 20:01. Activism
By David Swanson

I think Karl Rove should be permitted to testify to Congress in private, without taking any oath, and without any record being kept of what he says. I had hoped we could avoid the indecency of having to spell out the reason why, but apparently we can't. So please remember this and then never say it aloud again: he wants to lie. Sssshhh. There, we said it. And you're making it very difficult for him, and that's not very nice or respectful.

Just think about what will happen if Senator Leahy or Congressman Conyers insists on subpoenaing Rove to testify in public under oath. Half the people in the country will know enough to jump up and down and point their fingers at Rove and yell: "He's lying!" And then what a fine mess that will be! Lying under oath is a crime, for godsake. The next thing you know, the Congressional committees charged with making sure the White House obeys laws will have to divert their attention to making sure the White House obeys laws. We can ill afford such distractions when we're trying to keep a clear focus on enacting our labor and spinach policies through war bills that the White House plans to veto. I mean, it's hard enough to take care of our national spinach policy through war bills that aren't vetoed. Doing it through vetoed war legislation is a challenge that requires our full attention.

Or suppose that Leahy or Conyers or both of them insist on putting Rove under oath and on camera, but the White House refuses. Then we'll have a fine choice of either leaving our Constitutional separation of powers in the hands of a Supreme Court that thinks it's working on a subcontract to the Vice President, or relying on the American people to raise holy hell over the outrage of an openly criminal White House. Frankly, and I know that I speak for the American public when I say this, I'm feeling a bit sleepy at the moment and there's a basketball game coming on TV in an hour or so.

Plus, and this is where we really fail as a people I think, not to mention Georgetown as a basketball team, we should be looking ahead a couple of steps. Imagine that the public does raise a ruckus, or imagine that Rove lies under oath, or for that matter imagine that he tells the truth. Whichever way this plays out, we'll be looking right down the barrel of something we're not supposed to be looking at: impeachment. For the White House to refuse to allow Congressional oversight would be like the President signing bills into law and then tacking on notes announcing that he won't obey the laws, or like the President illegally spying on political opponents and openly admitting that he chooses not to obey the law when it comes to spying. Or imagine … geeze, I don't know, imagine if the White House openly kidnapped people with no legal process and tortured and sometimes murdered them in secret prisons outside the reach of legal observation. Or suppose they leaked the identity of a CIA agent in order to punish the agent's family. In other words, imagine the unimaginable. Imagine the most blatant criminal threats to our system of government. That is what we'll be facing if Leahy and Conyers foolishly continue to do their jobs. And then we're left with impeachment, and we can't have that. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/20429

[napi21]

1. Thanks Dave! n/t

[grasswire]

2. very clever, thanks