Bush: "I don't have to, and I don't have to explain why I don't have to!"

When is executive privilege obstruction of justice?

When the executive has broken the law.

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I'd say the white house is drunk on it's success forever ending the Wilson/Plame investigation. Then again, it might just be drunk.

I did like the righties explaining how Cheney could NOT be part of the Excutive Branch to dodge one investigation while he was invoking executive priviledge to dodge another!!

I have to admire this White House-- they break more laws before Lunch than other administrations do in two terms.

From Fred Fielding's rather bitchy response to the House:

"We are aware of no authority by which a congressional committee may "direct" the Executive..." This is freaky, end of the world stuff as we know it. obviously, very few people understand the implications of what Bush is doing here. You really need to read this...

Fred Fielding's response

Updated On: 7/9/07 at 04:35 PM

Nice day for a constitutional crisis.

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>> OK, call me naive, but if nobody did anything wrong and there's nothing to hide, why would anybody need the protection?

... which is of couse ironically evocative of Cheney's "well if you have nothing to hide" defense of the Patriot Act.

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His contention is that no one would ever tell the President the truth if they knew that everyone might find out later what they said. Which is just odd.

This just got more exciting.

From MSNBC.com:

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Harriet Miers to show up?

Posted: Monday, July 09, 2007 3:53 PM by Mark Murray
Categories: White House, Congress

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

Democrats involved with the two Hill investigations into the firing of the federal prosecutors are insisting that former White House aides Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers show up as requested this week at hearings -- regardless of today's claim of executive privilege.Their arguments can be summarized like this:

-- The subpoena requires two things: 1) to show up and 2) to testify. Invoking privilege does not excuse a subpoenaed witness from appearing. The House Judiciary is telling Miers to show up no matter what, and they are proceeding as if she will. She is due before House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Taylor was summoned to appear Wednesday before the Senate committee.

-- Privilege would be properly invoked when the witness was asked specific questions during testimony.

-- The White House is motivated by a desire avoid a picture of Taylor and Miers before the committee, being sworn in and invoking privilege.

-- The documents requested do not fit into a claim of executive privilege, which pertain to the president's decision-making process. "However, numerous witnesses before both House and Senate Committees have testified that the President did not decide which U.S. Attorneys should be fired," the Senate committee asserts.

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Because so far only 46% of the American people want him impeached.

When that goes over 50%, Congress will start to act.

The country was impeachment weary after Clinton was inappropriately impeached, everyone felt guilty and responsible for overreacting, so Congress is loath to act on Bush's genuine excesses unless the polls are solidly behind it.

Impeachment takes 51% of the House and conviction takes 2/3 of the Senate. When the polls are at 51% and 67%, there will be action.

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What IS ths crap about not testifying under oath?

Sheesh...

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