Idiot Wind

The logical consequence of the latest administration assertion of executive authority is that once the president invokes "executive privilege," then the administration or any member thereof no longer is subject to Congressional oversight or legal prosecution.

The name for this form of government is not democracy, but rather a strongman formally anwserable to no one and no law, as a worried country of non-Republicans looks on.

As is predictable, this administration action, a genuine move away from democracy, is portrayed by the Washington Post as a mere dispute among political parties.

Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege.

The position presents serious legal and political obstacles for congressional Democrats, who have begun laying the groundwork for contempt proceedings against current and former White House officials in order to pry loose information about the dismissals.

What would the administration have to do to compel an accurate description of what form of government to which we have devolved?

Glenn Grenwald at Salon nails it:

The administration's position is a direct assault on prosecutorial independence, and an attempt to vest the President with the unchallengeable power to block criminal prosecutions of anyone in the Executive Branch who breaks the law at the President's direction.

Via ThinkProgress:

White House seeks legal cover from Gonzales. The New York Times reports that the White House is confidently asserting that any attempts by Congress to hold White House staffers in contempt will be stymied by Alberto Gonzales’ Justice Department:

“The Justice Department would be likely to block any efforts by Congressional Democrats to seek contempt charges against present and former White House officials for refusing to give information to Congress, a White House spokesman said Friday. […]

A White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, said Congressional threats to have presidential aides charged with criminal contempt would probably end in failure. “It has been the Justice Department’s long-held view that the law does not permit Congress to require a U.S. attorney to convene a grand jury or otherwise pursue a prosecution” when someone refuses on the basis of executive privilege to testify or turn over documents, Mr. Fratto said.”

###