- Today Bush warned Democrats "to accept his offer
to have top aides testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only
privately and not under oath or risk a constitutional showdown from which
he would not back down.
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- Democrats said they would start authorizing subpoenas
as soon as Wednesday for the White House aides. "Testimony should
be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability,"
said Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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- Bush said his White House counsel, Fred Fielding, told
lawmakers they could interview presidential counselor Karl Rove, former
White House Counsel Harriet Miers and their deputies but only on the president's
terms: in private, "without the need for an oath" and without
a transcript."(1)
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- Enough is enough. Bush has done nothing but lie to the
public since he first assumed office in 2001. A task that he managed by
having his political campaign demand that the Supreme Court end the vote
count in Florida, without counting all the votes. The Supreme Court complied
with that unconstitutional act, and the world has been heading straight
into hell ever since. Now Bush wants to challenge the congress by threatening
to take the current confrontation, all the way to the Supreme Court. He
need not have bothered with the mellow-dramatics. It is clear from the
constitution that the job of congress is to act as a check on the power
of the administration in all matters involving executive decisions
and this instance definitely qualifies for that. At issue is the propriety
of the firings of the eight US Attorneys, among other things.
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- According to James Bovard writing on Lew Rockwell's site:
"But Bush is probably in much greater danger from the derailing a
Justice Department investigation into Gonzo's possibly criminality. Murray
Waas, one of the best investigative journalists in DC, has a new piece
on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's role in derailing a Justice Department
investigation of his own possible criminality. Waas reported last Thursday
at the HYPERLINK "<http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0315nj1.htm>http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0315nj1.htm"
National Journal web page.
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- The Justice Department investigation could have exposed
the role of Bush and his top advisors in masterminding a program that some
of the federal government's top experts considered to be clearly illegal.
Waas noted, "According to accounts that Gonzales and his aides gave
to others in the department, Gonzales did advise Bush on the issue of the
OPR inquiry."
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- Thus, Bush may have knowingly derailed an investigation
that could have exposed his own criminal conduct. This may be even too
brazen an abuse of power for many Republicans to stomach.
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- It is ironic that Gonzo will probably get sunk for his
role in firing and lying about U.S. attorneys, considering that he had
so many worse offenses. It was only a few months ago that Gonzales notified
a shocked Senate Judiciary Committee that the Constitution did not guarantee
habeas corpus, despite explicit language to the contrary." (2)
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- The larger issue at stake here is that for the last six
years the White House and all its shady characters have been able to avoid
any congressional oversight on anything that they chose to do-or on any
of the things they did in response to events that resulted in major impacts
upon the people and the nation: Nine-Eleven, Katrina, and the Wars in both
Afghanistan and Iraq. None of that was ever questioned or reviewed-there
was a 911 commission but they spent the bulk of their time running from
the facts, as they were only interested in which policies might have been
affected-not the acts of that day or the actions themselves. In fact no
inquiry was ever undertaken to determine exactly what the president himself
was doing, throughout that very long day when he was supposed to
be at the helm of this government.
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- So, as this is the first time that Petulant-George might
actually have to explain anything about his administration: it would be
extremely unwise for him and his administration to pretend that they have
immunity from even discussing what went on in the White House and in the
Department of Justice concerning the firing of these eight US Attorneys.
Subpoenas should be issued for all concerned and testimony must be under
oath and on the record. Nothing less can be accepted from proven liars
and sloppy con-men that have a reputation for lying, publically and privately.
Administration 'types' also have a knack for forgetfulness in every instance,
and especially for their failure to stick to a single version of events-in
any case where they might have been involved. This congressional inquiry
ought to be straight forward, on the record and in public. If this congress
can't manage to get that result-from our servants in the White House and
the Justice Department-then what good are any of them! They have all been
on vacation now for six long years-now it's time to see which side "the
congress" really represents: Will it be the corruption and lies of
the administration, or the right of the people to absolutely know the truth
in this matter.
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- The people are paying everyone involved in this sordid
affair, to represent us. But based on the performance of the congress and
the White House, during the last six years, we should all demand the return
of every cent we paid this government, during all that time: because we've
all been taken- BIGTIME! This is the moment when the public needs to be
a part of an actual shift in emphasis, a change in the direction for this
government and the administration: away from all the self-serving and hypocritical
lies of these threadbare pretenders that lecture us daily about we 'must'
do-while they have virtually trashed our every real need; including the
truth about anything they've ever said!
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- What these hearings are about is not just the events
and testimony of some low-life appointees within either the White House
or the Department of Justice this must not stop until the public
has the entire unsavory story that will only end when those who failed
us-are fired and charged if there were crimes committed. Because of the
level at which these events took place, many other prominent and potentially
culpable people may also have to be brought in to testify. But in this
case there simply cannot be 'a political bridge too far,' war or no war!
Because the public can handle the truth, the whole truth and nothing but
the truth, or we deserve to know the reasons why.
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- Presidential prerogatives are not on that list-the president
is a man like any other, and as such, he cannot be 'above the law.' Nor
is Bush beyond the reach of justice, if indeed he has been complicit in
criminal acts or cover-ups that might have evolved to protect higher officials,
from legal investigations, into whatever might have taken place-on his
watch, as either president or as Commander-in-Chief.
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- To try and play the role of a stern father for a troubled
nation is not only personally insulting to those of us who consider ourselves
to be fully grown adults; but this belittles the severity of the actions
under investigation. This is not a fireside-chat that the congress is inviting
his officers and possibly himself to attend. This is a major and necessary
part of even bothering to have a government at all.
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- For the past six years Bush has spit on legislation with
his signing statements that basically say to the public that whatever the
congress does is meaningless-because as 'decider' he can ignore whatever
he wishes, and do whatever he likes, and no one can ever question whatever
he might chose to do!
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- Bush has gone so far as to declare that if he publically
reads from anything classified, then that document is automatically declassified,
no other source or agency need be contacted because he an he alone
is the sole power in this government! This series of hearing needs to clarify
for the public, just who has what powers, inside and outside this government!
If what comes out of this does not comport with the constitution and the
checks and balances established therein-then the stage is set for a lot
more than a trip to the already tarnished Supreme Court and that's
one contest the administration might find very difficult to win.
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- Just today, in Lafayette and Concord California, two
major communities that are definitely suburbs, some might say very-well-off
communities: many neighbors gathered outside their supermarkets with signs
that read "Impeach CHENEY First!" The implication being that
Bush & his Bandits will be next. When we lose the Middle Class, then
we have already lost the country. And in this case, we've had a walking
disaster sitting-in where we needed a president to be. It's way-past time
for a complete change, and this upcoming confrontation needs to "Take
Bush to the Mat" on these issues and beyond!
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- kirwanstudios@sbcglobal.net
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- 1) Bush Warns Dems to Take Offer in Firings
- http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2967565&page=3
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- 2) Gonzalez's Fall, Bush's Impeachment?
- http://www.lewrockwell.com/bovard/bovard42.html
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