Not “Of,” But “For”

2 July 2007



Senator Leahy Threatens Executive with Contempt of Congress

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. As such, he is the guiding light in the Democrats’ assault on the Justice Department and its questionable firing of nine US attorneys. The Congress has subpoenaed records concerning the personnel changes, and the White House has invoked executive privilege. On “Meet the Press” yesterday, Senator Leahy said he’d cite the administration for contempt of Congress if it became necessary. The gauntlet for a constitutional crisis has been thrown down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Senator Leahy said, “The bottom line on the US attorneys investigation is that we have people manipulating law enforcement. Law enforcement can’t be partisan. Law enforcement can’t decide, ‘Well, we’ll arrest this person because they’re a Democrat but not this person because they’re a Republican,’ or the other way around.” Pronoun agreement notwithstanding, he’s right. This is the thin end of a wedge with him because last week the committee issued more subpoenas with regard to the NSA’s domestic spying program, demanding documents from the White House, Justice Department and vice president’s office. The fight over the attorneys is just the beginning.

White House counsel Fred F. Fielding has rejected the subpoenas out of hand, but like the former Nixon aide that he is, he has obfuscated at the same time. He has offered a few Senators off-the-record interviews with White House aides. They would not be under oath, which is rather meaningless since it is a crime to lie in the course of a Congressional investigation. Also, there would be no transcript or other record of the interviews, which makes them completely meaningless resulting in a “he said, she said” aftermath.

The committee has given the administration until next Monday to write up a letter certifying the demand for executive privilege. It must also describe every withheld document, provide a list of people who have seen it, and explain why executive privilege applies. Then, Senator Leahy as chairman will decide each on the merits (guess what he’ll decide). From there, it gets dicey.

If he decides executive privilege doesn’t apply, the committee will reiterate its demand for the documents. Failure to provide them would, as Mr. Leahy vowed on TV, result in the president being cited for criminal contempt of Congress if a majority of the committee voted that way (the Democrats hold a majority), and then, either the House or the Senate would approve the citation. If that happens, then a US attorney would be asked to issue an indictment. From there, it’s all up to the courts. The problem doesn’t seem to be that the president is in contempt of Congress so much as he has nothing but contempt for Congress. That explains his inability to get anything passed these days.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.


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