25 Comments

• 1. President Bush » Mu&hellip  |  March 1st, 2008 at 4:24 am

  [...] My Left Wing :: A Liberal Translation wrote an interesting post today on Mukasey Does the Right ThingHere’s a quick excerpt…the House’s contempt citations against two of President Bush’s top … but way late in the game - to see the Bush Administration finally [...]

• 2. Willem van Oranje  |  March 1st, 2008 at 6:24 am

  when stymied by the laws as they are, go find a friendly judge to circumvent the law for you.

  You guys even subpoened Terri Schiavo to appear before the Senate. Talk about throwing everything in your power to have it your way. Ha!

• 3. bongoman  |  March 1st, 2008 at 6:35 am

  Do they really want to set this sort of precedent for the the next Democrat President?

• 4. TiredofLibBullSh**  |  March 1st, 2008 at 7:23 am

  Libs are once again creating scandal where there is none.

  No matter how they try to spin it - federal judges serve at the President’s discretion. Clinton fired almost all federal judges in one shot - some of them investigating Whitewater.

  According to his fellow libs, it was a none issue. It is now. The precedent has been set, was in existence during the last Democrat president - we always heard the term executive privilege when asked for testimony or documents from Clinton aides.

  We are seeing more from the worst Congress leadership in US history. The libs are complete incompetent failures and these are the same people many want to trust their health with.

  Amazing.

• 5. js  |  March 1st, 2008 at 7:36 am

  It would seem that the AG should be obligated to investigate and prosecute crimes against Pelosi (and Reid) for thier crimes.

  It goes to show the political landscape we have, yet, if one corrupt branch is cut off, the tree of corruption immediately sprouts another.

  Maybe we should cut down the tree?

• 6. plainjane  |  March 1st, 2008 at 7:45 am

  Who would have thought the King George’s A.G would throw a Congressional request in the trash?

  Congress provides the money to pay the bills. They have a duty to the American people to make sure the people’s money is spent correctly by the Administration. Congress has every right to ask Myers and Bolten under oath weather they used their power and position to use the people’s money to specifically politicize the Justice Department in order to target Democrats for prosecution.

  Myers was singled out to be a Supreme Court Justice for God sake, she knows how this works. If she committed no wrong I am sure she can make it through a simple Congressional hearing.

  Had the Republicans provided oversight when they were in charge; the Katrina response may have proven to be a more competent effort by FEMA. 1/20/09

• 7. plainjane  |  March 1st, 2008 at 7:47 am

  whether too early in the morning

• 8. Ryan  |  March 1st, 2008 at 8:08 am

  So your response to Pelosi trying to usurp powers that don’t belong to her to attempt to pursue an issue that is not an issue is to bring up Katrina?

  Tinfoil hat much?

• 9. Magnum Serpentine  |  March 1st, 2008 at 8:28 am

  I think its time for the Congress to cut the Department of Justice’s Budget by 95% and demand the removal of the stooge Mukasey.

  They should haul Mukasey to the congress and investigate Mukasey, the yes sir man.

• 10. plainjane  |  March 1st, 2008 at 8:34 am

  So your response to Pelosi trying to usurp powers that don’t belong to her Ryan | March 1st, 2008 at 8:08 am

  Simply an incredible statement. I do believe the Facist Party of America (formerly the GOP) has you on board.

• 11. Blue Revolution  |  March 1st, 2008 at 9:15 am

  It’s called a cover-up. You should know what that is by now. You have been exposed to them for over 7 years now. The Bush Presidency has been the most secretive in history. Say it with me now….C O V E R - U P. If Miers and Bolten had nothing to hide, they would have testified in the first place. They know the firings were politically motivated. I know it and you all know it. This is just a prime example of how the GOP will ALWAYS put the will of their party over the will of the people. That is why the GOP is dying. They are going to “revive” their party by the worst fear and smear campaign the American people have ever seen. Wait, why isn’t this blog called Blogs for Bush anymore? Even you have disassociated yourselves with that fascist.

• 12. Diana Powe  |  March 1st, 2008 at 11:02 am

  One of the ways that Congressional Democrats have failed and suffered in their polling numbers is their persistent timidity in exercising their Constitutional authority to exercise oversight over the Executive Branch. The subpoenas for Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten have been outstanding for months with the result being little more than a kabuki dance where committee chairman and the House Speaker occasionally send “strongly worded letters” which the White House ignores. It is mildly heartening to see that Speaker Pelosi appears to be taking action but Americans have been disappointed before. Although Mark doesn’t believe in polls that, for him, constitute bad news, the public told USA Today last March that they felt that the U.S. Attorneys were “primarily fired for political reasons” (53%), “Congress should…investigate the involvement of White House officials” (72%) and “If Congress investigates these dismissals…President Bush and his aides should drop the claim of executive privilege and answer all questions being investigated” (68%)
  _____
  Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/polls/tables/live/2007-03-26-poll.htm

  As I’ve noted elsewhere, the tediously standard line about the U.S. Attorneys being appointees who “serve at the pleasure of the President” is classic misdirection. The issue has nothing to do with President Bush’s authority to fire any or all of the U.S. Attorneys. He did. However, as the branch of the government that finances the operations of those same U.S. Attorneys, Congress has a duty to investigate when there is, as in this case, evidence that the Justice Department has been employed not in pursuit of justice but in pursuit of the advancement of the political goals of the Republican Party. The Justice Department, as does any prosecuting attorney, undermines the very foundation of the law if it is not seen by all parties as above partisan considerations. This is not the case for the current DOJ and the blame for that lies at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and with Alberto Gonzales.

• 13. Herman  |  March 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am

  “If Miers and Bolten had nothing to hide, they would have testified in the first place.” — Blue Revolution

  Yep, this is obvious. And to think that Miers was actually nominated for the Supreme Court.

  “This is just a prime example of how the GOP will ALWAYS put the will of their party over the will of the people.” — Blue Revolution

  The most prominent example of this occurring in December 2000.

  “Wait, why isn’t this blog called Blogs for Bush anymore? Even you have disassociated yourselves with that fascist.” — Blue Revolution

  Funny, isn’t it?

• 14. steveGA  |  March 1st, 2008 at 11:56 am

  “Democrats - when stymied by the laws as they are, go find a friendly judge to circumvent the law for you.”

  I guess you’re saying that the law allows people to ignore Congressional subpoenas. This is news to me, please enlighten me by pointing out the appropriate law giving people the right not to even show up for a subpoena because they don’t want to.

• 15. Greg-O  |  March 1st, 2008 at 12:22 pm

  President Bush is simply exercising Executive Privilege that goes along with the Separation of Powers. This has existed from the start:

  “In 1796, President George Washington refused to comply with a request by the House of Representatives for documents which were relating to the negotiation of the then-recently adopted Jay Treaty with Great Britain. The Senate alone plays a role in the ratification of treaties, Washington reasoned, and therefore the House had no legitimate claim to the material. Therefore, Washington provided the documents to the Senate but not the House.”

  If Pelosi wants to make this an Election Year issue, then I’m all for it.

  Oh, and the will of the people was done in December 2000, and if you want to experience Fascism, visit the non-tourist areas of Cuba. It’s always amusing to find claims of Fascism from people freely using their computers to attack the man they claim is a Fascist.

  Equally amusing was the jab at FEMA, which worked in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and eventually in Louisiana when Democrat Governor Kathleen Blanco finally stopped getting in the way. As a native and resident of Louisiana, I’m fully aware of what happened here as are other Louisianians, whihc is why we now have Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal.

• 16. plainjane  |  March 1st, 2008 at 12:48 pm

  President Bush is simply exercising Executive Privilege that goes along with the Separation of Powers. Greg-O | March 1st, 2008 at 12:22 pm

  Nice try, but President Bush has stated publicly (that means before a group of cameras) he knew nothing about the firings. Therefore we all agree he had no conversations with his aids concerning this issue. Executive privilege in this case does not exist.

• 17. FmrMarine  |  March 1st, 2008 at 1:11 pm

  >>>>>Simply an incredible statement. I do believe the Facist Party of America (formerly the GOP) has you on board.<<<<<<

  Maybe is required to OFFSET the COMMUNIST/Marxist/Mayoist, party of America.
  ( formerly the democRAT party)

• 18. Rich  |  March 1st, 2008 at 2:07 pm

  Wait no indictment? That means they are innocent in lib land right? Can i get a ruling on this Willem? That was the rule you decreed the other day right? Indictment equals guilt and no indictment equals what again?

• 19. plainjane  |  March 1st, 2008 at 4:36 pm

  Mukasey said White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet Miers committed no crime.

  Just think of the savings in Repug Fascist land. We can do away with the entire Federal Court Systems. Republicans and Democrats can bow before Mukasey to get a ruling on their guilt or innocence. Republicans are all innocent while Democrats are all guilty. Should an Independent come before him he would simply say go forth and commit no further crime, but remember vote Republican in the upcoming election or you will find yourself once again bowing before me.

• 20. Michael  |  March 1st, 2008 at 4:55 pm

  The unblinking idiot speaker of the house says she will now sue the Whitehouse. That won’t work either and she knows it. This is all shadow dancing and misdirection just like the hearings on baseball players and steroids. The Donkey majority cannot get anying useful done so they just play silly games. And I guess it is red meat to the far-left who see a conspiracy behind every tree. Executive priveledge is in effect here and as such protects the people the congress wants to “question.” Too bad they can’t do their real jobs and get some bills passed.

• 21. Blue Revolution  |  March 1st, 2008 at 6:06 pm

  See, what these neocons here don’t understand is that the truth will come out eventually. Bush will hide everything he can for as long as he can. But he can’t hide it forever. We already have generals coming forward after they retire and are no longer subject to the President as Commander in Chief. They are free to speak how they really feel. We know parts of the truth. But once everything comes out about the Bush’s lies, people will start referring to that President from the ’70s as Honest Rich.

• 22. Mark Noonan  |  March 1st, 2008 at 6:08 pm

  Blue,

  Alternately, once the full story of the Bush Administration is told, you on the left will be revealed for complete fools.

• 23. Diana Powe  |  March 1st, 2008 at 7:18 pm

  Michael Mukasey was packaged and sold as an apolitical replacement for the blatant subservience to the White House exhibited by Alberto Gonzalez. For whatever reasons, the Senate played along with the charade and we now have the predictable result of another attorney general who sees himself as the President’s attorney and not the country’s chief law enforcement officer. The one good thing in this development is that AG Mukasey was prompt in responding to the Speaker so that she can know that the head of the Justice Department approves of ignoring Congressional subpoenas.

  Even if an invocation of executive privilege were relevant, that invocation needs to come from the witness after they’ve responded to the subpoena. Then, if the Legislative Branch wants to continue to pursue its constitutional role of oversight of how the funds that it controls are spent by the Executive Branch then they can go to the Judicial Branch to determine if the invocation of executive privilege is valid or not.

  Of course, the currently-composed Executive Branch wants to subsume all three roles within itself and simply announce that it has executive privilege and expect the Congress to acquiesce. The obvious implication is that they don’t want too much light shone on their activities. Regardless, it is mildly heartening that the House may be actually pursuing the matter instead of being the cardboard-cutout Congress that the White House desires to simply issue edicts and demands to. There’s also always the hope that the Congress would not bother with a civil suit and go ahead and use their powers of inherent contempt, but I’m not counting on it.

• 24. js  |  March 1st, 2008 at 7:25 pm

  How small minded DP.

  Congress voted him in. If they had not done so, they would have been looking at someone else.

  Congress has no business stepping over the line. No crimes have occured. Funny, you liibs just dont get it.

• 25. Diana Powe  |  March 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 am

  js,

  No, the Federal Government is made up of three coequal branches. The Executive spends the money that the Legislatives provides to the Executive for its activities. As a result, the framers provided that the Legislative has oversight over how the funds it disperses are spent. There is no necessity for a crime to be alleged or even suspected. It’s not a case of the Executive gets the money and can do anything it wants and tell the Congress to go to hell.