“‘He’s a slippery fellow, and I think so intentionally,’ said Richard L. Schott, a professor at the University of Texas’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. ‘He’s trying to keep the president’s secrets and to be a team player, even if it means prevaricating or forgetting convenient things.‘” In a front-page story, the WP surveys Alberto Gonzales’ decade-long history of evasions and forgetfulness at the service of Dubya: “Whether Gonzales has deliberately told untruths or is merely hampered by his memory has been the subject of intense debate among members of Congress, legal scholars and others who have watched him over the years. Some regard his verbal difficulties as a strategic ploy on behalf of a president to whom he owes his career; others see a public official overwhelmed by the magnitude of his responsibilities.” So, liar or idiot…take your pick. (My money’s on liar.)
Tag: George W. Bush
Congress Pushes Back.
“‘Congress will act to preserve and protect our criminal justice system and to ensure appropriate Congressional oversight in all areas essential to the well-being of the American people,’ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement.” Faced with continued White House stonewalling and armed with a new report that underscores the adminstration’s malfeasance, the House Judiciary Committee issued contempt citations to former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and Chief of Staff Josh Bolten for their failure to honor House subpoenas on the persecuted prosecutors matter earlier this month. And, on the Senate side, Dems — with a document trail on their side — call for a perjury investigation into Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on the same day a subpoena is issued for consigliere Karl Rove. Dubya flunkies, meet the rule of law. Update: More grist for the perjury mill: FBI Director Robert Mueller contradicts Gonzales’ prior testimony.
Lonely at the Bottom.
“The historic depth of Bush’s public standing has whipsawed his White House, sapped his clout, drained his advisers, encouraged his enemies and jeopardized his legacy. Around the White House, aides make gallows-humor jokes about how they can alienate their remaining supporters — at least those aides not heading for the door.” Round the decay of that colossal wreck, nothing beside remains: The WP contextualizes Dubya’s dismal presidential approval ratings. “The emerging strategy is to play off a Congress that is also deeply unpopular and to look strong by vetoing spending bills.“
Scorpio Sphinx in a Power-Suit.
“‘I think sometimes you’ve stepped on one side of the line and then not wanted to step on the other,’ said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. ‘This broad claim of privilege doesn’t stand up.‘” A belated persecuted prosecutor update: After Dubya apparatchik Sara Taylor’s tortured performance before the Senate Judiciary Committee (which included lots of shaky claims of executive privilege, stories that don’t hold up, and some rather depressing confusion over oath-taking), Dubya orders Harriet Miers not to testify, thus prompting the House to move forward on a contempt citation for Miers (and thus increasing the likelihood of a legal foray into the still-murky waters of executive privilege.) [Oath link via Medley.]
The Fix is In.
“The White House report released today, on how far Iraq has progressed toward 18 political and military benchmarks, is a sham.” Well, Dubya may point to the split-decision Iraq interim report as grounds for optimism, but Slate‘s Fred Kaplan, for one, ain’t buying it: “[A] close look at the 25-page report reveals a far more dismal picture and a deliberately distorted assessment…The report card was rigged from the outset by how the White House defined ‘satisfactory.’“
NOPEC?
“OPEC would like you to believe that it’s an international agency dedicated to world peace and economic development, like the United Nations or the World Bank. But of course, OPEC is a cartel.” Tim Noah examines a new bill before Congress that would work to bring OPEC’s behavior under American antitrust law. “The White House Office of Management and Budget says it opposes the NOPEC bill ‘adamantly.’ Perhaps this is because, as I’ve noted before, OPEC is just about the only international organization that President Bush has any regard for.“
No, you back down.
“As the letter from the Acting Attorney General explained in considerable detail, the assertion of Executive Privilege here is intended to protect a fundamental interest of the Presidency: the necessity that a President receive candid advice from his advisors and that those advisors be able to communicate freely and openly with the President, with each other, and with others inside and outside the Executive Branch.” Dubya invokes executive privilege again in response to the Leahy/Conyers letter of a week ago, prompting further outrage among congressional Dems and increasing the likelihood of a protracted legal standoff. “Speaking on the floor of the Senate Monday afternoon, Leahy blasted what he called ‘the White House disdain for our system of checks and balances.’ ‘What is the White House trying to hide by refusing to hand over this evidence?’ he said.”
Scooter Laughs Last.
“I respect the jury’s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive…The Constitution gives the president the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted. It is my judgment that a commutation of the prison term in Mr. Libby’s case is an appropriate exercise of this power.” So, once again, we see what “restoring honor and dignity to the White House” means to these jokers. As y’all know, the main bit of news this past week, the 231st anniversary of our independence from the perversity of monarchical prerogatives, was that Dubya the decider chose to commute White House consigliere Scooter Libby’s sentence of 30 months in prison for lying to the American people. (Said prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald of the decision: “It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals.” For their part, the GOP are crying Marc Rich.) To be honest, I’m not sure what’s worse: the fact that, in flagrant defiance of both our judicial process and the public’s very real ethical concerns about this administration, Dubya actually let his guy off the hook…or that, given all we’ve seen from this gang over the past seven years, his shameless decision ultimately wasn’t all that surprising.
Leahy/Conyers: Not so Fast.
“We had hoped our Committees’ subpoenas would be met with compliance and not a Nixonian stonewalling that reveals the White House’s disdain for our system of checks and balances…The veil of secrecy you have attempted to pull over the White House by withholding documents and witnesses is unprecedented and damaging to the tradition of open government by and for the people that has been a hallmark of the Republic.” In a “barbed” letter to the administration, Judiciary Committee Chairmen Conyers and Leahy demand that Dubya explain his rationale for executive privilege (which he invoked earlier in the week to thwart subpoenas concerning the persecuted prosecutors case.) Thus far, the White House has described the letter as “another overreach.“
Felled at the Border.
“A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn’t find a common ground. It didn’t work…I had hoped for a bipartisan accomplishment, and what we got was a bipartisan defeat.” Harding had the Washington Conference, Nixon had China and the FAP…but it looks like there’ll be nothing to dilute Dubya’s dismal standing in the history books. Arguably his last chance for a positive domestic accomplishment shattered to pieces when the Senate voted 53-46 against closing debate on the bipartisan immigration reform bill. “The outcome was a major blow to Bush, dealt largely by members of his own party…Republicans on both sides acknowledged the immigration fight had riven the GOP.“