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Administration Officials to Conyers: Catch Us if You Can
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) knew he was going to get a fight. And he's getting one.
Earlier this month, he scheduled a hearing for next week on the administration's authorization of torture, and along with John Yoo, has invited former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former CIA Director George Tenet, former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, Chief of Staff to the Vice President David Addington, and former Assistant Attorney General Daniel Levin.
Yesterday Conyers released some of the correspondence he's been having with lawyers for Addington, Yoo, and Ashcroft. As expected, none of them want to testify, and they're not short on reasons.
Both Yoo and Ashcroft say that they have not been authorized by the Department of Justice to discuss the context of the key torture memos, internal discussions about them, and the like. And both say that they are the subject of lawsuits, and so it would be "inappropriate" to testify.
But it won't surprise anyone that the letter from Kathryn Wheelbarger, Vice President Dick Cheney's counsel, is the real masterpiece. It is by now common knowledge that Addington is by far the most powerful and influential lawyer in the administration, particularly with regard to the controversial counterterrorism policies such as torture and the warrantless wiretapping program. But Wheelbarger says that Conyer's got the wrong guy. If you're looking to discuss presidential powers in war time, then you really ought to be bugging a presidential aide, she writes. And if it's interrogation you want to talk about, then "the Director of National Intelligence or his designee and the Secretary of Defense or his designee, respectively, would be the appropriate witness." From there, it's on to an argument about how the power of Congress to investigate is limited, so Addington cannot be compelled to show. And then on to an argument about how Addington, due to privilege concerns, wouldn't be able to say much even if he did show voluntary.
So to sum up, that's: You're asking the wrong person, but even if you were asking the right person, you couldn't make him show up, and even if he did show up, he wouldn't say anything.
As for Conyers, he says he will issue subpoenas to those who do not agree to appear by this Friday.
OVP's lawyers are getting sloppy and so very partonizing. First you must read the Wheelbarger letter. And laugh/vomit.
First off, they're wrong.
Wrong. Addington is an employee of the President. In fact, his title is "Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President and Counsel." Even the White House says so on their website:
As Assistant to the President Addington has a hand-signed Commission by George W Bush and the Secretary of State hanging in his office. It does not bear the signature of the Vice President. His title, and his Commission reflect appointment and employment by the President.
April 29, 2008 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I must be channeling Dan Froomkin today, or he reads TPM Muckraker...
Beat'ca to it, Dan!
April 29, 2008 2:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is Conyers going to issue subpoenas unilaterally, without a committee vote and over GOP committee member stonewalling? I doubt it.
April 29, 2008 11:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
No, of course not. What's your point? Saying in an article that the chair is going to issue subpoenas is pretty common shorthand for saying the chair is going to have the committee vote out subpoenas.
The committee is 22D/16R, so the GOPers can complain all they want and vote to allow continued obstruction of justice, but they'll just be outvoted. (Incidentally, "stonewalling" is when witnesses refuse to answer or give evasive answers, perhaps the term you're looking for is "procedural maneuvers." Or "filibustering," which doesn't apply in the House or in committee.)
April 29, 2008 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
My point is: 1. Conyers is all bark and no bite. 2. GOP committee members will delay, block, (stonewall [look up definition]), whine, and obfuscate the process as much as possible. 3. Even if any of these boobs appear before the committee (a big if) they will claim privileged presidential communications to any pointed questions. 3. I’m tired as hell that our Congressional leadership (oxymoron) is either in thrall of this Regime or afraid of it and nothing substantive will come of any committee hearings!
April 29, 2008 12:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who in the hell is running the country? And if anyone is, by what authority?
What the White House is doing, with the aide and support of the Department of Justice, is making a mockery out of the Constitution.
If the Supreme Court could rule objectively rather than politically, I'd say, let's get on with the fight over the balances of power supposedly spelled out in the Constitution.
But, even if they can't rule objectively, let's have a ruling anyway, however it goes and get this circus over with.
You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.
April 29, 2008 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Bush cabal's opening act, stealing elections and installing themselves in power, was an act of treason.
No mere law is going to impede them now.
This nation has been overthrown by right wing thugs and all the pretty cover stories like "unitary executive" and "destroyed email archives" only serve to keep the coverup alive and make it seem as normal operation of government.
April 29, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Surprise, surprise, Bushco is ignoring Congress. America is dead people. Bushco has officially taken control of our government and we the people no longer matter.
Bushco has done everything but come right out and said that they are a fascist regime that has taken control. The Congress, the MSM and the Courts have either been taken over or are in on the takeover.
The only way out is through revolution and the revolution is coming. When those little rebate checks fail to stimulate the economy and the economy goes completely in the toilet, people will rise up and demand an accounting. It has happened before in history and it will happen again. No one, not even Obama can stop it.
There is a strong storm coming and the people of this once great nation will not be denied!
April 29, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't understand: it used to be that any mortal - U.S. citizen or legal resident - who'd refused to comply with a Congressional subpoena, would be jailed...
I realize that Congress by itself has no power to enforce the law - it needs the executive branch. However, if the DOJ refuses to enforce Congressional subpoenas, Congress still has the power of the purse. Why not simply freeze the DOJ funding? Let them go a few months without salaries, or, even better, let them get paid through RNC private fundraising.
April 29, 2008 1:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Shy of a revolution, none of these criminals will be held accountable.
Revolution ain't in the cards, so...
April 29, 2008 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Aticle IV, Section 4, baby!
Anyone else up for a real convention this summer?
April 29, 2008 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds like the Administration is coming perilously close to arguing that Impeachment of the President by Congress is Unconstitutional.
I wonder if they're going to take it that far.
April 29, 2008 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
We have met the enemy, and it is the Democrats in Congress, who gave away their constitutional duty to impeach a law breaking president. Those few phrases are in the Constitution for just the situation we are now in. Refusing to use that power of impeachment, and announcing repeatedly that they will not use it, effectively repeals it. If we truly are now in a fascist government, the blame goes entirely to the Democratic congress.
Yes, I am aware that the votes to convict are not in the Senate. Who cares? Keeping the administration in a constant state of defending themselves against justified impeachments would at least stall their efforts to violate still more laws. And, best of all, it would inform the idiots who still chose to be Republicans.
April 29, 2008 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I Have a Dream! . . .
Let's bring Articles of Impeachment against Cheney and Bush so that there can be no pardons. Next we appoint Mr. Morris Davis (Guantanamo Prosecutor who quit Army rather than contravene justice) as Special Prosecutor to investigate the entirety of the Bush Administration's actions from Inauguration 2001 to the present. For staff let's employ the Federal Prosecutors who were fired for not toeing the Bush line. Then, if we don't execute them, let's hand them over to the Hague for an international trial and execution.
Are you with me?
April 29, 2008 2:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not sure I understand the point of having all these hearings if nothing comes of them. How many Bush officials were shown to have clearly violated the Hatch Act in the last round of hearings?(Plenty!) How many of them have been charged?(0). Why are Miers & Bolton not behind bars for ignoring subpeonas?
Conyers has become a pathetic joke. This is the tragedy of the Dems - even when they have the power they don't have the power.
April 29, 2008 2:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
It boils down to Congress being a de facto one party system of privilege over responsibility. Yeh individual members may hate each other’s guts and ideologies, but not enough to change the underlying graft.
April 29, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Okay. So they issue subpoenas. Subpoenas are "respectfully" ignored. Little Georgie tells Mukasey not to enforce subpoenas, and also forbids him to convene a Grand Jury as to why the subpoenas weren't enforced. That gets us to October or November. Then what?
I'm sure that there are armed officers within the office of the Sergeant at Arms who would be delighted to go and arrest some miscreants. Will Nancy let them do it? Nah... her hubby might get into trouble when The Big Dick exposes the secrets he found while "hoovering" the internet.
Then we bomb Iran...
April 29, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is no other business more important to the USA as to fire these cl;owns one way or another.
April 29, 2008 11:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
JA ,
Kindly refrain from advocating violent revolution on this thread . Obama can & will turn this bushCHENEY lawlessness back to We the People come November . Especially when the Democrats have the expected overwhelming victories in both the House & Senate - ( For crying out loud even Texas GOP Senator Cornyn is under serious threat from his Democratic challenger Noriega - you want to do something constructive send Noriega's campaign some money !)
Meanwhile please refrain from advocating violence here -this is a civil society on this thread ..
April 30, 2008 8:52 PM | Reply | Permalink