Judge Bates Reminds White House No One Is Above The Law

Since they walked into the White House, George Bush and his minions believed that they were above the law. This was proven time and time again when they broke the law and when called on it by the blogosphere (and rarely by the timid traditional media) they hid behind a veil of secrecy. When Congress changed hands and gave the Democratic Party some power to hold hearings and deliver subpoenas, they claimed executive privilege. Well after what seems like months and months of delays, a federal judge known for his executive branch bias has reminded the White House that no one is above the law.

From MSNBC:

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Bates said there’s no legal basis for Bush’s argument and that his former legal counsel, Harriet Miers, must appear before Congress. If she wants to refuse to testify, he said, she must do so in person. The committee also has sought to force testimony from White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten.

“Harriet Miers is not immune from compelled congressional process; she is legally required to testify pursuant to a duly issued congressional subpoena,” Bates wrote. He said that both Bolten and Miers must give Congress all non-privileged documents related to the firings.

The ruling is a blow to the Bush administration’s efforts to bolster the power of the executive branch at the expense of the legislative branch. The Bush administration argued it was immune from such subpoenas, arguing that Congress can't force them to testify or turn over documents.

Contrary to the wishes of the President and those beneath him that carried out crimes against the people of the United States and in particular several U.S. Attorneys (for this specific matter, the scandal is but one symptom of a devastating disease ravaging our Constitution). Judge Bates realizes that in our democracy, Congress has the power to check the Executive branch in order to give balance to our system of government. You know, the stuff written into the Constitution.

Of course now the White House will come up with another tactic to delay, most likely in the form of an appeal. That is why the Congress must find its spine and act now to circumvent their skirting of the justice system. Pelosi claims that they'll act, but only the people can pressure her and the caucus she leads into choosing real action over blustering and issuing sternly worded statements with nothing behind them.

Judge Hints At Congress To Arrest Bushies

Our Congress has been absolutely horrific this session (and the last few as well) in playing its role as a co-equal branch of government. In the Constitution, it states that Congress is allowed to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch, but Democratic leaders have been hesitant about doing so when the White House skirts the law and throws roadblocks up to discovering the truth of their crimes. Instead of going for the throat, the Dem majority has only mustered limited effort and tries to shield itself from criticism (from the lawbreakers) by going to a judge to make Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten, among others, testify to Congress. Well the judge hasn't ruled yet, but his statement thus far speaks volumes.

From TPM:

In a motion hearing in federal court today, U.S. District Judge John Bates questioned why Congress didn't simply arrest former White House counsel Harriet Miers and Chief of Staff Josh Bolten after both refused to respond to subpoenas issued by the House Judiciary Committee:

Congress has the authority to hold someone in contempt, U.S. District Judge John Bates said. Did it really need to go to court? House counsel Irvin Nathan said it did.

The hearing is the latest in an ongoing battle between Congress and the White House, to have senior aides testify about the U.S. attorney firings.

The Bushies are doing whatever they can to wait out the end of the term so they can hopefully fly under the radar. Sternly written letters may be threatening the first time, but after Congress writes dozens of them, no one seems to care. Now if they use actual force and arrest these crooks (alleged crooks of course) then that could actually do something. Claiming Executive Privilege is a bullshit maneuver and everyone knows it, Congress is just too cowardly to do anything about it.