What did the administration buy with the resignations of Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales? Apparently, they bought a get out of jail free card. Whereas, previously, Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy had insisted he would not hold hearings for attorney general nominee Michael B. Mukasey until he got all his subpoenaed documents, now he appears ready to go forward. He wrote Mukasey a letter asking tough questions, but the bottom line?
Regrettably the White House has chosen not to clear the decks of past concerns and not to produce the information and material it should have and could have about the ongoing scandals that have shaken the Department of Justice and led to the exodus of its former leadership. Those matters now encumber your nomination and, if confirmed, your tenure…
…I had hoped that the White House would have taken advantage of the time since the resignations of Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Rove to work with us to fulfill longstanding requests for information so that we could all agree about what went so wrong at the Department of Justice and work together to restore it. Instead, they have left you to answer the unanswered questions and left longstanding disputes unresolved.
Now, there is one little tidbit in Leahy’s letter than we might cling to if we want to hold on to some hope.
In connection with these matters the Judiciary Committee has been seeking the historical legal analysis of the Department of Justice and this Administration. We have made numerous requests and have even had to subpoena the FISA documents. I want to know whether you will work with us and provide those materials so that we can examine the legal justifications that have been utilized by this Administration to excuse its conduct.
I’ve noticed in the comments at this blog a startling uptick in cynicism and even resignation. And that is not without reason. Based on the prevailing mood among progressives I expect the reaction to the above paragraph will be cynical and resigned. What will Leahy and the Dems do if Mukasey is non-committal about providing the FISA materials after he is confirmed? Will they confirm him anyway? That is the pattern of cowardice we progressives are learning to expect.
From the New York Times:
The decision to go forward with the hearings appeared to reflect a calculation by Mr. Leahy and other Democrats that they did not want to be seen as willing to leave the post unfilled after complaining so loudly of turmoil in the department under Mr. Gonzales.
Despite concerns among Democrats and some civil liberties groups about Mr. Mukasey’s past support for sweeping national security powers for the executive branch, his nomination has generally been well received on Capitol Hill, among Democrats and Republicans alike.
Based on what I learned in Jack L. Goldsmith’s The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration, a full disclosure of the Office of Legal Counsel’s historical legal reasoning on warrantless domestic surveillance and torture would probably lead directly to a slam-dunk case for impeachment…especially of Dick Cheney. It appears that the administration’s decision to jettison Rove and Gonzales has given them some wiggle room. This is true in the Senate and it is true in the House:
More than two months after the House Judiciary Committee passed contempt resolutions against White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers for ignoring committee subpoenas, it’s still unclear when, or if, Democrats will hold a vote on the full floor.
The leadership has indefinitely delayed taking up the issue. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) told The Politico last month, “I don’t think anything is going to happen on that for a while,” and couldn’t offer a range. Three weeks later, that hasn’t changed.
And apparently scheduling concerns are not all that’s at issue. A source familiar with the ongoing discussions told TPMmuckraker that getting the leadership to bring the contempt resolutions to the floor at all is an “uphill struggle.”
I don’t know what is going on behind the scenes, but I know this is still true:
After Miers didn’t even show up to claim executive privilege, Conyers asked, “Are Congressional subpoenas to be honored or are they optional?… If we do not enforce this subpoena, no one will ever have to come before the House Judiciary Committee again.”
Whether or not the Democrats have the stomach for an impeachment battle, they are at risk of creating some very bad precedents here.
Here is the Senate Judiciary phone number: (202) 224-7703
Here is the Speaker’s phone number: (202) 225-4965
Call them and tell them not to cave in. Tell them to protect their prerogatives. Tell them to fight for the rule of law.
Also posted in orange.
Cowardly CONgress critters are in the land of the wizard of oz.
No incumbents in ’08
They don’t care. Plain and simple.
It is becoming obvious that the Democratic Party is content in maintaining the status quo, with the idea that everything will just be swept into the dust bin of history after the GOP collapse and Democratic juggernaut victory in 2008.
All the capitulation will be worth it to them after they have power. Because none of this is about principle, the Constitution, accountability or upholding the rule of law. It is about getting power. They throw bones to the progressive base, but it is becoming more painfully obvious every day that they do not plan to hold anyone accountable, press any issue or enforce anything but token oversight if it has any chance of rocking the boat for 2008.
From a purely political standpoint, I understand. But from a human and a Progressive view, it makes me think of them as nothing more than shameless and opportunistic charlatans.
Yes, there is a tangible and startling uptick in cynicism. How could any rational, thinking and feeling person not be cynical when you have to watch this unfold daily before your disbelieving eyes. Based on their behavior you would think the Democrats in Congress had been planted on Gilligans Island for the last 7 years and not living in the middle of this travesty.
Right you are Boo! Right you are! You know what? Were this country to still exist 100 years from today, the investigations into the attempted destruction of the country by this administration will still be going on! It is so wide spread and endemic to this group of criminals that I don’t even know whether 100 years will be long enough.
Ho about this non-topic goodie– Dobson will not support any candidate that doesn’t drink the anti-abortion coolade.
“Here is the Senate Judiciary phone number: (202) 224-7703
Here is the Speaker’s phone number: (202) 225-4965
Call them and tell them not to cave in. Tell them to protect their prerogatives. Tell them to fight for the rule of law. “
Why bother? They’ve already made up their minds. My cell phone bills are high enough.
Thank you, BooMan. Well presented.
And, Glenn Greenwald also:
This could still all be reversed. The NYT article today reveals new facts about the administration’s lawbreaking, lying, and pursuit of torture policies which we had decided, with futility, to outlaw. The Congress could aggressively investigate. Criminal prosecutions could be commenced. Our opinion-making elite could sound the alarm. New laws could be passed, reversing the prior endorsements and imposing new restrictions, along with the will to enforce those laws. We still have the ability to vindicate the rule of law and enforce our basic constitutional framework.
But does anyone actually believe any of that will be the result of these new revelations? We always possess the choice — still — to take a stand for the rule of law and our basic national values, but with every new day that we choose not to, those Bush policies become increasingly normalized, increasingly the symbol not only of “Bushism” but of America.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/?last_story=/opinion/greenwald/2007/10/04/lawlessness/
i commented yesterday on david sirota’s post wherein he bemoaned many of the same things you point out… i also posted on the house judiciary committee’s latest “sternly worded letter” that i found most notable because of the uniformly “cynical” and “resigned” comments…
do ya suppose people are getting a clue…? there’s little to no daylight between the r’s and the dems, and, sad to say, never really has been… that’s not to say there aren’t some good dems and, lord help us, a few good r’s, but those that hold the reins of power (power = $$ = power) are simply not about to toss it away simply to satisfy a few piddlin’ ideals and principles… the vaunted “realpolitik” that enforces support for every “single tactic and decision” along party lines is, in reality, just more political b.s. as usual… while our dear leaders in congress engage in orgies of fulmination at moveon and rush, our constitutionally-based democratic republic is continuing to be torn asunder, with our civil liberties and the foundations upon which our country is supposedly based left in tatters… and, guess what…? unless strong action is taken NOW, the nightmare WILL continue long past 20 january 2009…
Indeed, any rational person should accept the inevitable. Not only will the Democrats cave–they will do so in a manner that highlights their complete cowardice and emphasizes their shocking absense of character. They will flap their gums and pretend to care about these extremely important issues–which is probably worse than just being quiet. It shows that Democrats are not only toothless but also insincere. I couldn’t think of a more pathetic creature to supposdly represent “my side”. I don’t know why but it just makes me want to kick them in the nuts. I now have more hatred for the invervebrate Democrats than I do for the vile Republicans.
And some people think if we just stand behind these Democrats they might win the next election and then they will be emboldened to really fight for these principles! Ha. I’m not a sucker–as much as the Democrats evidently think I am.
Senate confirms Harris County judge for appeals court
The Alliance for Justice reports that Judge Elrod has been on the federal bench in Houston for five years and has never yet written an opinion or responded in any substantive way to questions which might give insight into her judicial philosophy. She is a complete engima as a judge, except that she is, of course, an outspoken Republican.
Her husband’s first name is Hal; I have been unable to determine whether he is the same Hal Elrod who contributed to the Bush campaign’s fund drive to stop the 2000 recount in Florida. (The Hal Elrod who made that contribution was employed by Enron at the time.) There is only one Hal Elrod in the current Houston phone book, however; the listing reads “Hal and Jennifer.”)
It appears we have once again a Senate approval of an Bush nominaee, who is again an evasive individual with no visible professional qualifications but strong GOP loyalty.
I’m not sure but I think that spine was surgically excised and then ground to powder and scattered to the breeze.