Free Republic

An internal Justice Department investigation into the Operation Fast and Furious scandal recommends discipline for 14 officials, but found no evidence that the department’s top leaders knew about the gun-walking aspect of the operation when it was underway. The long-awaited report from Justice’s Inspector General finds misconduct or poor judgment on the part of officials at DOJ headquarters, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives headquarters in Washington and field office in Arizona, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona. However, the investigators found Attorney General Eric Holder didn’t know about the operation until after the scandal emerged in...

FROM THE SPECIAL REPORT TRANSCRIPT. ROSEN: Well, the Vermont Democrat issued only a paper statement today dismissing the Fielding letter as an example of, and I quote, Nixonian stone walling. However, Senator Leahy took quite a different view of these kinds of matters back when there was a Republican Congress seeking documents from a Democratic president, namely Bill Clinton. In September of 1999, Senator Leahy told the Judiciary Committee, and I quote, in the context of a Congressional investigation, executive privilege would be more difficult to overcome. He added, the executive privilege may also be construed broadly to permit the...

Constitutional scholars and weatherman share an unstated fascination with the worst conditions; the freak storms that join together to release fantastic energy and fireworks. A fight is brewing in Washington this week that may produce such a perfect constitutional storm. All three branches of government are now colliding over the question of who controls access to presidential papers. The outcome of this fight, however, may also redefine aspects of executive privilege as well as core principles of open government. (snip) After a series of delays to review the material, President Bush responded with an executive order that effectively rewrites the...