**Bush invokes executive privilege to keep Justice Department documents secret**

AP ^ | 12-13-01 | John Solomon

[Oldeconomybuyer]

06:57 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has invoked executive privilege for the first time to keep Congress from seeing documents of prosecutors' decision-making in cases ranging from decades-old Boston murders to the Clinton-era fund-raising probe, The Associated Press has learned.

[rdavis84]

"Ya gotta be kiddin me! lol"

The Party apologist/jr./daddy/bush worshipers are all confused right now. Everything was just Patriotism and Flag waving for quite a while now, then THIS comes up; "A Clintonian Move". Let them huddle for a day or so and they'll get a common theme together for defense.

[horsewhispersc]

BUMP AND

BUMP

[SUSSA]

The president is keeping congress from getting information about Clinton/Gore fund-raising crimes and keeping them from investigating acase where the FBI helped frame people who spent decades injailfor a murder they didn't do. I think that is wrong no matter who does it.

[Peach]

Re Judicial Watch press release - you're probably right. We sure have a lot of cynics here today. DU down again?

[horsewhispersc]

Email Huddle! LOL

Cloned Posts! LOL

[deport]

It's in line to be released right after the Enron filings are complete...... lol

[exodus]

To: RedBloodedAmerican
I'm just a citizen, not a Congressman,
but I know that Clinton lied to the Grand Jury.
I know that he lied to Congress.
I know that he lied in court during the Paula Jones trial.
I know that he committed campaign finance violations,
and I know that he gave military secrets
to the Chinese government in return for money.
That evidence for those charges is irrefutable.

Just how long does it take to gather evidence
that has been in the possession of the prosecutors for years?
Clinton will never be tried for his crimes.
# 128 by exodus
***********************

To: exodus
I trust Bush to do the right thing.
I trust Clinton to do the wrong thing.
That's the difference.
# 152 by motzman
************************

But I don't trust Bush, motzman.
I voted against him because I didn't trust him.

I give you, as evidence of my good sense,
the fact that Clinton is still not in custody.

The evidence against Clinton was collected at least four years ago.
The prosecutors have that evidence in their possession.
Bush has been in office for two years.

After all that time,
Bush still hasn't gathered the courage to arrest Clinton.
It's not going to happen.

[deport]

Cut and Paste isn't complete yet

[Peach]

SUSSA, keeping Congress from getting information in a crime isn't wrong. Keeping the Justice Department from investigating a crime is wrong. Congress is a bunch of windbags (both sides of the aisle) and can't be trusted with sensitive information. They've proved themselves to be untrustworthy too often.

[Demidog]

People, people, people! Can't you all see that you are being manipulated by the liberals? We all KNOW that Bush is the one true leader ordained by God. And we're at WAR in case you haven't noticed. Bush doesn't have time to fiddle around with the past. Justice and accountability (and your personal freedoms) are simply not important right now. First and foremost we need to arrest every muslim in our country and kill every muslim abroad.

Only then will it be time to look at these minor details of the daily machination of beaurocracy. If you would just listen to Rush you'd get it straight in your heads what is important.

This isn't it. You people really are Clinton haters and that was all this has been about. We now have a REAL man(tm) in the white house and he deserves your devotions and loyalty. You're just all trying to discredit him on any point you can because your jealous YOU'RE not President.

Well get over it you losers! Bush is Christ right now. I love him. I pray that he will personally save us from terrorists who think bad thoughts. You all should be ASHAMED!!! You will rot in HELL for your blasphemy!

[horsewhispersc]

"DU down today"

Peaches ya gettin nervous with sheeple awaking! LOL ..... Maybe that's why they showed the OBL video so people keep their mind off the "BIG Schtuff" lol.... ain't workin! ;-)

[exodus]

Yeah, I know.
Bush has been in office for one year.
Still plenty of time to bring a criminal to justice.

[rdavis84]

"We’re going to go after all crime, and we’re going to make sure people get punished for the crime."
George W. Bush - Presidential Debate at Wake Forest
University - Oct 11, 2000.

O.K.! Penalty!!! Using Quotes of Campaign Rhetoric!!

It's a common error on the playing field, we realize. Everyone knows that you HAVE to say those things to GET ELECTED. After that, if you win, all of it was part of a very carefully crafted Plan to re-institute the Constitution, only it'll take time, maybe even two terms to turn this huge ship the right way.

How'm I Doin'?

Now, if it hadn't been for that turncoat Jeffers guy, we could already have made some real progress...how'm ah doin'?.... toward getting JUSTICE back into our society.

How's am dune?

Then the DadGum WAR breaks out, but see it's not really a "war" war, just a little bit of a war somewhere else but a Really Big War Right Here, In the Third R..... ah..ah HOMELAND, so that why we gotta throw parts of the Constitution..... OK?....... ah .... As our Leader Maximus says ---- "If I was Dictator.... no not that one..... "People Have too much Freedom" or something like that.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Bush has been in office for two years..."

You are insane.

[rdavis84]

You used bigger words than I did.

[expose]

cover-up

[SUSSA]

Congress has a responsibility to investigate corruption in the executive branch. Hindering their performance of that duty is wrong. The FBI is part of the "Justice" Department do you think they can be trusted to investigate themselves? If so why was nobody prosecuted in the Boston case? Why is nobody in jail for the Clinton/Gore fund-raising crimes?

If it were you who was framed I doubt that you would trust the FBI to investigate the crime. Congressional oversight is not perfect but it beats no over sight at all.

[mrsmith]

In the investigation of St Clair, congress empowered the committee "to call for such persons, papers, and records, as may be necessary to assist their inquiries."

While I don't have the specific documents Congressx requested. it seems very doubtful that an investigation into a military operation would not want to look at orders between officers- but only at communications to the president.

It seems the exception to examine lower level department communications would give Congress the power to cut off Executive powers "at it's knees" as effectively as the ability to examine higher levelcommunications would.
The most reasonable reading of Washington's statement IMO, is that all Executive Branch communications are within the control of the president- in fact it seems a result of definition.

Are you aware of any ruling on a Congresional request for such information as is requested here, without evidence of criminality or some other strong public reason that would overrule Executive powers?
(Or is there an official assertion of such reason- which I am not aware of?)

This quote about the Jay treaty refers to the president's Executive Privilege "because he was the competent though responsible judge within his own department"
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:LdwClA8bYBs:www.mcconnellcenter.org/pdf/lectures/rozell.pdf+%22st+clair%22+%22executive+privilege%22+washington&hl=en
"During that debate, our chief constitutional architect, then Representative James Madison, proclaimed on the House floor "that the Executive had a right, under a due responsibility, also, to withhold information, when of a nature that did not permit a disclosure of it at the time.... If the Executive conceived that, in relation to his own department, papers could not be safely communicated, he might, on that ground refuse them, because he was the competent though responsible judge within his own department." 21 "

[AUgrad]

Yep, first the Presidential papers now this. The Dems are going to have a much easier time pushing their agenda and hiding what they do when they get back into the White House

That IMO is the most pressing danger in this situation.

[LuvItOrLeaveIt]

Please, somebody tell me I didn't vote for a Clinton in Republican clothing!