**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.

[LiberteeBell]

bttt

[another1]

Hmmm... naming a Department of (in)Justice Building after a Kennedy seems more and more appropriate every day.

This DOES fit rather tidily with that little Presidential Papers Executive Order.

[rdavis84]

". Do you release transcripts of your discussions with your attorney to the opposing counsel? Should Congressmen? Should the President? No."

I might be in a time warp or something, but weren't the records subpoenaed from "Clinton's Justice Dept"?

So how does it relate/rationalize that Bush covers for their Criminality?

[horsewhispersc]

"It is simply hypocritical to justify it when W does it." ......and pathetic to see it.

[SUSSA]

And, likewise, as you criticize everything he does. Not everything. I only criticize him when he is wrong. I defend him when he is right.

Tell me, why doesn't Dan Burton release communications between members of his committee and legal counsel?

They are not asking for communications between Bush and his attorney. 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.

They are seeking documents from the prosecutors who are the peoples lawyers. The people are the prosecutors' clients. This is like your lawyer keeping information from you. The prosecutor is not the president's lawyer. Neither is the AG. That was one problem in the Clinton administration, Clinton and Reno acted like she was his personal lawyer.

[rdavis84]

Thank You. Your reply on that issue was much more fleshed out than mine.

[Ramius]

I might be in a time warp or something, but weren't the records subpoenaed from "Clinton's Justice Dept"? ... So how does it relate/rationalize that Bush covers for their Criminality?

I don't think that things approaching advice of counsel were subpoenaed, but I'm perfectly willing to be wrong about that. The important point, and thanks for making it clear, is that there is nothing about this that suggests that he is covering for himself or anyone else. It sounds to me like he doesn't want to talk about what plans they have. On the face of it, that's not inherently suspicious.

[Inspector Harry Callahan]

Bush is protecting Clinton. In turn, you are defending Bush. Pretty neat, huh?

I never would have guessed you'd become a Clinton defender.

[another1]

It sounds to me like he doesn't want to talk about what plans they have.

I would be very surpised to hear that the great "uniter" who has urged us all to move on has any plans whatsoever to pursue justice - particularly in terms of the previous administration.

[another1]

surpised = surprised

[exodus]

************************

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

Boy, does that sound familiar.
Change that to read --

"President invokes executive privilege to keep Justice Department documents secret"

and most people on this site would say by rote,
"Damn that Clinton!" before realizing that Clinton was gone.

[74dodgedart]

Gee, this must be real important for him to address it while there are so many other pressing matters to attend to. Don't you think?

Either that or he's hoping all the other news making issues going on will provide cover and keep this off the front page.

[gulfcoast6]

He well use as Clinton did, at election time.

[exmarine]

This is a travesty reminiscent of Janet Reno. Perhaps that is who they are protecting...Ashcroft is not behaving like I would expect. Ashcroft apparently doesn't have the guts to fire all of the Clinton cronies still in place in the Justice Dept., nor does he care about exposing Reno's evil deeds to the light of day. I am disgusted by the U.S. Government. Next election, my vote will go to Howard Phillips. I am sick and tired of perfidious administrations.

[exodus]

************************

"...The decision immediately affects a subpoena from the House Government Reform Committee for documents related to 1960s murders in Boston.
More importantly, it sets a new policy in the works for months in which the administration will resist lawmakers' requests to view prosecutorial decision-making documents that have been routinely turned over to Congress in years past.
# 3 by Oldeconomybuyer
************************

There hasn't been any documents "routinely" turned over to Congress.
Not in any recent years.

[horsewhispersc]

I would never have guessed you've become a Clinton supporter

LOL, such a good point everyone should look at, aaaaaah Great Point, wish I had said it! ;-)

[sinkspur]

This is like your lawyer keeping information from you.

And lawyers don't keep information from their clients (their discussions with other lawyers in their firm, prosecution, and others) all the time?

This is about deliberations and strategy.

As I said, when Dan Burton releases the deliberative discussions of his committee members and legal counsel for the Oversight Committee, then I'll demand that Bush do the same for DOJ.

[horsewhispersc]

supporter = defender

[Penny1]

This is a very good point...

I'm beginning to think that what's really going on here is that the President is trying to restore some of the independence of the Executive Branch that has been slowly whittled away over the past few decades. Congress continues to try to maintain "oversight" over the Executive branch, yet without any appreciable parallel going the other direction.

People are complaining a lot about the President trying to take too much power, but the reality is, Congress is the branch of government, IMO, that has been on the road to taking too much power.

I think this is part of President Bush's promise to restore honor and dignity to the White House--part of that is restoring some of the power of the Executive branch, particularly with regard to restoring some of its independence from Congress. The different branches of government need to be balanced among the three or else they don't function the way they were meant to.

The other thing is, compared to how things like this have been handled in the past, invoking "Executive Privilege" is a very straightforward and honest way of handling the issue. In the past, if a President wanted to hide something, the temptation was to lie or to coverup. This way, it's very clear what the President is doing, he's being very upfront about it, rather than attempting to cover something up.

People complain a lot about President Bush's secrecy, but the reality is, we know a lot about what he's doing--moreso than I've ever seen in a President before. He may be trying to prevent certain things from being released, but the whole world knows what he's trying to do.

-penny