Think Progress

Miers’s empty seat.

By Amanda Terkel on Jul 12th, 2007 at 12:48 pm

Miers’s empty seat.

Former White House counsel Harriet Miers’s chair sits empty today on Capitol Hill during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the U.S. attorney purge. As the AP notes, Miers “obeyed President Bush” and skipped the hearing.

miersempty.jpg

Today, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) “ruled out of order Bush’s executive privilege claim that his former advisers are immune from being summoned before Congress,” clearing the way for contempt proceedings. The charge was upheld by the panel 7-5 vote.

UPDATE: Video of Sanchez and Conyers at the hearing.



63 Responses to “Miers’s empty seat.”

  1. Clyde the Ripper says:

    The whole damn bushco administration is “out of order.”


  2. NDS says:

    Contempt… charge them… put them in jail… can’t pardon someone from that…


  3. Grand Moff Texan says:

    …As the AP notes, Miers “obeyed President Bush”

    Oh, so she still works for the government?

    In what capacity?
    .


  4. bobcat_grad says:

    I hope this goes somewhere for once.

    This is open contempt for the legislative branch.


  5. JesusChrist_GodOfWar says:

    Open contempt.

    Ms Pelosi, isn’t it well beyond time you actually did something about this administration?


  6. spit take says:

    Since I voted in both the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections, I believe that the next time I’m asked any kind of question on any subject, I am entitled to claim “Executive Privilege”.

    That’s how it works, right?


  7. nffcnnr says:

    Isn’t it a felony to tell someone not to show up in response to a subpoena? http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/015273.php


  8. Future troll says:

    Yeah, I watched the entire hearing. Good stuff!

    The Republicans did a good job trolling it. I just loved how Cannon tried to derail the discussion with his ramblings and how he demanded vote counts twice. It was also good fun to watch how the other Republicans used standard troll tactics like obfuscating the issue with outrageous claims (”Harriet Miers being still a counsel to the President”). Too bad nobody bit, except maybe Watt who just went nuts in the end.

    Great fun!


  9. spit take says:

    Can any conservative (or troll) explain why Executive Privilege applies when Sara Taylor, Abu Gonzales and Chimpy himself have all said that the President had no input into the decisions and attended no meetings where the subject was discussed?


  10. DM says:

    Harriet Miers is not a member of Bush’s staff, and is not subject to his orders. She’s making her own decision to not show up at that hearing… and she’s going to get nailed for it.

    Next layer in the stonewall: Jeffrey A. Taylor


  11. Jackie says:

    Miers was nominated to be on the Supreme Court because she was so knowledgeable in law. Now even High School students know even the President isn’t above the law. Miers could lose her law license for this crime I just hope Bush is worth it. Just think of this woman’s life. Law office, council to the President, nominated to the Supreme Court, law office and last but not lease Paralegal. Most lawyers move up not down. The Devil offered her everything a lawyer could want only to have to pay back with everything she worked so hard to get. Bush isn’t doing her a favor he’s saving his own butt. Look for complaints to be written to the Texas Bar for an ethic review. How can Harriet represent a client when she breaks the law. Will she tell her clients they don’t have to show up to court. If a janitor in the White House knows of the crimes he will get immunity too. If any trolls are on this blog tell Harriet she might not even get a job at the Post Office because they don’t employ felons.


  12. Future troll says:

    #9: Do you want the official explanation or the truth? Ok, I’ll give you both. Official: Executive Privilege applies whenever the President says it does so. Yes, indeedy. We really believe that. The truth: We’ll keep making outrageous claims until the dems are forced to take the issue to SCOTUS where we will always by a 5-4 vote.


  13. Tom says:

    Even if Harriet had shown up and sat down, the seat would have essentially been empty . . . much like the seat in the Oval Office is when the presi-dunce is in there doing heaven knows what.


  14. A Patriot acting says:

    “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
    Thomas Jefferson


  15. bob's your uncle says:

    The standard conservative response to anyone who expresses concerns over, say, illegal wiretaps is “If you haven’t done anything wrong, what have you got to hide?”

    Well, Mr. President, if you haven’t done anything wrong, what have you got to hide?


  16. CONservative says:

    “Open contempt.

    Ms Pelosi, isn’t it well beyond time you actually did something about this administration?”

    Comment by JesusChrist_GodOfWar

    Actually what Congress needs to pursue here is a matter called ‘inherent contempt’, a caller on the Randi Rhodes show looked it up yesterday on ‘the Google’. Procedure hasn’t been used in over 70 years, but they could have Miers arrested for this.


  17. THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

    Comment by spit take — July 12, 2007 @ 12:59 pm

    cuz.


  18. RUCerious says:

    JAIL the unrepentent Bushco conspirator.
    PERMANENTLY, or until she comes clean.
    INTERRORGATE (sic) using extraordinary methods, as she is clearly conspiring to undermine the Constitutional powers of Congress.


  19. THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

    Comment by spit take — July 12, 2007 @ 12:59 pm

    #9: Do you want the official explanation or the truth? Ok, I’ll give you both. Official: Executive Privilege applies whenever the President says it does so. Yes, indeedy. We really believe that. The truth: We’ll keep making outrageous claims until the dems are forced to take the issue to SCOTUS where we will always by a 5-4 vote.

    Comment by Future troll — July 12, 2007 @ 1:01 pm

    and what he said


  20. Future troll says:

    #16: That’s actually in the works. I believe they’ll inform Miers that the committee does not accept the Executive Privilege argument, give her one more chance to show up and after that they’ll assemble the full committee, vote cite contempt. This citation will be taken to the House floor, where the dems got enough votes for it.

    This is it people. Unless Miers caves in, we’ve got a bona fide Constitutional crisis in our hands.

    Good stuff!


  21. bobcat_grad says:

    So, Future Troll – Apparently you choose party over country, then?


  22. Duncan says:

    Step 1: Harriet Miers fails to show up.
    Step 2: The Court tries Miers with contempt.
    Step 3: Bush Administration pleads exemption.
    Step 4: Court rejects plea of exemption.
    Step 5: Miers is charged with contempt.
    Step 6: Miers continues to refuse to cooperate.
    Step 7: Miers is sentences with jail time.
    Step 8: Miers is pardoned by the President.

    That’s my prediction anyway. The US Constitution was never designed to deal with this kind of passivity and apathy in the population nor this kind of ignorance and brazen contempt for honour and integrity on the part of an administration. Honestly, if the Bush administration doesn’t mean the end the Republican party as a political entity in utter disgrace (I’m not saying ‘right wingers’ – they can rebrand as something else) then America is no longer deserving of its Democracy.


  23. spit take says:

    Do you want the official explanation or the truth? Ok, I’ll give you both. Official: Executive Privilege applies whenever the President says it does so. Yes, indeedy. We really believe that. The truth: We’ll keep making outrageous claims until the dems are forced to take the issue to SCOTUS where we will always by a 5-4 vote.

    Comment by Future troll — July 12, 2007 @ 1:01 pm

    Thanks, Future Troll.

    You have conclusively demonstrated that you guys don’t give a crap about the law, except as far as how you can manipulate it to achieve your desired ends.

    I said before that you had graduated to a full troll, but this response shows that you still have some honesty that must be beaten out of you before you can proudly crouch post under whichever bridge is eventually assigned to you.

    But don’t worry, you’ll get there.


  24. Red Bear Running says:

    Future Troll,
    Can you point out to me, where in the Constitution, that the President is given “Executive Privilege?” Or better than that,cite the law that gives the President, “Executive Privilege”! I’ll be waiting!


  25. unbelievable says:

    At the rate the Bush Regime is going in creating felons, to counterbalance the loss these voters, the neocons are going to have to start caging ALL liberal voters, not just poor and/or black ones.


  26. Future troll says:

    #21: Nah. As a progressive you should know that the world’s not that black and white. To be honest, I’m humbled and ecstatic for being alive to witness such a historic conflict between the different branches of the government. This is history in the making.


  27. Larry from C says:

    INHERENT CONTEMPT IS DIFFERENT AND BUSH CANNOT STOP IT.

    INHERENT CONTEMPT requires only a majority. We have that in the House.

    INHERENT CONTEMPT is the new “I” word.

    Inherent Contempt is seldom used. Karl Rove fears that you know what it is. Inherent Contempt is the weapon that has Cheney, Condi and Harriet hiding under their desks. They don’t want you to know about it.

    INHERENT CONTEMPT will allow John Conyers to get Harriet Miers to testify or ELSE the Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Hill Police can cuff her and stuff her and send her to jail INDEFINITELY. Then Cheney is next, then Condi.

    Call and DEMAND Conyers and Pelosi charge Harriet Miers with INHERENT CONTEMPT: (regular Contempt charges will NOT work because the US attorney is a republican hack who will toss it away)

    Nancy Pelosi: 1-202-225-0100
    Harry Reid: 1-202-224-3542
    John Conyers: 1-202-225-5126


  28. unbelievable says:

    Step 8: Miers is pardoned by the President.
    Comment by Duncan — July 12, 2007 @ 1:10 pm

    Pretty much.

    Why the Chimp is above the law… Because of that damn ability to pardon that he abuses. Gotta get the animal out of the White House.


  29. Future troll says:

    #24: Dear god, man. Did you read my post at all? I thought it said it all, but maybe your sarcasm detector is having a major malfunction and you didn’t get the tone of “the Official” explanation.

    Ok. Here’s another attempt: we’ll claim Executive Privilege and all kinds of silly things, for which – as you quite rightly point out – there is absolutely no law or precendent, until dems wise up, stop expecting us to behave like gentlemen/women and take the issue to SCOTUS. There we will by a 5-4 vote.


  30. THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

    Comment by Future troll — July 12, 2007 @ 1:19 pm

    Don’t expect too much from these Leftists.

    Just sayin’


  31. Sharon says:

    Good post’s all,…I hope Mier’s and other’s get arrested and the truth come’s out but it’s just another Thursday in bull shit bizaro world and I am not real hopeful untill I see the photo’s and read the script.. We have had our hopes dashed many time’s since last November, unless the Dem’s get it in gear were not going to see anything but a waste of our time and thousand’s of lives lost untill we get these basterd’s out….Call your rep’s, hug someone, plant a tree…Blessings


  32. Future troll says:

    You have conclusively demonstrated that you guys don’t give a crap about the law, except as far as how you can manipulate it to achieve your desired ends.

    Mmm… close, but not quite. I’m more fascinated by the art of manipulation itself than the ends.


  33. willyloman says:

    http://www.c-span.org/watch/cs_cspan3_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3

    c-span 3 on Cheney’s creation of new “secret” classification investigation.


  34. Powkat says:

    Contempt doesn’t even begin to cover what I feel for BushCo.


  35. Future troll says:

    #33: Yeah. I was just about to post a link to it, too. Very interesting.


  36. JesusChrist_GodOfWar says:

    The only thing ReichWingNut (men) seem to care about is their next bl*wjob. They don’t care a wit about women (who are NOT being solicited for aforementioned bl*wjobs, only men), nor do they care about the Constitution, Truth, or Reality.

    [from: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070711/CAPITOLNEWS/70711023 ]

    Florida Rep. Robert “Bob” Allen, R-Merritt Island, was arrested this afternoon at Veteran’s Memorial Park on East Broad Street for solicitation for prostitution.

    He is currently being booked into Brevard County Jail in Sharpes. The charge is a second-degree misdemeanor, according to police.

    According to police, the park was under surveillance today by a detail of undercover Titusville Police officers. Officers noticed Allen acting suspicious as he went in and out of the men’s restroom three times. Minutes later, he solicited an undercover male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20.

    Officers realized he was a public figure after the arrest…

    So, now we see clearly how there is such contempt for everything in their small ReichWing lives… including showing up in Congress when told to.


  37. RUCerious says:

    I don’t think the chymp has pardon authority over contempt of congress jail time.


  38. Larry from C says:

    Conyers and Pelosi must dust off the seldom used INHERENT CONTEMPT weapon.

    Dick Cheney, Condi Rice and Harriet Miers laugh while ignoring Democrat subpoenas. They know the US attorney who’d look into the charges is in their pocket. And even so, the Supreme Court is theirs too.

    The little used, mostly unknown INHERENT CONTEMPT power allows Congress to CONDUCT THE TRIAL. If Harriet Miers or Cheney REFUSES to show Conyers can use the CAPITOL HILL POLICE to HANDCUFF and DRAG TO JAIL until she agrees to talk.

    Conyers MUST use the INHERENT CONTEMPT power.

    Cheney fears that we even know, or are talking about INHERENT CONTEMPT.

    Call and demand the use Inherent Contempt NOT regular Contempt which will go nowhere.

    Nancy Pelosi: 1-202-225-0100
    Harry Reid: 1-202-224-3542
    John Conyers: 1-202-225-5126


  39. CONservative says:

    “INHERENT CONTEMPT will allow John Conyers to get Harriet Miers to testify or ELSE the Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Hill Police can cuff her and stuff her and send her to jail INDEFINITELY. Then Cheney is next, then Condi.”

    Cuff her and stuff her, that’s funny, even if the scenario isn’t. I feel like watching a Dukes of Hazzard rerun right about now.


  40. THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

    REID, LEAHY, CONYERS, AND PELOSI
    MUST BE FORCED OUT OF OFFICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    They have all been wasting too much
    time and money on witch hunts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


  41. Future troll says:

    #37: No he doesn’t. Contempt of Congress, at least the Inherent Contempt, doesn’t involve a conviction which one could be pardoned for.

    Another interesting tidbit about Presidential pardons in general:

    http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20001208.html

    “To pardon himself, Clinton would need only to take out a blank sheet of White House stationery, write out his pardon (he’s signed 185 of them — so far the fewest of any of the modern president but enough to know what they say), and request that a couple of trusted White House aides witness his execution and delivery of his pardon deed. Is it really so simple? Yes; the courts have said there is no required form or procedure, nor need there be compliance with Justice Department clemency regulations.”

    (yeah, it’s about Clinton but I’m not trying to pull any “Clinton did it!” trick here)

    I never knew that Presidents could pardon themselves, but apparently they can.


  42. lynn says:

    I have hesitant to bad muth Pelosi as there was a lot to be done, but now it is time for her to make good on this statement,
    “I AM GOING TO DRAIN THE SWAMP.”

    Talk is cheap Nanacy.


  43. Ben Dover says:

    Remember. Harriet “Raccoon Eyes” Mier is the person who said, with a straight face, that “George Bush is the smartest man I have ever known.”

    Wasn’t it Forest Gump who uttered that classic line “stupid is as stupid does?”


  44. JesusChrist_GodOfWar says:

    I wish Barbara Boxer luck with this. I would love to hear Ms. Pelosi agree.

    [from: http://impeachforpeace.org/impeach_bush_blog/?p=2565 ]

    Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, … says she thinks Impeachment needs to be on the table for the Bush Administration.

    Well duh!

    Now just show us by actually putting impeachment back on the table.


  45. spit take says:

    #29. I read your post, and caught the sarcasm. But please, point out to me where you showed any respect for the rule of law?

    Such sarcasm as you employed is frequently used to either belittle the answer or to belittle the question. The tone of your post convinced me that you were belittling those who question, although either way, it still demostrates an arrogance that comes from feeling oneself above the law.

    The self-satisfied nature of your confidence in a right-wing SCOTUS kind of confirms it.

    If your sarcasm reaches beyond these boundaries, and you really are a parody troll, well done, man. I salute you.


  46. Happy Guy says:

    You go girl. It is nice to see Republicans sticking together. Would be a better world if they all did. Take it from the DemocRats playbook. The don’t care about wrong or right, just winning.

    ROTFL


  47. spit take says:

    “Happy Guy”… project much?


  48. RemoveBush says:

    “Comment by Happy Guy — July 12, 2007 @ 1:46 pm”

    You need to lay off the drugs…….

    Your getting so confused in your own post that you don’t really know what your typing…..

    It is the Republicans that follow lock step and “don’t care about wrong or right, just winning.”

    The Dems, CARE about upholding the law.

    Pretel……. How many hearing were held by the Republicans regarding the CLEARLY ILLEGAL actions of the president????

    To help you out….. You don’t need to use your fingers or toes…..


  49. Wayne says:

    learing the way for contempt proceedings. The charge was upheld by the panel 7-5 vote.

    Jail time for Harriet
    Time to do the same favor for Gonzales


  50. Wayne says:

    I don’t think the chymp has pardon authority over contempt of congress jail time.

    Comment by RUCerious

    No, he cannot overide that if it is done solely in congress rather than a court trial.


  51. THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! says:

    Take it from the DemocRats playbook. They don’t care about wrong or right, just winning.

    ROTFL

    Comment by Happy Guy — July 12, 2007 @ 1:46 pm

    ——————————————————————————-

    Exactly.

    Democratic Party = Party of Corruption!


  52. spit take says:

    Democratic Party = Party of Corruption!

    Comment by THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! — July 12, 2007 @ 2:04 pm

    Despite all evidence to the contrary, of course.

    Ah, no matter. Mr. Pee and his minions are clearly losing their sh!t and it’s hardly worth even responding. I only do it because I care, and I hope to see him get the help he needs.


  53. Perry Logan says:

    The most corrupt Presidential administration—before this one—was Ronald “Death Squad” Reagan’s, with more convictions and forced resignations BY FAR than any other administration in U.S. history.

    The Reagan gang were the first in history to have over 100 of their members charged with crimes. They were the first to have a sitting cabinet member indicted, the first to have an Assistant Secretary of State indicted, the first to have an Assistant Secretary of Defense sent to prison, etc., etc.. More members of the Reagan Administration were charged with crimes than the cumulative total of all other presidents in the twentieth century. Now that’s corruption!

    Compare this sorry record with the much-maligned Clinton Administration. Despite all the sliming, the Clinton people wound up with fewer convictions and forced resignations than any two-term administration since Teddy Roosevelt.

    The Reagan administration was so corrupt, they would sometimes rack up more convictions and forced resignations IN ONE DAY than the Clinton Administration managed in its entire eight years.

    A look at corruption in Congress reveals a similar profile. In September, the Center For Responsibility And Ethics In Washington released its second annual survey of the twenty most corrupt members of Congress:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/09/20/20-most-corrupt-members-o_n_29863.html

    The results are clear. 17 of the 20 most corrupt congress people were Republicans—quite a significant differential. If Democrats were equally corrupt, the numbers would be roughly equal.

    This all suggests that—despite the meme that they’ve all gone completely down the tubes—we still have one good party.


  54. Pete Bogs says:

    a paper placard and a plastic water cup out for her, and she doesn’t even show up to the party? that’s just wrong…


  55. MsJoanne says:

    DISBAR HARRIET MIERS: File a grievance with the State of Texas. CLICK HERE


  56. Troll Hater says:

    Perry Logan:

    > The Reagan administration was so corrupt, they would sometimes rack up
    > more convictions and forced resignations IN ONE DAY than the Clinton
    > Administration managed in its entire eight years.

    Ah yeah, I remember Ollie North and Poindexter. Those were the days! Saint Ronny Days! … unrelenting propaganda against various insurgents, against Iran and against various “socialist” regimes. Bombing of Lybia because of a false flag operation in a disco. The USS Vincennes offing an Iranian Airbus out of sheer incompetence. Closing of mental health institutions. The B1 and B2 bombers. Pershing and Cruise Missiles in Europe, Minuteman missiles in the USA. And Star Wars…

    Pete Bogs:

    > a paper placard and a plastic water cup out for her, and she doesn’t even
    > show up to the party? that’s just wrong…

    There were no “cookies on the table”. So no show.


  57. Mugsy says:

    WHY ISN’T SHE SITTING IN A PRISON CELL AT THIS VERY MOMENT?

    That’s where I’d be if I didn’t show up after receiving a summons.


  58. PatrioticLiberalChristian(PLC) says:

    A “right” cannot (theoretically, at least) be revoked while a “privelege” can. Where does “executive privelege” come from, what grants it? What are its limits? Where are the journalists and scholars who should be asking BushCo these questions and providing voters the answers?


  59. JesusChrist_GodOfWar says:

    Well, have a look at this, will ‘ya?

    [from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070712/ap_on_go_co/fired_prosecutors ]

    WASHINGTON – House Democrats on Thursday took the first step toward holding former White House counsel Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress after she defied a subpoena — at President Bush’s order — and skipped a hearing on the firing of U.S. attorneys…

    The probe has prompted calls by Democrats and a few Republicans for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. With Bush’s support behind him, Gonzales shows no sign of stepping down.

    The dispute extended to Congress’ request for information on other matters, including the FBI’s abuses of civil liberties under the USA Patriot Act and Bush’s secretive wiretapping program.

    But it is a pair of congressional subpoenas for two women who once were Bush’s top aides that has moved the disagreement to the brink of legal sanctions and perhaps a court battle…

    Legal scholars said the issue of Miers’ immunity is far from clear-cut. No president has gone as far as mounting a court fight to keep his aides from testifying on Capitol Hill.

    Did someone just grow a pair? Let’s sure hope this is indeed the case.


  60. kasinca says:

    Contempt if the thugs of the crime family…raves on and on. It is time for the handcuffs and perp walks.


  61. Prudence Juris says:

    #41 Future troll — July 12, 2007 @ 1:33 pm said

    Another interesting tidbit about Presidential pardons in general:

    http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20001208.html

    “To pardon himself, Clinton would need only to take out a blank sheet of White House stationery, write out his pardon (he’s signed 185 of them — so far the fewest of any of the modern president but enough to know what they say), and request that a couple of trusted White House aides witness his execution and delivery of his pardon deed. Is it really so simple? Yes; the courts have said there is no required form or procedure, nor need there be compliance with Justice Department clemency regulations.
    ————————

    Invoking a privilege is one thing, but telling a person not to show up in response to a subpoena — if only to actually invoke the privilege — is quite another. It’s not just worse, it’s a felony under federal criminal law.

    See for yourself.

    18 U.S.C. Sec. 1505 : … Whoever corruptly … influences, obstructs, or impedes … the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any inquiry or investigation is being had by either House, or any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress … shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than 5 years … or both.

    18 U.S.C. Sec. 1515(b): As used in section 1505, the term “corruptly” means acting with an improper purpose, personally or by influencing another, including … withholding, or concealing … information.
    ———————–
    Of a similar context: A mindtwister for John Dean

    ”Was Commuting Libby an Impeachable Offense?
    By William Rivers Pitt

    “.. By commuting the prison sentence, Bush left Libby’s 5th Amendment rights intact. Thus, any Congressional committee or prosecutor wishing to call him to testify will have to immunize him from any potential legal repercussions arising from his testimony. If Bush chooses to fully pardon Libby, those 5thAmendment protections will go right out the window.

    Libby has repeatedly stated his intention to go on with the appeals process so he can clear his name. If he does this and an appeal is granted, Patrick Fitzgerald will suddenly be back in business, because a granted appeal opens the way for a whole new trial. Libby, if granted this appeal, may well be tried and convicted all over again.

    …”
    Bush has the constitutional power to offer commutations, of course. But if this commutation was granted to Libby in order to derail a criminal investigation,if it was granted to cover up prior or ongoing criminal activities, that is itself a crime meriting the impeachment of George W. Bush.

    This,more than anything else,must be investigated.

    Senator Leahy,Representative Waxman,Representative Conyers and any other Congressional chairmen must absolutely and actively work to get to the bottom of this. If doing so requires immunizing Libby to secure his testimony,so be it. Calling PatrickFitzgerald to testify on these matters is likewise required; the idea that he can safely continue to refuse comment must be dismissed. Fitzgerald cannot make statements about clouds over Cheney,in light of this new situation, and still be allowed to stand in silence. The lawyers assembling Joe Wilson’s civil suit should subpoena Libby into a deposition room and grill him,whether or not he stands on his 5thAmendment rights.

    This isn’t over by a long chalk,unless our representatives and law-enforcement officials choose the safe path – public statements, toothless accusations, substanceless denunciations – in lieu of true and effective action. The rule of law itself is on the hook here. This cannot be allowed to stand…”

    http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070307R.shtml


  62. big papa says:

    The truth: We’ll keep making outrageous claims until the dems are forced to take the issue to SCOTUS where we will always by a 5-4 vote.

    Comment by Future troll #12

    …thus neccessitating a constitutional showdown…

    …where Congress cuts off all funding to…

    …the White House,- especially Bush, Cheney and their staff’s/cabinet members’ security details, travel etc…

    …Pentagon, DOJ…

    …and wherever else they can shut this criminal cabal down…


  63. questioneverything says:

    Inherent contempt has some charms, but only impeachment proceedings can preclude the claim of “executive privilege” and subsequent expected pardons. I just got a fundraising call from the DCCC and I told the guy in no uncertain terms that I will not give the party another penny until the leadership starts talking about impeachment. It is the only answer.



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