CREW catalogues Bush/Cheney administration's abuses of power and overreaching in new report, Crossing the Line
Today, CREW released a new report entitled Crossing the Line: The Bush Administration's Efforts to Expand Its Powerful Reach. The title pretty much sums it up. Based on several specific specific developments, several where CREW has direct involvement, we detailed the Bush administration’s repeated constitutional overreaching and abuse of executive power and prerogative. The full report can be found here.
Crossing the Line makes two major findings:
1) Vice President Dick Cheney, who recently asserted that he's not subject to Executive Orders because of his unique "fourth branch" status, is quietly, but diligently, working to establish case law that equates the power of the vice presidency with the power of the presidency; and
2) the Bush administration is intent on expanding the power of executive privilege well beyond constitutional bounds.
CREW's Melanie Sloan said that Vice President Cheney and Bush administration officials "are working hard to reconfigure the executive branch to conform with their preference for absolute power rather than with clearly established constitutional boundaries. CREW’s report depicts an administration out of control.”
We drew upon several of our own cases to document these findings and back up the assertion that the Bush administration is "out of control":
Recently it was revealed that the vice president has unilaterally exempted himself and his office from the executive order that governs the safeguarding of classified national security information.
In response to a suit filed by Valerie and Joseph Wilson against Vice President Cheney and other top administration officials, Mr. Cheney argued that as vice president he is entitled to absolute immunity from suit.
In response to a CREW suit over visitor logs, the administration is attempting to reclassify Secret Service documents as presidential documents under the exclusive control of the White House. The vice president has argued that the constitutional protections afforded the presidency apply with equal force to his office.
In a suit filed by CREW over a FOIA request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Hurricane Katrina-related documents, the government invoked the presidential communications privilege, suggesting an attempt to cover-up what President Bush actually knew before, during and after the hurricane devastated the Gulf Coast.
During the course of CREW’s FOIA lawsuit against the White House Office of Administration (OA) for documents relating to five million missing White House emails, the OA claimed that it was responding “as a matter of administrative discretion,” not because the OA is an “agency” bound by the FOIA.
Crossing the Line does indeed document an administration that is "out of control" and trying to usurp the constitution.
So they can have their
So they can have their sentences commuted like "Scooter" Libby.
Game Plan To Challenge OVP Abuses
Momentum Needs Direction
I welcome the conclusion, and was hoping for specific things that the public might do:
"Perhaps the public attention finally focused on the efforts of the president and vice president to expand their powers will act as a deterrent against any future rogue abuses and highlight the need for congressional and judicial intervention to restore the proper balance of power between the three (not four, as Mr. Cheney would have it) branches of government. Sadly, given the record, this seems overly optimistic."
I am not satisfied with the assertion that a "desirable outcome" -- that over oversight and checks and balances -- is "optimistic." No, it is a requirement.
Suggestions
1. Draft a New Constitution to solve the problems with the system of checks and balances: Create a fourth branch that is outside either political faction and does its job regardless which faction controls the three branches.
2. Action outside Congress. Work with State AG to prosecute the sitting President outside impeachment and Congress.
3. Educate future grand jury members. Provide information to the public on open source information showing the President's claim of executive privilege has no merit.
4. Suggest to the public questions to research to effectively oversee Congress and the President. These could be discussion questions for voters to consider before agreeing with State or Federal election choices.
5. Call for an Oath of Office Certification Day. Members of Congress would manually hand write the Constitution word for word, then retake their oath.
6. Review Speaker Day. Look at the abuses of power in Congress and Executive and reconsider whether Pelosi as speaker has substantially met or not met the Voter Mandate of 2006: Change, defund the war, challenge the President, and pros cute illegal activity.
7. Prosecuting Members of Congress. Outline for the public information they can gather to prosecute any of the 535 Members of Congress for their failure to defend the Constitution: What needs to be done; what information is needed for an indictment; which States are leading the way to prosecute.
I reject the notion that optimism is overrated. I would ask that rather than throw up our hands as if nothing can be done, work with the public to formulate a strategy: "Now that we agree there is a problem with OVP, what is the plan of the public to compel OVP to assent to the rule of law?" If OVP refuses to respond, then We the People may trash this Constitution and replace it one that shall compel OVP to assent.
Not asking CREW to create a plan to save America, merely building off the momentum of the report so the public sees clearly what could be done going forward; and what role they might be able to play in checking the OVP. Congress refuses to credibly challenge the OVP; We the People will have to implement some credible solutions.
To: Mr. "We the People"
You have some very interesting ideas, yet you submit them under the shadow of an anonymous byline. Create a website and establish a way that motivated Americans can do some of the things that you have suggested.
Contact me - I'm interested! dueprocess@comcast.net
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keeping secrets safe
I'm confused here... If keeping secrets is such a big deal, then why are democrats constantly leaking them?