Is there such a thing as "ex-executive privilege"?! Only if George W. Bush is still in power, our Maximum Leader, once and future king.
MCM <http://www.pubrecord.org/law/652-letter-to-rove-says-he-has-absolute-immunity-and-can-ignore-subpoena.html>ALong-Lived Privilege? Bush lawyer directs Rove not to talk to Congress-once again By Michael Isikoff | Newsweek Web Exclusive http://www.newsweek.com/id/182240 Just four days before he left office, President Bush instructed former White House aide Karl Rove to refuse to cooperate with future congressional inquiries into alleged misconduct during his administration. On Jan. 16, 2009, then White House Counsel Fred Fieldingsent a letter (.pdf) to Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin. The message: should his client receive any future subpoenas, Rove "should not appear before Congress" or turn over any documents relating to his time in the White House. The letter told Rove that President Bush was continuing to assert executive privilege over any testimony by Rove-even after he leaves office. A nearly identical letter (.pdf) was also sent by Fielding the day before to a lawyer for former White House counsel Harriet Miers, instructing her not to appear for a scheduled deposition with the House Judiciary Committee. That letter reasserted the White House position that Miers has "absolute immunity" from testifying before Congress about anything she did while she worked at the White House-a far-reaching claim that is being vigorously disputed by lawyers for the House of Representatives in court. The letters set the stage for what is likely to be a highly contentious legal and political battle over an unresolved issue: whether a former president can assert "executive privilege"-and therefore prevent his aides from testifying before Congress-even after his term has expired. "To my knowledge, these [letters] are unprecedented," said Peter Shane, an Ohio State University law professor who specializes in executive-privilege issues. "I'm aware of no sitting president that has tried to give an insurance policy to a former employee in regard to post-administration testimony." Shane likened the letter to Rove as an attempt to give his former aide a 'get-out-of-contempt-free card'." The issue arose this week after House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers announced that he had subpoenaed Rove to be deposed under oath next Monday to answer questions about his alleged role in the firing of U.S. attorneys and the prosecution of the former Democratic governor of Alabama, Don Siegelman. Conyers, whose panel extensively investigated both matters last year, signaled that he has no intention of dropping them now just because Bush has left office. "After two years of stonewalling, it's time for him [Rove] to talk," Conyers said in a press release. snip> Letter to Rove Says He Has 'Absolute Immunity' and Can Ignore Subpoena By Jason Leopold The Public Record Thursday, 29 January 2009 18:37 http://www.pubrecord.org/law/652-letter-to-rove-says-he-has-absolute-immunity-and-can-ignore-subpoena.html Former White House senior adviser Karl Rove said he will ignore a Congressional subpoena that calls for him to appear before the House Judiciary Committee Monday to give a deposition on the politicization of the Justice Department. In an interview Thursday with right-wing talk show host Bill O'Reilly, Rove, who is also a Fox News contributor, said one of former President Bush's last acts before he left office was to have White House Counsel Fred Fielding write a letter stating that Rove was protected by "absolute immunity" and that he can legally ignore a congressional subpoena. "I've been directed on Jan. 16, by the outgoing president's legal counsel not to respond to a subpoena...exerting privilege on behalf of the former president," Rove said. The letter Fielding wrote was addressed to Robert Luskin, Rove's longtime Washington, D.C. Attorney. It appears that Luskin requested the letter on behalf of Rove who was likely aware that Congress would continue to pursue his testimony after Bush left office. "We have previously been advised by the Department of Justice that Mr. Rove has absolute immunity from compelled Congressional testimony as to matters occurring while he was senior adviser to the president," the letter says. DEVELOPING..... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [email protected] OR go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
