Smackdown Time at the OK Corral

Things have heated up with AttorneyGate. Dubya has accelerated the conflict over his aides testifying by saying he will not allow them- Rove, Harriet Miers, and their deputies- to testify under oath.

No, instead he wants them to testify "in private"- behind closed doors, not being sworn in, and no transcripts allowed of the hearing.

It is an odd battle for El Presidente to pick. "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants," Bush said.

But...but... he's allowing them to testify. Why does he not want it on the record? Especially if there's nothing to hide and what was done was within the bounds of the law.

It's just incredibly fishy, and the Dems are having none of it. Bush is further defending his actions, saying ""If the staff of a president operated in constant fear of being hauled before various committees to discuss internal deliberations, the president would not receive candid advice and the American people would be ill-served."

So in other words, he is planning to invoke Executive Privilege.

There's just 1 problem- "Executive Privilege". Going back to Watergate, Nixon claimed EP in seeking to withhold the Watergate Tapes from the special prosecutor. and the matter went before the Supreme Court. Hell, I'll let oyez.org explain the outcome:

The Court (in an 8-0 vote) held that neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified, presidential privilege. The Court granted that there was a limited executive privilege in areas of military or diplomatic affairs, but gave preference to "the fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of justice."

What Dubya fails to appreciate here is that this is fast turning into an investigation into a potentially impeachable offense- Obstruction of Justice- the same charge that ran Nixon out of the White House. If it is confirmed that the White House ordered these US Attorneys fired because they did not kowtow to the demand that they drop active criminal investigations for political reasons, Dubya's doomed.

What's hysterical about Bush's posturing is that after 6 years of lies from his Administration on everything from WMDs to the CIA Gulags and everything in between, he's still appealing to "the people" to trust him and and his lackeys to tell the truth.

I think this is an arcane legal manuever- if Rove sits before the Committee and lies like the egg-sucking dog we know him to be and there are no transcripts, can he still be brought up on perjury charges?

It's obvious the Democrats aren't willing to take this chance, and right now, they hold the power here. Dubya thinks he can pull Executive Privilege, and this belief is going to ultimately be his downfall. Just like Nixon, he arrogantly believes that the President is above the law, and for the past 6 years, Congress has been a bunch of dick-sucking syncophants who shamefully rubberstamped every last bit of Dubya's swill and refused to hold him accountable for anything.

Those days are over. The Sheriff is finally arriving in town.