PELOSI
OUT TO GET JOSH BOLTEN, HARRIET MIERS
By
Geoff Metcalf
March
8, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
�A
noble heart cannot suspect in others the pettiness and malice that it
has never felt.� -- Jean Racine
Attorney
General Michael Mukasey has refused to refer the House's contempt citations
against two of President Bush's top aides to a federal grand jury. White
House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential counsel Harriet
Miers committed no crime according to Mukasey�and frankly Congress knew
that already.
Despite
the facts in evidence, the petty mean-spirited House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
announced that she has green lighted the Judiciary Committee authority
to file a lawsuit against Bolten and Miers in federal court. She did
so not because she expects to win but rather as a prerogative of power
and because she �can�. The suit will fuel the partisan acrimony and
divisiveness that serves a political purpose leading up to an election.
Pelosi�s
contempt for the constitution and separation of powers far exceeds the
procedural finesse executed by Bush to insulate his aides from congressional
abuse of power.
One
of the more brilliant innovations of the founding fathers was the separation
of powers provisions established in creating three equal but separate
branches of government.
Sure
over time, each branch has overreached their constitutional mandates
and at times each branch has avoided constitutional mandates and responsibilities.
Contingent
on whose ox is being gored, each branch has groused about territorial
imperatives offended by perceived (real and imagined) poaching by other
troika members, while at the same time defending their own indefensible
incursions into turf not their own.
"The
department will not bring the congressional contempt citations before
a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute Mr. Bolten or Ms.
Miers," Mukasey wrote House Speaker/Queen of Mean Pelosi.
Pelosi
replied with a grossly inaccurate revisionist view saying, "The American
people demand that we uphold the law�As public officials, we take an
oath to uphold the Constitution and protect our system of checks and
balances and our civil lawsuit seeks to do just that."
Yeah,
Nancy, the American people DO want you to uphold your oath to the Constitution
and protect �our system of checks and balances�. The Bolton-Meirs vendetta
is not such a noble quest.
The
Executive branch can not and should not poach congressional prerogatives.
Likewise it is counter-intuitive to suggest an executive branch employee;
having been �ordered� by the executive branch not to testify is in anyway
guilty of contempt of congress.
The
Pelosi sparked lawsuit is a political animal.
It
is �almost� amusing (and way hypocritical) that given criticism of Bush's
use of executive power is a key component of the Democrats' platform;
they would choose to counter with a petty abuse of congressional power
fueled primarily by politics and partisanship.
Pelosi
gave Mukasey a week to reply to her request for a grand jury. She threatened
the House would file a civil suit seeking enforcement of the contempt
citations if/when federal prosecutors declined to seek misdemeanor charges
she wants against Bolten and Miers.
The
economy is on the brink, congressional approval ratings are lower than
the temperature in Waterford N.Y., American troops are engaged in two
military theaters of operation, the sins of NAFTA are in play, we face
challenges with Iran, Russia, China and North Korea, and oil prices
are over $102 a barrel�yet Congress is hot to trot over nailing a couple
of Executive branch aides with misdemeanor charges? What IS that smell?
It
took the AG only one day to respond to the Speaker. He had earlier joined
his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales, in telling lawmakers they would refuse
to refer any contempt citations to prosecutors because Bolten and Miers
were acting at Bush's instruction.
The
House resolution approving the contempt citations is the first of its
type in 25 years. It was the first time that such action had been taken
against top White House officials who had been instructed by the president
to remain silent to preserve executive privilege.
Mukasey
explained that not only was Miers directed not to testify, she also
was immune from congressional subpoenas and was right to not show up
to the hearing to which she had been summoned. Congress already knew
that.
"The
contempt of Congress statute was not intended to apply and could not
constitutionally be applied to an executive branch official who asserts
the president's claim of executive privilege," Mukasey wrote, quoting
Justice policy�"Accordingly, the department has determined that the
noncompliance by Mr. Bolten and Ms. Miers with the Judiciary Committee
subpoenas did not constitute a crime."
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Pelosi
and her partisan minions don�t want to be confused or distracted with
facts that contradict their preconceived partisan prejudice and political
lust. There is an election in November.
� 2008 Geoff Metcalf - All Rights Reserved
