Welcome to Gonzales Watch - Blawging the Ex-Attorney General

Expect a nasty court battle between Congress and the Executive Branch to end up in federal court within a few weeks.

Here’s how it is likely to play out:

• White House Counsel Fred Fielding will argue that ‘Executive Privilege’ protects the President’s advisers from being forced to testify under oath.  The term refers to a belief that the President needs to be able to speak freely with advisers if he is to carry out the duties of his Executive Office. Advisers wouldn’t do so, the argument goes, if they had to fear being prosecuted every time they gave the President advice.
• Although the U.S. Constitution doesn’t explicitly mention Executive Privilege, the U.S. Supreme Court has heard a number disputes betwen the Presidents and Congress about this very issue.  In 1974, the Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Nixon that even the President and his aides cannot evade prosecution for criminal acts under the guise of Executive Privilege.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee and House Judiciary Committee are both likely to argue that if conversations were held between the President’s staff and Justice Department officials, or members of Congress, that urged the commission of illegal acts, then there would be no Executive Privilege.

But the real issue boils down to this: if the President’s current and former advisers truly have nothing to fear, why wouldn’t they be forthcoming to testify under oath — before the American people and their constituency — about whatever may have transpired?

If there is truly nothing to hide or cover up, then wouldn’t the White House garner more support from Congressional hearings?

In an apparent effort to shift attention away from the controversy between the snowballing controversy over his firing eight (8) U.S. Attorneys, after the apparent influence of key White House advisors to President Bush, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared with the U.S. Attorney in St. Louis, Missouri at a panel discussion concerning child predators.

Federal prosecutors in St. Louis recently obtained an indictment against Michael Devlin, a former pizza parlor manager who is accused of kidnapping and molesting boys in the area.

Who isn’t against child predators harming children? That could be a sensible move by Gonzales to be outside the nation’s Capitol in order to deflect attention away from the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focusing on the U.S. Attorney firings.

Technorati: Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Attorney FiringsSenate Judiciary Committee, Child Predators, Michael Devlin

The Senate Judiciary Committee authorized the issuance of subpoenas for Karl Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, and other staff over the apparent political machinations and cooperation between the White House and Justice Department that resulted in the firing of eight (8) U.S. Attorneys.

Technorati: , Senate Judiciary Committee, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, White House Counsel, U.S. Attorneys, Alberto Gonzales, Executive Privelege