Hitler never broke the law, he just made the illegal, legal. Welcome to Bush's America...

[Ioo]

You know Hitler never broke the law, he just made the illegal, legal. Welcome to Bush's America...

The Bush Administration has now done what we all knew was coming, they have turned our Justice System into a bonafide arm of the political process. The Washington Post is reporting that the Justice Department will not be allowed to pursue contempt charges no matter what Congress says. That's it folks, you have just seen that the President has in proclamation stated that he and his administration is about the law, in fact, he says he is the law.

Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege.

Under federal law, a statutory contempt citation by the House or Senate must be submitted to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, "whose duty it shall be to bring the matter before the grand jury for its action."

But administration officials argued yesterday that Congress has no power to force a U.S. attorney to pursue contempt charges in cases, such as the prosecutor firings, in which the president has declared that testimony or documents are protected from release by executive privilege. Officials pointed to a Justice Department legal opinion during the Reagan administration, which made the same argument in a case that was never resolved by the courts.

"A U.S. attorney would not be permitted to bring contempt charges or convene a grand jury in an executive privilege case," said a senior official, who said his remarks reflect a consensus within the administration. "And a U.S. attorney wouldn't be permitted to argue against the reasoned legal opinion that the Justice Department provided. No one should expect that to happen."

We are beyond the need for impeachment, the congress should send the US Marshals to arrest and try George and the rest of them for treason, and act accordingly.

[PDJane]

1. Then it's a good thing.....

That congress itself is legally and constitutionally empowered to try these folks.

[zonmoy]

9. but it is a criminally bad thing that they wont do it.

I stand by my previous statements about what should be done to legislatures that wont impeach this gang of fascist thugs.

[Jack Rabbit]

2. In the immoral words of Rudolf Hess:

The law and the will of the leader are one.

That sounds like David Addington, doesn't it?

[Bluerthanblue]

3. MLKjr. "REMEMBER everything Hitler did in Germany, was legal"

sobering prophecy-

[AzDar]

4. K&R

:kick:

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. We must not forget that Bush...er...Hitler's seizure of power was not

complete until he had secured the judiciary. Once he had the supreme court to tell him everything he did was legal, and had the lesser courts to prosecute political enemies, THEN he became what we now remember him as. It has taken * 6 years to get where Hitler was in 3. Then again, * always was an incompetant little putz.

[L. Coyote]

6. Such is history. In Spain, it was legal to make slaves of non-Catholics, etc.

In the USA, it was legal to buy and sell slaves. This has always been the way of governments. Make the laws you need to carry out the actions you wish to pursue.

What has changed is who gets to make the laws.

Meanwhile, comments by an unnamed "senior official" are not the law. These kinds of comments just show that the Bush administration is in a total panic about oversight. They simply never expected to lose majority status during Bush's presidency, and behaved accordingly.

[mdmc]

7. yes

:kick:

[Atman]

8. Do you imagine ol' Poppy and his buddies saying "Well, if Prescott had just...

...done it this way, things would have been fine and the feds never would have been able to make us close Union Bank..."

It's like they're all in a constant state of trying to avenge some perceived injustice against them. Us or them. Words to live by!

.

[Ioo]

10. I am sure he did...

I am sure that this Bush said, "My family has been doing this for years"

[Hawkowl]

11. Impeach now

Congress must impeach. If they don't have the votes then shut down the government. Don't pay anything. No military funds, no debt funding. Nothing. Shut it down.