Bush memos on presidential power shock legal experts
Administration sought unchecked wartime authority
By David G. Savage | Washington Bureau
March 4, 2009
WASHINGTON — Legal experts said Tuesday they were taken aback by the claim in the latest batch of secret Bush-era memos that the president alone had the power to set the rules during the war on terrorism.
Yale law professor Jack Balkin called this a "
theory of presidential dictatorship. They say the battlefield is everywhere. And the president can do anything he wants, so long as it involves the military and the enemy."
The criticism was not limited to liberals. "I agree with the left on this one," said Orin Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University. The approach in the memos "was simply not a plausible reading of the case law. The Bush {Office of Legal Counsel} eventually rejected {the} memos because they were wrong on the law, and they were right to do so."
Defenders of the administration stress that the memos were written during a time of national emergency. Officials feared, and indeed, expected another terrorist attack within the U.S. They were determined to take all possible steps to prevent it. And by the time the Bush administration came to an end, views within the Justice Department had changed dramatically.
Still, critics said some in the Bush administration took advantage of the moment.
"This was a period of panic, and panic creates an opportunity for patriotic politicians to abuse their power," Balkin said.
more...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-bush-memos_04mar04,0,2464157.story
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