[Sosfbay-discuss] [Fwd: Re: [Fwd: Re: [ValleyForward] John Dean re: Congressional Oversight 'war coming' with BushCo/CheneyCo]]

Fred Duperrault fredd at freeshell.org
Wed Jan 3 17:51:36 PST 2007 




-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [Fwd: Re: [ValleyForward] John Dean re: Congressional 
Oversight 'war coming' with BushCo/CheneyCo]
Date: 	Wed, 03 Jan 2007 17:05:04 -0800
From: 	Fred Duperrault <fredd at freeshell.org>
To: 	John Anderson <pjohna at rcn.com>
References: 	<459C338B.5080402 at freeshell.org> 
<B565571D-52BA-45B0-A9C8-C5A44A7DBE5F at rcn.com>



John,  I thought might be on the list, but was not sure.

Would you like to attend the GPSCC meeting tomorrow night.

If so, you can ride with me.

Fred

John Anderson wrote:

> Fred:
>     Thanks for the forwarding, but I'm on the mailing list.
>
>         - John.
>
>
> On Jan 3, 2007, at 2:51 PM, Fred Duperrault wrote:
>
>> John,  These messages are FYI.
>>
>> fred
>>
>>
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> Subject:    Re: [ValleyForward] John Dean re: Congressional 
>> Oversight  'war coming' with BushCo/CheneyCo
>> Date:    Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:46:27 -0800
>> From:    Fred Duperrault <fredd at freeshell.org>
>> To:    valleyforward at lists.riseup.net, JamBoi <jamboi at yahoo.com>
>> References:    <20070103203258.25118.qmail at web52212.mail.yahoo.com>
>>
>>
>> Drew,  Thanks for the John Dean commentary.
>>
>> What he is doing is great.
>>
>> However, no matter what Congress comes up with to expose the  secrets 
>> the
>> White House is hiding, I foresee  two years of  stonewall stalling by
>> Cheney and Bush  that will  succeed  until they are termed out.
>>
>> My humble opinion concludes that the surest route to obtaining the
>> dastardly secrets hiding within the White House and Pentagon walls is
>> through impeachment.
>>
>> If the Democrats side step impeachment, they will be undermining the
>> Constitution by complicity with the Republicans and by thumbing their
>> noses at the principle of checks and balances.
>>
>> There has been much ballyhooing about President Ford  "healing the
>> nation" with his  pardoning of Nixon.  It is one of the  media's  and 
>> the
>> power brokers' ways of "shaming"  the Dems into avoiding the demand  for
>> accountability.
>>
>> An Impeachment Movement is the people's best tool to pressure Congress
>> into upholding the the Constitution and to ending the growing  
>> tendencies
>> toward a fascist state.
>>
>> I also think that an Impeachment Movement would help, not hinder, the
>> movement to "Get Out of Iraq."
>>
>> Will the Green Party of Santa Clara and California take the  impeachment
>> campaign beyond it's resolution that was delivered to Rep. Anna Eshoo?
>> Or does it have more important priorities?
>>
>> Fred D.
>>
>>
>>
>> JamBoi wrote:
>>
>> >http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20061229.html
>> >What Should Congressional Democrats Do, When the Bush Administration
>> >Stonewalls Their Efforts To Undertake Oversight?:
>> >Part Two in a Three-Part Series
>> >By JOHN W. DEAN
>> >----
>> >Friday, Dec. 29, 2006
>> >
>> >"We see a war coming on Capitol Hill," a well-connected Republican
>> >attorney based in Washington recently told me, as I reported in my  
>> last
>> >column on the subject. The clash is not surprising, because Vice
>> >President Dick Cheney -- who is at the center of many of the subjects
>> >the Democratic Congress will be investigating -- is strongly  
>> opposed to
>> >Congress's inquiring into these areas. He believes the power of the
>> >presidency is at stake. Accordingly, as I noted earlier, he has  
>> made it
>> >quite clear that he is not going to cooperate with these
>> >investigations.
>> >
>> >Before the conflict develops, it might seem helpful to go over the
>> >rules of the game -- to appreciate who is on solid ground, who is on
>> >shaky ground, and why this is the case. But as it happens, there  
>> are no
>> >rules!
>> >
>> > That is, there is simply no well-established law of the land  
>> regarding
>> >what Congress can require a president, or a vice president, to  provide
>> >them. Similarly, there is no well-settled law regarding what the
>> >president can, and cannot, withhold from Congress by citing  "executive
>> >privilege" or other rationales. Thus, while this ground has been
>> >traveled many times, it still remains essentially uncharted.
>> >
>> >Of course, there are precedents, and even U.S. Supreme Court rulings,
>> >in this area. But they have virtually no applicability when the  
>> contest
>> >involves Congress and the White House. Also, while forests have
>> >doubtless been consumed to publish copious learned treatises, essays,
>> >articles, and reports on this subject, at bottom, this is a matter  not
>> >of law, but purely of politics. There is, however, evidence regarding
>> >this matter that can be drawn from history.
>> >
>> >Allow me to elaborate - in this column, and the next - on the  legal 
>> and
>> >political situation.
>> >
>> >The Elusive Rules Regarding Congress's Access to Executive Branch
>> >Information
>> >
>> >The Constitution is silent regarding Congress's power to investigate
>> >the president, and his constitutional partner, the vice president. It
>> >is equally silent about the power of a president and vice  president to
>> >withhold information from Congress, when it is requested.
>> >
>> >Thus, the implied powers of Congress and the President, respectively,
>> >are exclusively at issue; express constitutional language offers no
>> >guide.
>> >
>> >Moreover, federal courts often cede jurisdiction in disputes between
>> >these constitutionally co-equal entities, for they involve "political
>> >questions." In the end, such disputes are most frequently resolved by
>> >political accommodation by either the Congress, or the President.
>> >
>> >"Congressional oversight is one of the most important  responsibilities
>> >of the United States Congress," the Committee on Rules of the U.S.
>> >House of Representatives states, adding that this responsibility
>> >extends to "the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal
>> >agencies, programs and policy implementation, and it provides the
>> >legislative branch with an opportunity to inspect, examine, review  and
>> >check the executive branch and its agencies." For all practical
>> >purposes, then, there is nothing that transpires within the Executive
>> >Branch that is beyond Congressional oversight.
>> >
>> >Historical Practice: Congress Seeks and Gets Wide-Ranging Information
>> >on the Executive
>> >
>> >Indeed, since the beginnings of our government, Congress has sought,
>> >and been given, information relating to every facet of executive
>> >actions.
>> >
>> >The fact that a president's actions are undertaken pursuant to his
>> >Constitutional authority, such as that granted by the
>> >Commander-in-Chief clause or the "Take Care" clause, does not  preclude
>> >Congress from examining that activity. There is almost no area of
>> >presidential activity into which Congress has not previously made
>> >inquiry. Thus, Bush and Cheney are going to be hard-pressed to  justify
>> >any refusal to cooperate with the Democratic Congress.
>> >
>> >When Congress seeks information from the Executive Branch, it  
>> typically
>> >starts with an informal request at the staff level, made of an  
>> official
>> >in one of the departments or agencies. If the request is refused, the
>> >relevant congressional staffer goes to a member of his or her
>> >committee, and requests that the member seek the information. If the
>> >member is also turned down, the request is taken to the full  
>> committee,
>> >or its chair, and a decision is made whether to issue a subpoena.
>> >
>> >Often, before the Chairman or the full committee issues a subpoena,
>> >further informal negotiations occur. There is a long-existing
>> >tradition, recognized by all three branches, that Congress and the
>> >President are expected to work through a series of negotiations and
>> >accommodations to avoid a constitutional clash. Sometimes this  process
>> >works, and the Congress narrows its requests, agrees to keep the
>> >information confidential, or obtains the information informally. When
>> >it does not work, the president must claim privilege.
>> >
>> >The Bush Administration has been reluctant to claim "executive
>> >privilege" - given the bad name Nixon gave the use of the privilege.
>> >Accordingly, the Administration has on several occasions claimed a
>> >"deliberative privilege" - even though no such privilege exists,  
>> and it
>> >is merely another name for executive privilege.
>> >
>> >Often, Congress folds when the president invokes executive privilege,
>> >for there is no real judicial remedy (as noted above, courts tend to
>> >punt, citing the "political question" doctrine). However, a  determined
>> >Congress - or committee thereof - can prevail over a recalcitrant
>> >president (or vice president) if its members are determined and
>> >persistent.
>> >
>> >Thus, if the 110th Congress, controlled by the Democrats, fails to  get
>> >the information it needs -- and the public wants -- about the  workings
>> >of the Bush/Cheney presidency, it will not be because it does not  have
>> >the tools with which to obtain that information. Rather, it will be
>> >because it lacks the will to use those tools.
>> >
>> >Forcing Executive Compliance with Congressional Information Requests
>> >
>> >When Congress plays hardball, it gets the information it wants  from 
>> the
>> >president. The Congressional Reference Service (CRS) has prepared a
>> >complete manual on oversight, which they updated recently. In the
>> >manual, CRS has laid out all Congress needs to know to crack any
>> >stonewall Bush and Cheney may erect to block their oversight efforts.
>> >
>> >Lou Fisher, one of the authors of the CRS manual, catalogued a number
>> >of the methods available to Congress in his essay: "Congressional
>> >Access To Information: Using Legislative Will And Leverage."  
>> Drawing on
>> >historical examples, Fisher shows that Congress has a host of  
>> tools, of
>> >various size and shape and depending on the situation, to "extract
>> >information from the President."
>> >
>> >Together, the manual, the update, and Fisher's excellent article
>> >provide an adept guide to everything Congress needs to exercise
>> >meaningful oversight as to the Bush Administration - everything, that
>> >is except the intestinal fortitude required for winning this staring
>> >contest, without blinking.
>> >
>> >In my next column, I will take a specific look at some of the weapons
>> >in this awesome arsenal.
>> >
>> >___________________
>> >
>> >JamBoi
>> >Jammy The Sacred Cow Slayer
>> >
>> >"Live humbly, laugh often and love unconditionally" (anon)
>> >http://dailyJam.blogspot.com
>> >
>> >__________________________________________________
>> >Do You Yahoo!?
>> >Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
>> >http://mail.yahoo.com
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>


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