Wednesday, July 18, 2007

What do you mean: may?

How about WILL?:
In a letter sent to House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI), George Manning, the attorney for former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, said that because of President Bush’s claim of executive privilege, “Ms. Miers will not appear before the Committee or otherwise produce documents or provide testimony as set forth in the Committee’s subpoena.” The Committee has previously warned that if Miers does not comply with the subpoena, she may face contempt of Congress.
Will the Democrats follow through? They cannot let this contempt of Congress stand without challenge. If they don't they have shown Congress is not an equal branch of government with the Executive.

Read the Constitution, Congress, if you haven't yet.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are doing this exactly right, Ellroon. Congress cannot say what it will do, because it is not up to any one member to decide that and requires a vote of the whole Congress.

John Conyers will seek a contempt if the subpoena is defied. Congress will authorize a contempt charge, in my opinion. This is an impeachment proceeding, in all but name, already.

Anonymous said...

With that said, we need to keep encouraging them and supporting this process and building the public case behind it, because we don't want to wait any longer than the process must take.

Steve Bates said...

ellroon, I noticed the same "may," and it raised my eyebrows momentarily. But whig is right: Conyers, a methodical person in speech and thought, is simply making sure he follows the forms to the letter. I find it difficult to imagine that the Judiciary Committee will not follow through on this (though perhaps on party lines; I have no confidence that the GOP members will put checks and balances ahead of partisanship), or that an overwhelmingly Democratic House would not vote to hold Miers in contempt.

We'll win that part. What will happen next is beyond my ability to predict.

ellroon said...

Ah phffffft.

You guys are right. I just want Thor's Hammer to come crashing down, and all I see happening it the little reflex hammer tapping about...

I want justice! I want truth! I want impeachment!

Steve Bates said...

ellroon, is it too much of a cliche to remind you that Nixon's downfall started with a "third-rate burglary"?

To get to impeachment, we have to start somewhere. The Miers no-show may prove to be a pretty good starting place. Americans may not understand the particulars of due process, but they understand the notion of a crook, employed by another crook, thumbing her nose at the law. The real challenge will be to keep the momentum. (And, of course, to stop Bush from starting another war as a distraction...)

ellroon said...

I know, I know. It's just that we don't have a lot of time, and once the Bush cabal is out of office people will lose interest in the worst robbery of rights and treasure of American citizens ever.

We have to kill the PNAC neocon agenda now, or it will keep on cropping up again and again.

Bush has broken the country and the Constitution possibly beyond repair. I want us to try and fix it. Fast.