The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged executive privilege

Surprise! John Yoo Believes in Broad Executive Powers

By | 01.04.10 | 7:42 pm

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo has been spewing his grandiose views on presidential power ever since leaving the Bush administration. So although his latest book, “Crisis And Command,” is an unusually ambitious 446-page historical survey of executive power from George Washington to George W. Bush, his More…

Executive Privilege: It’s Not Just for the Bush Administration Anymore!

By | 06.10.09 | 9:51 am

The New Mexico Independent’s Trip Jennings reports that Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) is getting in on some of that sweet, sweet executive privilege action:

The [New Mexico] Independent sought to view documents from the governor’s office from January through August 2006 that would have divulged with whom

More…

Obama Silent on Support for ‘State Secrets’ Reform

By | 04.13.09 | 12:39 pm

Funny how,  as Greg Sargent at The Plum Line notes today, the Obama administration hasn’t yet taken a position on pending legislation that would curtail its ability to rely on the “state secrets privilege.”

As I’ve been reporting here, the Justice Department has been relying heavily on the More…

The Washington Post Wakes Up to Civil Liberties

By | 03.25.09 | 12:41 pm

Carrie Johnson in The Washington Post today picks up on a problem we’ve been writing about at TWI for months now: when it comes to information about crimes committed by the previous administration, President Obama isn’t following through on his big commitments to “open government.”

“Civil liberties advocates are More…

Rove and Miers Agree to Testify on U.S. Attorney Firings

By | 03.04.09 | 6:26 pm

At long last, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and Bush aide and adviser Karl Rove have agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on their knowledge of and involvement in the U.S. Attorney firing scandal.

Karl Rove Subpoenaed … Again

By | 02.13.09 | 12:35 pm

It’s official: the House Judiciary Committee has once again subpoenaed Karl Rove, former President George W. Bush’s longtime adviser and aide, to testify before the committee on the politicization of the Justice Department and his involvement in the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D).

Rove’s More…

A Quick Primer on the State Secrets Privilege

By | 02.09.09 | 8:16 pm

As I reported earlier, President Obama’s Justice Department today stood up in court and asserted the so-called “state secrets” privilege to argue, like the Bush administration before it, that the case of five victims of the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” and torture program must be dismissed.

But what is the More…

Who’s in Charge — Bush or Obama?

By | 01.30.09 | 7:06 am

President George W. Bush’s former aide and adviser, Karl Rove, has reportedly been instructed to ignore another congressional subpoena, this one issued earlier this week by Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan). According to Newsweek, Bush’s lawyer, former White House counsel Fred Fielding sent a letter Jan. More…

Obama to Face First Big Test on Executive Privilege

By | 01.28.09 | 7:01 am

After Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) re-subpoenaed Karl Rove, former aide and adviser to President George W. Bush’s, to testify before Congress on his role in the Bush administration’s politicization of the Justice Department and prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D), Rove’s lawyer Tuesday asked the Obama White More…

Conyers Subpoenas Rove: ‘It’s Time to Talk’

By | 01.26.09 | 6:28 pm

Karl Rove, who previously refused to testify to his involvement in the politicization of the Justice Department and the U.S. attorney firing scandal as former President George W. Bush’s deputy chief of staff, was subpoenaed today by House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.).

From the Committee’s press release, which More…