White House Standoff: A Way Out
(AP/CBS)
If I hear the world “Texas showdown” one more time to describe the current impasse in the scandal over the firing of eight federal prosecutors last December I swear I will gag. Yes, the conflict promises to grow more intense before it eases. Yes, the aims and priorities of the executive branch are inconsistent with those of the legislative branch. And, not to get too psychological on y’all but, yes, I believe that Democrats in Congress feel so empowered and angry after so many years in the wilderness of the minority that they are likely to push further than they probably ought to.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Because I always like to give back to the country of my choice, and in spite of the fact that I make my living by analyzing public tussles over legal issues, I hereby offer free-of-charge the easiest and most gentle way out of this mess. Here is a proposal that I believe fairly balances the White House’s legitimate “executive privilege” priorities with the earnest and honest desire of Congress to find out more about a process gone bad. President Bush yesterday said that he would make available to a small group of legislators for off-the-record, private chats people like political guru Karl Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. Let’s start with that modest proposal and build from it.
First, Congress should relent and allow these sessions to take place in private. Sure, I would love to see Rove grilled in public— who wouldn’t? I mean, watching Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, question Rove could be a pay-per-view event in many parts of the country. A long, savory public hearing would be good for my career, I suspect, and sure would beat talking more about the paternity hearing for Anna Nicole Smith’s baby. But I am willing to get behind private sessions if it gives the President a measure of comfort about releasing his subordinates to talk candidly about who did what to whom and why when it came to firing those eight federal prosecutors. So, Point One of my Plan is: Private Hearings.
In exchange for that concession, however, the White House must require all of its interviewees to testify under oath and on the record...
