Sparks Fly over Gonzales Firings

03/21/2007

Paul Munnis


Bush calls it a “fishing expedition” while the Senate oversight committee calls it a “lawful inquiry” and as a result -- the sparks are flying.

When it comes to firing seven GOP attorneys there is reason to think that the White House used its Executive Office to pressure the firing of politically opposed U.S. Attorneys and that it was done for purely political reasons. Each was engaged in some way with something political that the White House opposed or sought to silence.

Because they are employees of the Executive Branch, Bush claims control over their appearance before Congress. He indicates that they are above being subpoenaed by Congress. As their boss he is protecting his employees from harrassment.

Congress disagrees and believes that the material they have seen to date provides probable cause of illegal behavior and they want to be allowed to do their oversight job. To do so they need to place the parties under oath to testify much as is done in a grand jury.

At stake is the firing of the Attorney General and possibly arraignment of the aides involved – Harriet Miers and Karl Rove and perhaps more people too.

It now looks like it will go to the Supreme Court to decide since it is cast as a Constitutional conflict between equal partners of government.

Many people think the dispute should go to the mat to get the Court to clear up the issue of Separation of Powers once and for all. They think that Bush has been usurping rights reserved for monarchs but not for presidents.

They want to see the issue go to the Court for resolution.

Others feel that the Court is politically tainted and has been stuffed by the GOP using appointments and is thus unable to provide an objective verdict. They remember how Bush got into office on the back of a Supreme Court verdict over the 2000 election and they do not trust the Supreme Court. Yet there is no other source available to adjudicate the dispute under our system of American Law.

Still others apply a pragmatism test and say the issue needs to be resolved now for it will take months and maybe years for resolution by the Court and the outcome is too critical to wait.

Bush has offered to allow the aides to be “interviewed,” but “not under oath” and that further raises speculation of guilt as people wonder what these aides have to hide. E-Mail from inside of the Bush Administration show more reason to think that there is inappropriate political pressure and consideration applied to force the firings. Add to that some 30,000 pages of material with large sections inked-out and that is like waving a red cape in front of a bull. Congress feels it can make its case in Court for probable cause.

So the issue is stuck for the moment and is positioned for Court resolution.

For my part I think the matter should go to the Court and that they should be allowed to rule. I trust them because the issue is so large and so consequential that they will be forced to act responsibly because their individual reputation and the reputation of the Court are both at stake. Their written opinions will be studied for years to come.

There will be a tendency in the press to despise one side or the other over the issue and painting one side or the other as villains. It will of course be cast as Republican versus Democrats issue although there is plenty of opinion on both sides of the argument within both Parties.

For my part I think this is an honest dispute one of many that have been shaping up over the role of Congress and the Executive and I think it takes some courage for all Parties to battle it out. So let it be argued and resolved so that we can get on with our American life. This is left-over business from a Constitutional Convention held more than 200 years ago. We need to resolve it no matter how long it takes and even if we have to put up with Gonzales for another year and a half or so.

One compromise would be to interview the subjects off the record, go to the Court for a ruling, and move on with the case using the best information available. As for Gonzales – he is now a little man and not such a big-shot. He has no political capital left and his boss cannot afford anymore controversy from either him or his Agency. Yet a Congressional investigation of illegal FBI behavior is still on the agenda for Congressional oversight review.