Of witch hunts and wagers

Another of those Watergate "constitutional crises" is looming, with another Democratic Congress squared off against another Republican executive branch. But this time, I'm afraid, the deck is stacked against the challengers.

Pat Leahy, the Senate Judiciary chairman, has said his committee will demand that Karl Rove and other Bush Inc. aides testify publicly and under oath about their role in the deepening U.S. Attorney scandal. Naturally, to give the appearance of cooperation a few Republicans have counterproposed that Karl & Friends have one of those 911 Commission sit-downs, in which tea and crumpets are served while administration officials chat with "investigators" privately, disingenuously and with legal impunity. You know, a real barnburner of Republican-style, let's-get-to-the-root-of-this probes.

Just as naturally, Mr. Leahy is less than enthralled by the suggestion. "I do not believe in this 'We’ll have a private briefing for you where we’ll tell you everything,' and they don’t," he said on ABC's "This Week." "I want testimony under oath. I am sick and tired of getting half-truths on this."

Half-truths? Pat, look at the bright side: Coming from this administration, that would be 50 percent progress.

One administration spokesman, however, has already declared the prospect of sworn testimony as "highly unlikely," killing the suspense.

But just in case there was any doubt about the meaning of "highly unlikely," a White House-allied party strategist put it this way: "Forget that. They might agree to do an informal interview, but they’ll never testify." And it is highly likely, as they say, that that will be that.

The best line, though, has come from Republican Senator John Cornyn, who, with the highest indignation he could summon, charged that Congressional Democrats are wading "into basically a political witch hunt." Political witch-hunting is of course a foreign, not to mention repulsive, avocation to the likes of Mr. Cornyn, so on principle they're on guard.

Democrats are screaming that the Republican Congress during the Clinton administration had no such qualms about subpoenaing White House officials; 47 of whom, in fact, testified -- under oath, and in public. But that was different. Oral sex -- the scourge of representative government -- was involved then, not piddling matters of eradicating the separating line between the executive and judicial branches and overturning the U.S. Constitution. So let's get our play things straight, if you'll excuse the double entendre.

But to pick up where I began, I'm afraid the deck is stacked against the Democrats. Prediction is often a losing game, but the smart money says the fix is in on this one.

Issue subpoenas they will, but the drama pretty much will end there. Stentorian claims of executive privilege will ensue, Democrats will sue for judgment, the matter will work its way through a Republican appellate court, and the supreme Republican court will then finish it off by saying it's not their department. Case closed.

Hence the final judgment will be left in the hands of historians fifty years from now, damn them. They'll get all the fun and none of the pain -- assuming that by then honest history isn't punishable by death, courtesy Karl Rove Jr.'s U.S. Ministry of Justice.

Comments

[Lorie S Hawkins]

I absolutely, positively, despise the Republicans. They are the most vile, dishonest, lying dirty group ever. They have embezzled to no end, murdered numerous troops and Iraqis. These people do not deserve to live among sensible sane people or breath the same air. I would not vote for a repub for any office, including the office of federal dog catcher.

[Vic Anderson]

The "courts" cannot ajudge IMPEACHMENT under FISA illegality admissions already defiantly made and Plame-obvious TREASON!

[TJAmericanWay]

One thing you cannot deny about the Rethuglicans is that they unfortunately DO learn from history. They did learn something from the Nixon years, and that's the power of a fair and balanced judiciary. This is why they've put on a full court press to stack the court system up to and including the Supreme Court with their thugs.

Now when the "Rule of Law" or the Constitution get into the way of their fascist plans, and anyone challenges it, the case goes off to a judiciary loaded with their thugs. That way they can play the game, get a "legal" decision in their favor, and it's back to business as usual. Oh and let's not forget the added bone-us of being able to preach and wail about how the dems are persecuting them.

Welcome to the death of the republic.