When Conyers subpoenaed Rove last
year, Bush lawyers invoked "executive
immunity" to stop
Rove from
testifying.
But now Bush is no longer president.
=====
Hi
Team!
*? 2 ALL:
WILL OBAMA EXECUTIVE
ORDER TRIP UP ROVE?*
"The Attorney General and the Counsel to the
President," Obama said in an executive order Jan. 21, "in the
exercise of their discretion and after appropriate review and consultation
under
subsection (a) of this section, may jointly determine that invocation of
executive privilege is not justified," "The Archivist shall
be notified promptly of any such determination."
Do you think this Obama
executive order will trip up Rove? Why or why not?
Greg
Dempsey
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/SECULARHUM ANIST
Obama - A New Beginning
=====
Obama order could present
problems for Rove
John Byrne
Published: Tuesday January
27, 2009
A little-noticed twist in an order issued by
President Barack Obama the day after his inauguration may present problems for
former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and other Bush
Administration
officials that have been targeted for their alleged role in various
scandals.
Rove was subpoenaed Monday afternoon by House Judiciary
Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI).
Determination of executive
privilege must now also be examined by President Obama's lawyers. In fact,
Rove's lawyer made direct reference to Obama's role in any future decision to
enjoin Rove's appearance on the congressional witness stand Monday
night.
"It's generally agreed that former presidents retain executive
privilege as to matters occurring during their term," Rove's lawyer, Robert
Luskin, told The Washington
Post. "We'll solicit the views of the new White House counsel and, if there
is a disagreement, assume that the matter will be resolved among the courts,
the
president and the former president."
Luskin doesn't concede that Rove
isn't covered by Bush's blanket immunity, but appears to acknowledge that the
question of keeping Rove off the witness stand has become more
complex.
In addition, a White House counsel to President Bill Clinton
told The Washington Post late
Monday that a recent executive order issued by President Obama directing the
National Archives to consult with Justice Department and White House lawyers
"concerning the Archivist's determination as to whether to honor the former
president's claim of privilege or instead to disclose the presidential records
notwithstanding the claim of privilege," could open the door to the release of
more information relating to controversies under the Bush
Administration.
"The language," the Post wrote, "according to W.
Neil Eggleston, a White House associate counsel during the Clinton
administration, leaves open the possibility that more information could emerge
in some long-running controversies."
Whether Rove can stay off the
witness stand indefinitely is an open question. He could certainly plead the
Fifth -- invoking his constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination -- and
refuse to answer questions. But Obama's order opened the door to the release of
presidential records the Bush Administration fought aggressively to keep out of
the public eye.
On the flip side, Vice President Dick Cheney recently won
a court case seeking his vice presidential records; the court said that the
Vice
President alone gets to make the determination as to which records are personal
and which records should become public. The Presidential Records Act, which
requires Administrations to surrender their files to the National Archives upon
leaving office, provides an exemption for records of a personal
nature.
Obama might also effectively protect Rove and President Bush by
retaining a broad interpretation of executive privilege. Such an interpretation
wouldn't be designed to save Rove from congressional investigators -- instead,
it would allow Obama to protect himself and his team upon his own departure
from
the Oval Office.
