It is about preserving the checks and balances that are a vital part of American democracy.

When executive privilege becomes executive disdain

The Bush administration, which has been pushing presidential power to new extremes, is reportedly developing an even more dangerous new theory of executive privilege. It says that if Congress holds White House officials in contempt for withholding important evidence in the U.S. attorney scandal, the Justice Department simply will not pursue the charges. This stance tears at the fabric of the Constitution and upends the rule of law.
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The next question is how Congress will enforce its right to obtain information, and it is on that point that the administration is said to have made its latest disturbing claim. If Congress holds White House officials in contempt, the next step should be that the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia brings the matter to a grand jury. But according to a Washington Post report, the administration is saying that its claim of executive privilege means that the U.S. attorney would be ordered not to go forward with the case.
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This showdown between a Democratic Congress and a Republican president may look partisan, but it should not. ............. It is about preserving the checks and balances that are a vital part of American democracy.