Off the record
Shhhhh.... White House says Bush-Cheney
joint 9/11 testimony will not be recorded or transcribed
WASHINGTON (TZ) - The White House has
confirmed that tomorrow's joint appearance before the 9-11 Commission by
President Bush and Vice President Cheney will be neither recorded
or transcribed. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, noted that the
"private meeting" will include classified information. Furthermore, he asked us
to "keep in mind that it is extraordinary for a sitting president to sit down
with a legislatively created
commission."
Separation of powers is being invoked here, when the real story is about the public's right to observe the machinations of government. To make an end run on Constitutional grounds is disingenuous, to say the least. This administration has gone far beyond any previous government in concealing itself from its electorate. This is Soviet-style governance and has no place in a democratic society.
As an added snub to accountability, the White House has insisted -- to which the commission capitulated for some unknown reason -- that neither Bush or Cheney take an oath before their interview. Quoted by the New York Times, an unidentified presidential adviser notes that the president "is not testifying, he is talking to them. A transcript implies testimony. This would open a Pandora's box of all sorts of precedent-setting and legal issues. We were reluctant for the president to do this, anyway." What!? Set a precedent for presidential accountability under oath?
So, the question is begged (on its knees, even), if this is not testimony, why will the president and vice president be accompanied by the White House counsel, Alberto R. Gonzales? None of the major news services appear to have picked this up. I'm hearing alarm bells going off...
A closing note: the New York Times reports that the panel's chairman, former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, claims to be humbled by the occasion. "This is real history... Presidents just don't do this. Presidents don't meet with commissions like this." Maybe they it's time they started getting used to it. Congress is not the only one testing this premise -- the Supreme Court is, as well. Incidentally, President Ford may have already set a precedent when he publicly testified before Congress about pardoning Nixon in 1974.
Separation of powers is being invoked here, when the real story is about the public's right to observe the machinations of government. To make an end run on Constitutional grounds is disingenuous, to say the least. This administration has gone far beyond any previous government in concealing itself from its electorate. This is Soviet-style governance and has no place in a democratic society.
As an added snub to accountability, the White House has insisted -- to which the commission capitulated for some unknown reason -- that neither Bush or Cheney take an oath before their interview. Quoted by the New York Times, an unidentified presidential adviser notes that the president "is not testifying, he is talking to them. A transcript implies testimony. This would open a Pandora's box of all sorts of precedent-setting and legal issues. We were reluctant for the president to do this, anyway." What!? Set a precedent for presidential accountability under oath?
So, the question is begged (on its knees, even), if this is not testimony, why will the president and vice president be accompanied by the White House counsel, Alberto R. Gonzales? None of the major news services appear to have picked this up. I'm hearing alarm bells going off...
A closing note: the New York Times reports that the panel's chairman, former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, claims to be humbled by the occasion. "This is real history... Presidents just don't do this. Presidents don't meet with commissions like this." Maybe they it's time they started getting used to it. Congress is not the only one testing this premise -- the Supreme Court is, as well. Incidentally, President Ford may have already set a precedent when he publicly testified before Congress about pardoning Nixon in 1974.
Posted: Wed - April 28, 2004 at 10:07 AM
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Published On: Apr 28, 2004 11:01 AM
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Published On: Apr 28, 2004 11:01 AM