JUST IN: House Judiciary Gives 'Last Chance' to WH for Voluntary Cooperation in Attorney Probe

[BradBlog]

Source: BRAD BLOG

JUST IN: House Judiciary Letter Offers 'Last Chance' to White House for Voluntary Cooperation in U.S. Attorney Investigation
Missive Sent Today to WH Attorney Fred Fielding from Conyers and Sánchez Warns of 'No Alternative But Compulsory Process' if Administration Continues Stonewall...

A letter sent to White House attorney, Fred Fielding, today by top U.S. House Judiciary Committee members offers "one last appeal" for voluntary cooperation in the U.S. Attorney firing probe, or else a "compulsory process" will begin.

The letter, sent to The BRAD BLOG by committee chair John Conyers (D-MI) and the chair of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA), takes the White House to task for their "rebuff of efforts by the Judiciary Committee to obtain voluntary cooperation" in their investigation "concerning at least nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006 and related matters." ...

FULL REPORT, PDF VERSION OF LETTER:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4583


Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4583

[Massachusetts]

1. Got spine?

It should never have gone this far.

[Lerkfish]

2. geez, stop giving them chances already! even I could shred half of the library of congress by now

shredding machines on stun, full speed ahead.

what's it fricking gonna take to make them ACTUALLY start getting compulsory?

[liberalnurse]

9. I like negative press for the *bush administration.

Dragging it out helps pound, pound, pound out the message, over and over again screaming about the corruption going on with them.....

[Lerkfish]

16. true, but if it only gives them more time to deflect it or destroy evidence, not sure

what ultimately gets accomplished, then.

[sweettater]

3. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let the good times roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the gig is up! :rofl:

[wtmusic]

4. Like dealing with a four-year-old

What a joke. :eyes:

[depakid]

5. And like a 4 year old, they won't comply unless

there are consistent and credible consequences for their actions.

Idle threats mean little or nothing.

[Mojambo]

6. Administration answers "Or else what?"

Hmmm. It might be nice to have that impeachment on the table here, huh?

[spotbird]

7. Let's have a moment of silence

to contemplate impeachment.

[Supersedeas]

33. I don't recall your notice of 'last chance,' may I have another...followed by i don't recall

[ima_sinnic]

8. JUST START THE "COMPULSORY PROCESS" ALREADY!!

sheesh --if it were you or I we would have been fried by now.

[anotherdrew]

10. last chance untill the next time. these democratic cowards won't do one damn thing

COWARDS!

[aquart]

11. They absolutely have to be seen as taking these steps as a last resort.

They have to. And you know they have to.

They ate shit for six years. You really think they don't want to storm the White House?

[Skip Intro]

26. absoeffinlutely. Very important. I for one am ready to see what happens after the "last chance."

I get the feeling the bush regime is being backed into a corner, and they're going to look really, really bad, worse than they do now, when accountability stops knocking and barges through the front door. Oh, they're going to have a fit. I can't wait.


Rats last chance to abandon ship...

[Lost4words]

46. It truly is sickining!

[Solly Mack]

12. The When and If of Following Through

When dealing with a child, one should refrain from saying "If you do that again..." because children hear "If" as a dare - it's a challenge. Children can't resist a dare and they love to challenge.


When implies a logical sequence of events - When I do this, this happens...If does not. If is, well, Iffy. When comes with consequences, "When I misbehave, I go to time-out"

If is optional.

If I misbehave and if I get caught and if mommy and daddy are in a certain mood, I go to time-out...maybe.

Too many Ifs - not enough Whens.


If is just a two-letter word for maybe.

A refusal to comply is a challenge of the discipline you're trying to instill (not authority - discipline - and there is a difference) When is all about teaching consequences - If is about teaching inconsistency. If this, if that...If could happen. If might happen...When always happens.



Naturally, you do have to follow through. Otherwise, the child knows you're full of hot air and just blustering.

Never suggest a consequence you have no intention of following through on. When you do, your child owns you. Note the use of the word "When"...it's a consequence of threatening your child with mortal peril for playing ball in the house. Your child's not stupid. He knows you won't kill him for breaking a lamp. But he also now knows you won't do much of anything - except bluster for hours, even days, on end.

Sure, eventually you'll blow a gasket after repeated blustering and punish your child in excess of his misbehavior (this part doesn't apply to Bush as no punishment would be in excess of his actions)- but that's not discipline, that's bullying...and that will be all the child learns. It then becomes a power struggle.(however, this part - the power struggle - does)

So instead of fostering a power struggle with a child, let's teach consequences the right way.

When Bush refuses to comply the first time, this WILL happen...and then make it happen.

Otherwise.....

[brer cat]

43. Solly Mack, I cannot believe

that you are giving parenting tips on dealing with the pROTUS! Well, sure I can.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Solly Mack]

48. I can't believe I have to :o)

[Honeycombe8]

13. I don't believe for one second they'll actually "do" anything.

Compulsory process? Like the compulsory subpoenas that have been ignored?

Whoop dee do. After this final warning...I wonder when the NEXT final warning will be.

[flyarm]

14. damn it ..no more last chances..* just stuck it up their asses with gonzo again today..

when will the dems grow a spine..impeach the prick..he has destroyed our judiciary..and our elections damn it!!

enouggggghhhhhhhh

how many ways does * have to stick it up our back ends???????????

huh congress??????????

how many ways??????????

this so pisses me off..how many ways does * have to break our laws???????????

i am beginning to think they are all in this together!

fly

[DrDan]

15. sure - this last chance . . . then a couple more

then move on to some other issue and let junior have his way once again . . .

Show some spine!!!!!! Quit rolling over for these felons!!!!

[Demeter]

17. I Believe Conyers and Sanchez Will Follow Through, and So Does the GOP

These two are not known for their toadying.

[booksenkatz]

18. Sheesh, yeah, run out the clock. Just great. Damn it. nt

[Alexander]

19. Reminds me of Shatner's comparison of Kirk vs. Picard:

Kirk: "You have three seconds to surrender, or we will fire. One, two, three - FIRE!"

Picard: "You have three seconds to surrender, or we will fire. One, two, three...I'm not kidding. Four, five, six...I'm serious about this. Seven, eight, nine...perhaps we should discuss the situation further."

Are the Democrats reading Picard's playbook, or what?

[Peace Patriot]

37. Poor Picard, turned into a Borg, and the Fascist Collective USING him to

attack Earth. Is he the ikon of our Democratic Party leadership? Borgified. Their brains taken over. Diebolded. I hope not.

[annabanana]

20. Let's cut to the end game here...

Will THIS Supreme Court back the "unitary executive" bullshit? .. . . Or will they consider the will of the people?

[lonestarnot]

21. I can't look. I'm so fucking sick of them.

[redacted]

22. WHAT purpose could it serve to give them a last chance?

:puke:

[BradBlog]

23. If you will...

Not taking a position here on whether this is the right or wrong tactic, but I'll try to answer your question as far as "what purpose" such a tactic serves.

Conyers has, from the beginning, taken a very methodical approach to virtually everything he's done. From compiling reports on Ohio, to another calling for a select committee to investigate charges of impeachment, etc.

From my reporting, I can tell you, that this is a very specific and tactical methodology on his part (and/or that of the Judiciary Comm.) to build the case -- crossing ever t and dotting ever i -- along the way, so that if a case must be made, let's say for impeachment, for example, there will exist a "paper trail" of having taken every appropriate and/or feasible step first, so that one is not accused of rushing to conclusions for political expediency etc.

Yes, the bad guys will try to make that claim anyway, but inasmuch as there can be documented steps to show that *didn't* happen, such charges would have less traction ultimately (and theoretically).

Whether that's the right or wrong way to proceed, I'm not taking a position on. Just trying to share what I know, in hopes of offering an answer to your question (which may or may not have been rhetorical, but I took the opportunity to answer it literally) :-)

Brad

[DemReadingDU]

24. Thank you, I like your explanation

I do believe Conyers knows what he is doing, heck, he's been in Congress since Watergate!

[frogcycle]

27. nicely put

They are doing "due diligence" and don't want to let the fish off the hook by jerking the line too soon. Whether they have it exactly right is beyond my capabilities to judge. i don't have their knowledge, nor training, nor experience. I don't play quarterback on Monday mornings either.

[OnyxCollie]

34. Thanks, Brad.

Congress has to position itself correctly. By offering "one last chance" they can avoid/diffuse WH talking points that this is "pure political theater". While the RNC has been mostly silent (some repubs actually supporting the ouster of Gonzo, but that's only the tip of the iceberg) the WH still has a large bullhorn, and will create the impression that Dems are just wasting time playing partisan games. Let's be honest here- If Pelosi et. al had jumped on impeachment as soon as they took over, what would they have? The NSA wiretaps? (Believe me, I think this is an impeachable offense, but the WH can toss out the tried & true talking point that "This program is a necessary and integral part of the War Against Terrorism and has saved many lives." There are people that will still fall for that.) The War in Iraq? (Another impeachable offense, but by using "fuzzy math" ie. not counting car bombs, restricting photographers/press, and of course, the obligatory, ever-moving six month window of 'progress", the WH can obfuscate that as well.) As I have posted here before, Gonzogate may the best opportunity for Congress to hammer bushco. By lying about performance issues for dismissal, Gonzo provided a scenario that the public can understand: Losing a job, despite hard work, because the boss doesn't like you. It's common, simple to understand, and hard to bullshit. (Notice how quickly "They serve at the pleasure of the President" burned out? The WH is now using "There is no evidence of any wrongdoing" but that's like saying, "You can't prove anything. Nobody say me do it.") All Congress has to do now is block the exits. IMO, "pure political theater" is the last stop before "We will not comment on an on-going criminal investigation."

[calimary]

44. I sure hope you're correct. It makes sense, because they DO have to

have WAY more ducks in a row than could possibly be imagined, considering the sturm und drang they'll be up against from the Dark Siders when they actually attempt IMPEACHMENT full-on. You know they'll get the "eaten by ants" treatment.

I sure hope you're correct. Because NOT to IMPEACH will be the biggest crime of all - a true sin of omission. And whatever thugs come along a couple of decades or so from now and decide to usurp power and overreach and form their own dictatorship WILL point to this time, AND to us, and smirk "WELL, it can't POSSIBLY be wrong. bush did it and you guys didn't do SQUAT. If it was so illegal back then, why didn't you stop him? You had your chance and you didn't bother. It's too late now. So just go sit down and SHUT THE FUCK UP."

If we let bushco get away with it, and they dance off to Paraguay scot-free, with no consequences and no accountability, the warnings in the above paragraph WILL occur, sooner or later.

Bank on it.

[liberal N proud]

25. What are they going to do - Pinch Karl?

Maybe they saw the Altel commercial and they are going to drive a van down to 1600 and grab Karl off the street and pinch him.

Nothing will happen, these criminal will continue to destroy what is left of the constitution.

[sampsonblk]

28. How many last chances do they get?

nt

[radfringe]

29. sheesh

and when the white house blows this one off - then what -- another letter saying this is absolutely your last chance?

the hell with last chances - set the freaking table with impeachment

[GeorgeGist]

30. Is this the Dems last chance ...

to accept NO for an answer? I sincerely doubt it. Bush said NO to more funding of the Iraq war and the Dems haven't accepted it yet.

[ClassWarrior]

31. Awrighttt... It's about to get good.

:bounce:

NGU.

[Marie26]

32. I'm tired of letters

Issue the subpoenas already.

[Roland99]

35. As long as the "compulsory process" involves HANDCUFFS!!!

[xxqqqzme]

36. wake me when we're in the 'last throes' of WH

arrogance.

[damntexdem]

38. Let's hope they mean business.

But I suspect that they're saying "this is your last chance or we'll warn you again."

[loudsue]

39. There is NO TIME LINE presented in the letter. No "drop dead" date.

This leaves everything wide open for the dictator-tot to be the "decider" as to "when" this may take place...which is, of course, after he leaves office.

Conyers has found a horse's head (in this case, prolly a horse's ass) in his bed.

:kick:

[bdamomma]

40. yea, and the WH is quivering in their shoes.

what a farce this has all become.

[denverbill]

41. I beginning to think the Repukies were right about the Dems filing a lawsuit again bin Laden.

Issue the damned subpoenas.

[HuffleClaw]

42. yeah yeah yeah. i'm not holding my breath

so the white house sends a HUGE pile of the WRONG stuff...

rinse repeat...

[Lost4words]

45. More big talk and little action, same as it ever was! n/t

[burrowowl]

47. Congress is going to need its own enforcers

because the so-called Justice Department isn't going to enforce anything if it is against BU$HCO. The only option open now is IMPEACHMENT!