'If the president does it, it is not illegal'

[quaoar]

Digby lays out the John Yoo Theory of presidential supremacy and how Bush seems to believe he can constitutionally do whatever he damn well pleases.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2005_12_11_digbysblog_archive.html#113477714899464334

He (Bush), like Nixon, believes that the president has only one "accountability moment" while he is president. His re-election. Beyond that, he has been given a blank check. And that includes breaking the law since if the president does it, it's not illegal, the president being the executive branch which is not subject to any other branch of govenrment.

John Yoo, the former deputy attorney general who wrote many of the opinion undergirding these findings (on torture as well as spying) explains that the congress has no right to abridge the president's warmaking powers. Its only constitutional remedy to a war with which they disagree is to deny funding; they can leave the troops on the field with no food or bullets.

I suspect that there are many more of these instances out there in which the administration has simply ignored the law. They believe that the constitution explicitly authorizes them to do so.

[Fenris]

1. It's amazing how stupid John Yoo is.

It's almost as if he's never read the Constitution or the Notes of the Debates.

[MaineDem]

2. I remember the Nixon days only too well.

This is much much worse! I can't believe the arrogance of this administration.

[mzmolly]

3. According to that logic, Saddam Hussein should not be on trial.

:eyes:

[Sparkly]

4. "unless it's about sex." nt

[Zynx]

5. We elect a dictator?

Wow. I did not know that. Thanks for the civics lesson.

There's a reason why we have balance of powers. In the modern era this is probably more important than ever.

[dchill]

6. So, then....

how did Clinton get impeached? The President did it, so it wasn't illegal, right? I mean, we're talking about "national security", right?

Yeah, yeah, I know - what Yoo Hoo really meant was "If President Bush does it, it's not illegal." Typical Republican hypocri-squat.

[pretzel4gore]

7. nixon never believed that

nixon fought in the courts (and remember, woodward, who's work was critical in nixon's downfall, was anti nixon, the same asshole who's now pro bush. it suggests nixon was a better man then we here at DU give him credit for)...nixon never depended on the media, which was after him by 1974, nor did he ever try to suborn the spreme court, which is essential not only to bush's survival, but to his start

[mikehiggins]

8. Those who trade liberty for security, as one of our Founding

Fathers said, deserve neither, and that's how they end up.

Unfortunately, the rest of the United States is being dragged down with them.

Impeach Bozo!

[RandomKoolzip]

9. Funny, they stop believing in that statement if the president is a Dem.

Innaresting, innit?

"if the president does it, it is not illegal. But if the president is a Democrat or shows any liberal leanings, then anything he does, legal or not, can be twisted into something illegal, even impeachable, even if we have to make shit up."