Perino: Justice Department will not ask the United States Attorney to follow through on the contempt

[maddezmom]

In addition, I think that the American people might find it baffling that when these two issues are going on, and they continue to rail against the President for not acting on housing, when actually the President has acted on housing, and it was them who has not -- it was they who have not acted on housing, they are going to be the first Congress in the history of the country to vote on contempt of a President's Chief of Staff and lawyer, despite the administration and the White House being willing to provide hundreds of hours of testimony, documents. Many of the things that they asked for, we were willing to give. But instead, they're going to waste time on this partisan, futile act.

Q Why do you say it's a waste of time when -- if Congress votes this contempt, will the Justice Department enforce it?

MS. PERINO: No, it's been well understood that throughout history, that while the executive and legislative branches have had disputes, that the Justice Department will not ask the United States Attorney to follow through on the contempt charges.

Q The President is always mentioning history and vindication. Does he realize he's going to go down in history as a President who favored torture? Read the history books, and find out who the people really stand out, in terms of treatment, human treatments.

MS. PERINO: Well, people are going to be entitled to their opinions, and I think that's yours.

Q But he will be labeled as a President who favored torture.

MS. PERINO: Perhaps in your history book it will be, but I do think that across the board --

Q Isn't he afraid of that?

more:http://www.centredaily.com/business/story/404119.html



House Votes To Hold Bush Confidants In Contempt

~snip~
The White House said the Justice Department would not ask the U.S. attorney to pursue the House contempt charges.

It is the first time in 25 years that a full chamber of Congress has voted on a contempt of Congress citation.

The action, which Democrats had been threatening for months, was the latest wrinkle in a more than yearlong constitutional clash between Congress and the White House.

The Bush administration has said the information being sought is off-limits under executive privilege, and argues that Bolten and Miers are immune from prosecution.

Still, the resolution would allow the House to bring its own lawsuit on the matter.

more:http://cbs4.com/national/bush.confidants.contempt.2.654198.html

[malaise]

1. Bring you own lawsuit

NOW!!

That Perino woman is beyond arrogant. Checkmate is coming lady.

Add.

[spanone]

2. good, the house can go directly to the supreme court

oh shit.

[bdamomma]

6. and if it does what is the supreme court going to do

rule in favor of the dictator, * has the courts stacked up, this was the whole game plan. Or will they uphold the Constitution.

[Tyler Durden]

12. Either the SCOTUS holds with the Contempt Citings...

...in accordance with the US Constitution, or they become liable for IMPEACHMENT and REMOVAL.

[gateley]

3. Wow - great questions to Perino, but she's not really qualified to answer anything. nt

[tanyev]

21. There will be a highly paid newsreader/model position waiting for her at FOX News.

In about 340 more days.

[EFerrari]

4. The word is "confidante". n/t

[maddezmom]

7. just a copier and paster here

:hi:

[Adsos Letter]

9. and an exceptionally valuable one, at that...

:hi:

[EFerrari]

10. Oh, I know! I went to the link.

I was just bitching to Skinner the other day that news editors seem to be extinct!

Just a grouch here!

lol

:hi:

[maddezmom]

24. just kidding

I knew what you meant :hug:

[radfringe]

5. this is the justice department processing contempt citations

[Adsos Letter]

8. Who is doing the questioning...?

...sounds like Helen Thomas once again throwing Perino into fits of incomprehensibility through simple, rational questioning...

:D

[Ghost in the Machine]

11. Maybe it's time for We, The People, to form our own Justice Department

We've already suffered a long train of governmental abuses and usurpations and our Constitution guarantees us the right to throw off (abolish) such government and establish a new one.

It looks like the time is drawing nigh, my fellow Patriots. The time has come for us to stand up and UNITE for the good of us ALL. These abuses and usurpations know no political lines, they affect us all. It's time for Democrats AND Republicans to lay aside their political differences and unite as one against the takeover of our Country, and the destruction of our way of life as we know it.

Ghost

[bdamomma]

13. yes, I agree with your last comment.

"The time has come for us to stand up and UNITE for the good of us ALL".

:patriot:

[Enrique]

14. Dana Perino talking about history

what a laugh.

[CGowen]

15. the good old "The Winners Write The History Books"......n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. The White House is proving that the Justice Department has been

politically compromised.

[Disturbed]

17. If the Dems were serious they would issue Inherent Contempt.

Plain Contempt is merely a useless exercise, a paper tiger, not an actual tiger.

[knight_of_the_star]

19. They probably will

If the Justice Department doesn't follow through when you look at all of what lead up to today and how Pelosi is handling this so far once the JD refuses to act as they are required to by law then I will bet you that there will be support up and down the Congress for Inherent Contempt.

[knight_of_the_star]

18. By Odin's Eye here we go

Here comes the inherent contempt charges and the House Sergeant at Arms...

[Disturbed]

20. INHERENT CONTEMPT is the real deal.

INHERENT CONTEMPT

Under this process,the procedure for holding a person in contempt involves only the chamber concerned. Following a contempt citation,the person cited for contempt is arrested by the Sergeant-at-Arms for the House or Senate,brought to the floor of the chamber,held to answer charges by the presiding officer,and then subject to punishment that the House may dictate (usually imprisonment for punishment reasons,imprisonment for coercive effect,or release from the contempt citation.)

Concerned with the time-consuming nature of a contempt proceeding and the inability to extend punishment further than the session of the Congress concerned (under SupremeCourt rulings), Congress created a statutory process in 1857.


While Congress retains its"inherent contempt" authority and may exercise it at any time, this inherent contempt process was last used by the Senate in 1934,in a Senate investigation of airlines and the U.S.Postmaster.
..."

"..MacCracken had filed a petition of HabeasCorpus in federal courts to overturn his arrest,but after litigation,the USSupremeCourt ruled that Congress had acted constitutionally,and denied the petition in the case Jurney v. MacCracken, 294U.S.125 (1935).

Presidential pardons appear not to apply to civil contempt procedures like the above, since it is not an "offense against the United States" or an offense against "the dignity of public authority."

[pinto]

22. kick

:kick:

[Ghost in the Machine]

23. kickin' back to the top

:kick:

[MiniMe]

25. Perhaps Boner et al can explain why they issued over 1,500 subpeonas to the

Clinton administration. Do they really expect us to believe that they wouldn't have held those people in contempt if they didn't show up? Yeah, right.

[Poiuyt]

26. I find it interesting that Perino does not deny that the US has tortured

[DCKit]

28. We should be familiar with this tune. Since it's all out in the open after years of speculation...

and calling those of us against torture either conspiracy theorists or un-patriotic, now the tack is to say it's old news, act as if they're personally wounded that we can't forgive and forget and "why can't we just move on?"

See? It's OUR fault they had to torture and spy on U.S., lie for six years and kill over a million innocent people. We're simply not emotionally mature enough to handle the truth, don't deserve to have such a great pResident and, whoo boy, are we gonna miss him when he's gone.

Get with the program!!

[JBoy]

27. Dems need to press on

It's a race against the clock now, and even if the chances of succeeding are slim they need to press on.

Fuck Bush, and call every bluff. Kick over the rocks and shine lights into dark places. So what if Bush will veto or obstruct. Make him do it. Give the historians something to work with.