July 29, 2007
The new “C” word in Washington
con - tempt [kuh n-tempt]
–noun
1. the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn.
2. the state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace.
3. Law.
a. willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court (contempt of court) or legislative body.
b. an act showing such disrespect.
Top lawyers may soon be arguing as to whether or not several Executive Branch officials are officially in Contempt of Congress and subject to criminal penalties (pending Presidential pardons) for failing to appear and answer questions about Our Fine President’s many dubious deeds and programs. The legal and constitutional issues surrounding these cases would be complex and unprecedented, but after reading that definition of the word “contempt” it is undeniable that Our Fine President and his top aides have and continue to show plenty of contempt for Congress, the Constitution and the American people.
As the Democratic Congressional leaders use their thin majority to press on with an investigation into the unusual dismissal of what is now up to nine federal prosecutors, all the evidence points to an overreaching attempt to politicize federal prosecutorial powers in order to use the power of the courts to augment Republican election prospects. In a system of laws it seems obvious that political party shouldn’t matter any more than race when it comes to how the law views citizens. I guess our current administration figures that since we can’t get the race thing right we might as work other prejudices and isms into our legal system because everything they do is the right thing and thus solidifying their hold on power is for the greater good. Of course in doing this, they’re showing just a bit of contempt toward the founding fathers’ notion of a democracy based on laws instead of men.
The overall plan is extremely contrary to the principles of the system it seeks to control, but Our Fine President and his people’s capacity for contempt just keeps showing up in new ways as they try to defend their actions. Firing the attorneys was probably not criminal because they serve “at the pleasure of the president.” However, it was unusual since federal prosecutors are normally replaced at the start of a Presidential term, and nine over a short time period with many fired on the same day was something new.
The first contempt was directed right back at those attorneys who’d been cut loose. Instead of owning up to their despicable but likely not illegal plan to pack the courts with Republicans, White House and Justice officials initially said everyone who lost a job was a bad lawyer. They’ve since apologized as the records show many of the attorneys in the scandal were among the best at their jobs.
Next came the star of the show, Attorney General “Absentminded” Alberto Gonzalez. Lots of Justice aides were resigning and the calls were out for Gonzalez to step down too. Instead he continues to go up before Congress with incomplete answers due to negligence and/or a faulty memory about key details on what should have been regarded as important decisions. His testimony has proven little about what he’s been asked, but it’s certainly proven he’s not capable enough to run the Justice Department. On that basis alone he should resign, but he’s got one key thing and that’s unwavering loyalty to Our Fine President. Such loyalty is rewarded with immunity, and thus AG “A”AG approaches his sworn testimony with no respect for the process of the investigation or the authority behind it.
As Congress started to call hearings on these matters their questions focused in on one key question, who created the list of the attorneys who had to go. Signs pointed to the White House Office of Black Arts and Backstabery (motto: Oh, We’ll Stab You in the Front Too) and its head Karl Rove. Having him testify under oath would be interesting since he’s generally fingered in every contemptuous plot hatched by this White House. Even if he continually hid behind his right to avoid self-incrimination, that would say a heck of a lot.
Unfortunately, Congress hasn’t even gotten that far just yet. Instead they’re staking out their contempt battles with initial sorties against people a few rungs down the chain of command. Former White House counsel Harriet Miers and Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton are the first two to be cited with contempt charges for failing to appear before a committee and refusal to provide that committee with documents as requested. Neither of Our Fine President’s aides is claiming they have not shown contempt for Congress. Instead, they’re relying on an insider’s defense that seeks to show even greater contempt for the entire process.
No, both aides can’t deny their refusal to comply with Congressional subpoenas. However, they’re counting on Our Fine President’s decree of executive privilege to keep them from ever actually facing the contempt charges. Basically the White House is saying what happens in the White House stays in the White House and the American people have no right to know what goes on beyond the lawn besides whatever can be seen from the street. The idea that all Presidential advice must be a state secret is obscene and shows a great deal of disrespect for the nation as a whole. If people providing this counsel can’t give their honest opinion without a veil of secrecy, it shows either a lack of conviction in themselves and their advice or a willingness to provide advice of a dubious and self-serving nature. Maybe those sort of people aren’t the ones we want advising the country’s leadership.
Of course Our Fine President realizes his privilege bubble might be burst by the courts at some point so he’s arranged a nifty back up plan. Essentially by decree, he’s stated that since the Justice Department is part of the Executive Branch, he can simply order it to not prosecute the contempt charges coming from Congress. Convenient reasoning there, but once again it is using contempt as a defense against being charged with showing contempt.
The idea that the law applies differently to different sort of people is at the heart of this. Scooter Libby gets out of the majority of his punishment while many others are paying the full price for the exact same crime and no one is supposed to question whether we’ve lost our sense that everyone is equal under the eyes of the law. Hopefully Congress has the fortitude to continue slowly cranking the wheels of justice and finding ways to force this administration to comply with the laws of the land. They’ve been showing contempt toward everyone for years and it’s about time they were called out on it. People with such scorn for a system probably shouldn’t be in charge of making that system work, but nothing would validate the system more than holding those who disdain its virtues accountable.