Bush defends offer to allow Rove, Miers testimony behind closed doors; Will block any efforts to subpoena White House officials
Q Is today's offer from Mr. Fielding your best and final offer on this? Are you going to go to the mat in protecting the principle that you talked about? And why not, you know, since you say nothing wrong was done by your staff, why not just clear the air and let Karl Rove and other senior aids testify in public under oath?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well --
Q There has been a precedent for previous administrations doing that.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Some have; some haven't. My choice is to make sure that I safeguard the ability for presidents to get good decisions.
Michael, I'm worried about precedents that would make it difficult for somebody to walk into the Oval Office and say, Mr. President, here's what's on my mind. And if you haul somebody up in front of Congress and put them in oath and, you know, all the klieg lights and all the questioning, it -- to me, it makes it very difficult for a president to get good advice.
What kind of fucking advice are you getting? And haven't you been telling the America public since you've been ass raping our freedoms, spying on your own, pissing on the Constitution that if we ain't doin' nothin' wrong then we don't have anything to worry about?
Call your Congresspeople today and tell them you wish to remain living in a democracy not under a facist dictatorship and that they better do their motherfucking jobs!
Daily Kos: Time to break out the powder - NOW:
"Well, Democrats, it looks like the moment has finally arrived. Here you stand at a precipice, protecting our constitutional form of government, and there’s nothing beyond it but a black, gaping void of fascism and corporatocracy.
In his press conference today, President Bush made it abundantly clear what he thinks of Congress, the Constitution, and the will of the people."
What folks are saying:
Atrios:
The only reason to refuse to be under oath or even have a transcript is because you plan to lie and you want to do it with impunity.
Any executive privilege claims can only theoretically potentially limit the scope of questioning, not prevent them from testifying at all. Working for the president doesn't give you magic immunity from everything.
Americablog:
You see, no one did anything wrong. It's all just Democrats being political. Yeah, well, then why is Bush so anxious on the stand, I mean the podium? And why is he so terrified about having White House staff sworn in under oath, like regular Americans?
Reid:
“After telling a bunch of different stories about why they fired the U.S. Attorneys, the Bush Administration is not entitled to the benefit of the doubt. Congress and the American people deserve a straight answer. If Karl Rove plans to tell the truth, he has nothing to fear from being under oath like any other witness.”
Kos:
Update: The emperor hates being challenged, huh? He was furious at the notion that he and his administration should be held accountable.
Update II: I'm a bit relieved that Bush is stomping his feat and holding his breath on this issue. He could've killed this story dead by having Gonzales resign, but his petulance ensures this story goes strong into this coming cycle.
Republicans in Congress can't be too happy about this.
Josh Marshall - TPM
Bush: My aides may speak to Congress, as long as they don't have to tell the truth.
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