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Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
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Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
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Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 13-47
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Headed For Disaster
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Will Health Care Reform Pass?
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Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
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Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
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Colloquium at University of Akron
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Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By Lara Jakes Jordan
Associated Press
POSTED: 03:12 p.m. EST, Nov 12, 2008
WASHINGTON: A years-long legal dispute between the White House and Congress over testimony by President Bush's aides likely will be resolved under the incoming Obama administration, former government lawyers from both political parties agreed today.
Additionally, the lawyers said Democratic President-elect Obama probably will seek to declassify more Justice Department legal memos — as well as documents across the federal government — than did the outgoing GOP administration.
Robert Litt, a former prosecutor and top Justice Department criminal lawyer during the Clinton administration, said it's safe to assume that ''a serious review of the classification system is on the table.''
Added former Reagan White House Counsel Arthur Culvahouse: ''It's simply good government for (legal memos) to be open to review as much as possible.''
The men spoke at a Brookings Institution discussion about legal policy in the Obama administration.
Both lawyers said Obama will likely broker a compromise with the Democratic-led Congress over whether to force top Bush aide Joshua Bolten and former aide Harriet Miers to testify in front of lawmakers or hand over documents about the 2006 firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
Democrats say the firings, which led to the resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last year, were politically motivated. That charge was bolstered by an internal Justice Department investigation, which in September found ''substantial evidence that partisan political considerations played a part in the removal of several of the U.S. attorneys.''
The Justice Department has maintained that Congress can't force top White House aides to testify because it infringes on the executive branch's independence.
A federal appeals court last month refused to immediately enforce the House Democrats' subpoenas, ruling that time will run out on this year's congressional session before the thorny legal skirmish could be resolved.
Litt, who is informally advising the incoming Obama administration, predicted the Democrats will move quickly next year to push forward with the subpoenas.
He called it reasonable to believe that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will ask the White House to reconsider its use of executive privilege in the dispute.
However, Litt said, Obama more likely will hammer out a compromise for Democrats to get at least some of the information they want. Litt said it would likely be done without forcing the subpoena issue that could set a long-lasting precedence for future White House dealings with Congress.
Culvahouse said he agreed that a deal likely will be stuck between the two sides in a political detente that had eluded the Bush administration.
WASHINGTON: A years-long legal dispute between the White House and Congress over testimony by President Bush's aides likely will be resolved under the incoming Obama administration, former government lawyers from both political parties agreed today.
Additionally, the lawyers said Democratic President-elect Obama probably will seek to declassify more Justice Department legal memos — as well as documents across the federal government — than did the outgoing GOP administration.
Robert Litt, a former prosecutor and top Justice Department criminal lawyer during the Clinton administration, said it's safe to assume that ''a serious review of the classification system is on the table.''
Added former Reagan White House Counsel Arthur Culvahouse: ''It's simply good government for (legal memos) to be open to review as much as possible.''
The men spoke at a Brookings Institution discussion about legal policy in the Obama administration.
Both lawyers said Obama will likely broker a compromise with the Democratic-led Congress over whether to force top Bush aide Joshua Bolten and former aide Harriet Miers to testify in front of lawmakers or hand over documents about the 2006 firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
Democrats say the firings, which led to the resignation of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last year, were politically motivated. That charge was bolstered by an internal Justice Department investigation, which in September found ''substantial evidence that partisan political considerations played a part in the removal of several of the U.S. attorneys.''
The Justice Department has maintained that Congress can't force top White House aides to testify because it infringes on the executive branch's independence.
A federal appeals court last month refused to immediately enforce the House Democrats' subpoenas, ruling that time will run out on this year's congressional session before the thorny legal skirmish could be resolved.
Litt, who is informally advising the incoming Obama administration, predicted the Democrats will move quickly next year to push forward with the subpoenas.
He called it reasonable to believe that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will ask the White House to reconsider its use of executive privilege in the dispute.
However, Litt said, Obama more likely will hammer out a compromise for Democrats to get at least some of the information they want. Litt said it would likely be done without forcing the subpoena issue that could set a long-lasting precedence for future White House dealings with Congress.
Culvahouse said he agreed that a deal likely will be stuck between the two sides in a political detente that had eluded the Bush administration.
Comments
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Kent, Oh
Posted 04:12 PM, 11/12/2008
The political motivation in the firings was over those Bush appointed U.S. Attorneys refusal to investigate voter fraud when evidence did not justify bringing a case. The Bush White House was attempting to game elections.
Posted 04:53 PM, 11/12/2008
Ha! Rich--that is rich. Obama is going to decorate the White House with Acorns and you are blaming Bush for that very same thing
Hudson, Oh
Posted 05:23 PM, 11/12/2008
Actually it is quite different Micheala. REGISTRATION fraud is what some ACORN workers are accused of. Not Obama.
Please read the article above to inform yourself.
Posted 06:02 PM, 11/12/2008
Guess if you say Acorn, the ABJ will censure you. That is why they only have one comment. Newsprint is so yesterday--that is why the Cleveland Lame Dealer is laying off all their staff.
