Executive Priviledge Throwdown

[osoab]

Looks like the remainder of the week is shaping up nicely...

First this.

Obama asserts executive privilege ahead of Holder contempt vote (http://thehill.com/homenews/house/233745-obama-asserts-executive-privilege-in-effort-to-thwart-contempt-vote)


President Obama on Wednesday asserted executive privilege over documents sought by a House panel ahead of its vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

It's the first time Obama has used executive privilege since taking office. A White House aide said the president had gone longer without asserting the privilege in a congressional dispute than any other president in the last three decades.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said his panel was "evaluating" a letter from Deputy Attorney General James Cole asserting the privilege that arrived minutes before Issa's committee was to begin contempt proceedings.

....

In a letter to the president requesting the executive privilege, Holder detailed the efforts he said his department made to satisfy the House panel.


“We consider the Department’s accommodations … to have been extraordinary,” Holder wrote. “Despite these accommodations, however, the Committee scheduled a vote on its contempt resolution. At that point, the Department offered an additional accommodation that would fully address the Committee’s remaining questions …The Committee, however, has not accepted the Department’s offer and has instead elected to proceed with its contempt vote.”



Then this a few hours later.

House panel votes 23-17 to place Holder in contempt of Congress (http://thehill.com/homenews/house/233763-house-panel-votes-to-place-holder-in-contempt-of-congress)


http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/pictures/picture-5.jpg (http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)
Faster And Furiouser: Darrell Issa Strikes Back, Holds Eric Holder In Contempt (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/faster-and-furiouser-darrell-issa-strikes-back-holds-eric-holder-contempt)


a little more commentary from ZH

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/pictures/picture-5.jpg (http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)
What Is Executive Privilege? (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/what-executive-privilege)


http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/06/speak%20no%20evil_0.jpg

There has been much talk today about Obama's use of the "executive privilege" yet few are familiar with the details of this relatively unknown presidential option. The AP sheds much needed light on this practice: perhaps the most fitting, to the constitutional expert president, is that the "privilege" isn't in the Constitution nor has been clearly defined by the courts. In other words - just the kind of loophole that one needs to mask the fact that the very person tasked with imposing justice is himself guilty of performing just the opposite. Yet Obama has only used it once (so far) during his tenure as president. Dubya used it six times, Bush Sr used it once also. Slick Willie however takes the cake with 14 cases of executive privilege during his 8 years on top.


So looks like Holder got what he wanted. So where does this latest drama take us? Is this just more of circuses to keep these stories out of publik conversation?


NSA: It Would Violate Your Privacy to Say if We Spied on You (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/06/nsa-spied/)


CFR & U.S. Army Chief of Staff: Use Army for Domestic “Law” Enforcement (Martial Law) (http://www.federaljack.com/?p=175536)

[General of Darkness]

WHITE HOUSE INSIDER: Obama Owns Fast and Furious Now (UPDATED) by Ulsterman (http://theulstermanreport.com/author/ulsterman/) on June 20, 2012 with 77 Comments in News (http://theulstermanreport.com/category/news/)


A quick update from a longtime D.C. political operative who indicated two years ago the Obama administration was facing a serious political crisis rooted within the Department of Justice. With a contempt vote now looming over Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, and Barack Obama’s use of Executive Privilege in refusing to comply with Congressional requests for related Fast and Furious documents, – that political crisis foretold to readers of the UlstermanReport has now arrived in full.
http://justpiper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/barry-eric-300x300.jpg
I’m watching the news reports same as you. Made a number of calls back to my people in D.C. Getting many different versions of things but they all share the same thing and that is a real sense of urgency and shock at a couple of things. One is the use of Executive Privilege by the Obama White House. That makes a direct tie to the administration now. The perception of that is now the reality of it. Obama owns Fast and Furious. He can’t walk that back. It’s his. He is telling Congress he won’t hand over docs. The line in the sand was placed there by the president himself. That alone has people really scrambling now to figure out how deep this thing could go. Will it hurt the re-election. Will there be blowback against the party. Basically all the things I told you were concerns before have now become concerns. And some of them I told myself months and well over a year ago to prepare. Some listened. Some didn’t. Poor bastards who didn’t.

Second, something just now breaking out is Holder walked back a Blame Bush statement he gave to Congress just last week. Fast and Furious was nothing like anything the Bush boys did. Bush era program was much smaller and had the full cooperation of the Mexican authorities. Holder lied when he attempted to link the two and now he is already trying to correct that testimony from one week ago. This kind of sloppy mistake is a clear sign he’s in big trouble and really feeling the heat. It’s also a signal to party leaders and the White House he is falling apart on this.
Obama is saying to Congress “come and get me if you dare”. Now we gotta see if Republicans dare. It’s an election year so the White House is banking on enough Republicans in the leadership to not want to look like they are beating up too bad on Obama. They fear the race card. Part of me says they are a bunch of spineless pukes for that fear and the political operative in me understands the concern. The White House is more than willing to push that race issue much farther than we have seen already. You know what I’m talking about there.
Read more in News (http://theulstermanreport.com/category/news/)
« Russian President Dominates Weaker Obama (http://theulstermanreport.com/2012/06/19/russian-president-dominates-weaker-obama/)
REMEMBER BRIAN TERRY IN NOVEMBER » (http://theulstermanreport.com/2012/06/20/remember-brian-terry-in-november/)

So now we wait to see what the Republicans do. Contempt vote? How hard are they gonna fight the Executive Privilege order? Are they willing to make this a presidential election year issue? Word back to me is some are. Some don’t even care about the politics of it. They are pissed and disgusted by what this administration and Eric Holder have done. It’s a fight of principle vs politics within the Republican Party right now.
Lastly I want to give a nod to the Old Man. This entire Fast and Furious thing was a slow drip not so long ago. He made a push on some folks who in turn had a few meetings on the Hill and got this thing going again. At least he was a big help in that. Not sure if you know but there’s been another health setback for him and we probably won’t hear from them for a bit. I’ll update you on that situation as soon as I know anything more. It’s not hopeless but it’s not good. Say some prayers for him. He really wants to make it to the next inauguration.
I’m on the road but like I said, am keeping contact back in D.C. If there is anything new on FnF will clue you in when I can.

-WHI
_______________
UPDATE: This follow up from WHI is now included in this original report:
Received in-house word regarding “scrambling” at the White House. Something has them very spooked. I hinted at this to you last week regarding the meeting that had staff coming out looking very concerned. The Grassley message had to have shook them up. Told Issa has been repeating comparisons to Watergate to staff and fellow House members. White House must be aware Issa and Co. might have something that could inflict a hell of a lot of damage.
Dem leadership sent out signals to staff to prepare for necessary insulation from the White House to limit damage to individual campaigns. Black Caucus member engaged in a 10 minute “explosive” rant against someone from Issa’s office following a recess. Some Dems getting openly fearful and aggressive. Chaffetz had “face to face” with one of them. He is proving very willing to aggressively engage the opposition at any time.
This is far from won but recent events are proving to be damn favorable to those of us who want to defeat the president.
Don’t get over confident though. This administration is gonna fight this hard.
I’ve been called back. That indicates this has become real important real fast to a lot of real important people.

-WHI
___________________
UPDATE #2:
This afternoon the House Oversight Committee voted in favor of a contempt charge being issued against Obama Attorney General Eric Holder.

[osoab]

Interesting timing with a new WHI report.

[Book]

http://www.filteredmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Obama_Transparency.jpg

[osoab]

Timing seems convenient for SCOTUS decision on Obummer Care.

Holder contempt vote to be held Thursday: reports (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/reports-holder-contempt-vote-held-thursday-234252809.html;_ylt=AmsRebBlE2pYabuWqBaAuZWs0NUE;_ ylu=X3oDMTNpazIyajBoBG1pdAMEcGtnAzZhOWM2OWMwLTRmMG YtMzMzMC1hNmQ0LTYzM2YzNzRiOWYxNwRwb3MDNARzZWMDbG5f TGF0ZXN0TmV3c19nYWwEdmVyAzZjOTYzZWIxLWJmMjAtMTFlMS 1iZDlmLTgyOWI5YzEwYWUxOA--;_ylv=3)

[osoab]

House to authorize civil court action in coming Holder contempt vote (http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/235013-house-to-authorize-civil-court-action-against-holder-along-with-contempt-resolution)




When the House votes Thursday on a resolution finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, it will also consider a related resolution that gives the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee the authority to seek civil court judgments enforcing subpoenas against Holder.
The subpoena resolution, H.Res. 706 (http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/flooraction/jan2012/hres706.pdf), gives that committee the authority to "initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings in any federal court of competent jurisdiction" to seek judgments affirming that Holder must "comply with any subpoena" related to the House Republicans' investigation of the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation.

The resolution gives House Republicans another tool to pressure Holder and the Obama administration to hand over Fast and Furious documents that the GOP has been seeking for more than a year. Republicans have charged that Fast and Furious allowed guns to leave the United States, some of which may have been used in the shooting of an American border agent.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and other Republicans have indicated that civil action against Holder could be needed if he continues to block access to Fast and Furious documents.

In the meantime, the contempt resolution (http://thehill.com/images/stories/blogs/flooraction/jan2012/issaholderreport.pdf) against Holder already makes a criminal referral in the case to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. It instructs the House to certify the committee's report documenting Holder's refusal to hand over documents to the U.S. Attorney for D.C., "to the end that Mr. Holder be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law."
House Republicans have repeated that votes against Holder will not be needed if the Obama administration agreed to release the documents they seek. However, the administration said last week that it was asserting executive privilege over those documents.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House Rules Committee is expected to approve a rule for floor debate and voting on both the contempt resolution and the civil court resolution, setting up votes on Thursday.

[Ares]

You think Holder is being paid / threatened enough to take the fall for Obummer on this?

[osoab]

I think the Exec Privilege usage was to protect Obummer and the WH staff (Jarrett) that came up with the plans.

Holder is just the name of the day since he was the one that testified.

[Silver Rocket Bitches!]

Valerie Jarrett is probably throwing shit right about now.

[collector]

You think Holder is being paid / threatened enough to take the fall for Obummer on this?

If he is - I'm sure another cushy gov't job is waiting for him (probably in Chicago) just like Rahm Emanuelle got. Either that or Mr Arrogant will just pardon him - nothing would surprise me with this gang.

[Goatman]

Valerie Jarrett is probably throwing shit right about now.

Yeah. Well, monkeys will do that from time to time.

[collector]

Valerie Jarrett is probably throwing shit right about now.

Had to add a visual ;D

3026

[osoab]

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/pictures/picture-5.jpg (http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)
DOJ Says It Won't Prosecute DOJ Head Holder (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/doj-says-it-wont-prosecute-doj-head-holder)


Submitted by Tyler Durden (http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden) on 06/29/2012 - 15:33 Darrell Issa (http://www.zerohedge.com/category/tags/darrell-issa) Department of Justice (http://www.zerohedge.com/category/tags/department-justice) House Oversight Committee (http://www.zerohedge.com/category/tags/house-oversight-committee) Tom Cruise (http://www.zerohedge.com/category/tags/tom-cruise) White House (http://www.zerohedge.com/taxonomy/term/223)

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2012/06/holder%20holding%20head_0_0.jpg

How should we say this: we are shocked, shocked, that the DOJ won't prosecute itself.
BREAKING: DOJ says it won't prosecute Attorney General Holder after the GOP-led House voted to hold him in criminal contempt of Congress - Fox
And now, back to the far more important news of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes divorcing (http://www.tmz.com/2012/06/29/tom-cruise-katie-holmes-divorce-custody-suri/).

[gunDriller]

everything's neat & tidy in Barry's delusional universe.

the calm before the shit-storm ?

[osoab]

everything's neat & tidy in Barry's delusional universe.

the calm before the shit-storm ?

:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjMkqFmRGL4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjMkqFmRGL4

I