NATIONAL JOURNAL: Bush Blocked Justice Department Investigation (07/18/06)

I wanted to reposit something on the Gonzales revelation that Bush himself put an end to the Justice Department's investigation of the NSA wiretapping programs.

This is clearly not just a "Bush stops another investigation of his NSA program" story, although that is how it largely seems to be being presented in the papers.

Rather, as lots of others have pointed out, the Justice Department investigation WASN'T concerned with the constitutionality of the domestic spying program(s) per se, but rather it was an INTERNAL justice department investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility that was charged with making sure that the AG and others had not acted improperly in advising Bush about the constitutionality of the programs. This is kind of routine investigation is appartently the sole function of the Office Professional Responsibility. This is what these bureaucrats do. It was set up after Watergate to investigate all "allegations of misconduct involving department attorneys that relate to the exercise of their authority to investigate, litigate, or provide legal advice." And, according to Waas, at least, this internal investigation wasn't seeking any "secret documents" that were not already available to senior justice department officials.

So -- Bush personally quashes an internal Justice Department investigation into the question of whether or not he received good legal advice from the only folks who officially can give him legal advice. I guess this is how it's going to go: The Bush regime appears more and more like a gambit on behalf of one segement of the ruling classes. For it to work Bush must never EVER receive official legal advice that even suggests any of his grabs for power might run contrary to the constitution, because, when all has been said and done, Bush's argument won't be principled ("I did it because I truly believe in the 'unitary executive'"), and it won't be Nixionan ("When the President does it that means it's not illegal."). Rather, they've bet the house on plausible deniability ("I got me some bad legal advice from the chief egg-head lawyers. Sorry. Heh heh.")

This clearly is Bush's "Saturday Night Massacre" -- and it goes on almost entirely without public notice and outrage. I guess it's up to some career Justice Department folks to do some digging and leaking.


NATIONAL JOURNAL: Bush Blocked Justice Department Investigation (07/18/06):

"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee today that President Bush personally halted an internal Justice Department investigation into whether Gonzales and other senior department officials acted within the law in approving and overseeing the administration's domestic surveillance program."

[snip]

The statement by Gonzales stunned some senior Justice Department officials, who were led to believe that Gonzales himself had made the decision to deny the clearances after consulting with intelligence agencies whose activities would be scrutinized, a senior federal law enforcement official said in an interview.

[snip]

Jesus - the same clearance was immediately given to Justice Department folks charged with investigating leaks about the NSA programs. Fuck...I guess we won't be hearing from any career Justice folks after all. Oh well, thus ends the rule of law.

H. Marshall Jarrett, OPR's lead counsel, wrote Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, on April 21, 2006, to point out that while OPR was denied security clearances to conduct its inquiry, requests from prosecutors and FBI agents tasked with investigating who first leaked details of the NSA surveillance program to the New York Times were "promptly granted."