It has been a busy day. Sometimes making a living gets in the way of watching those we chose. I was just over at the house judiciary site and find that there are more documents to review than I recall seeing last evening. Oh well, they will give me something to read when I wake up in the middle of the night wondering what would possess the President to think his staff can resist subpoenas when Clinton couldn't. After all this isn't a national security matter. It is purely political, with more than a hint of obstruction of justice.
If you are interested back in February, 2002, Michael Dorf wrote A BRIEF HISTORY OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE, FROM GEORGE WASHINGTON THROUGH DICK CHENEY. It is interesting reading. As Nixon and Clinton found out executive privilege is not absolute. Dorf noted that in United State v. Nixon,418 U.S. 683 (1974)
The Justices concluded that the executive privilege is not absolute. Where the President asserts only a generalized need for confidentiality, the privilege must yield to the interests of the government and defendants in a criminal prosecution. Accordingly, the Court ordered President Nixon to divulge the tapes and records. Two weeks after the Court's decision, Nixon complied with the order. Four days after that, he resigned.
