President Bush, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Democrats in Congress, asserted executive privilege Thursday and rejected the Democrats demands for documents as part of the political warfare the Democrats have waged since they gained control of congress.
White House Counsel Fred Fielding in his letter to the Senate
explained Bush's position on executive privilege this way: "For the President to perform his constitutional duties, it is imperative that he receive candid and unfettered advice and that free and open discussions and deliberations occur among his advisers and between those advisers and others within and outside the Executive Branch."
This "bedrock presidential prerogative" exists, in part, to protect the president from being compelled to disclose such communications to Congress, Fielding argued. And he questioned whether the documents and testimony the committees seeking are critically important to their investigations.
According to a recent Gallop poll, the percentage of Americans with a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress is at 14%, the lowest in Gallup's history of this measure -- and the lowest of any of the 16 institutions tested in this year's Confidence in Institutions survey. It is also one of the lowest confidence ratings for any institution tested over the last three decades.
So Democrats send more subpoenas, it can only help drive your poll numbers down! Bush, now you need to pardon Scooter Libby!
