Matters arising

[Roger Baker]

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Wow,
           Charlie Loving has a fantastic party last night in a big nice 
place
near campus (with like oceans of fine wine in corked bottles and real
wine glasses and a first class spread of food) and hundreds of 
distinguished guests
(from even the Texas legislature and city council) and lots of folks on 
this list
(including for example telebob and John Clay with banjo) and live bands 
and Charlie in
his silly tall hat, and tons of other neat stuff and good vibes and 
conversation.
Groovy and lots of gold stars in the party record book, assuming there 
were such
a thing.

               ***********************************************


More serious good news:

After a long drought. I finally heard some good political news,
as follows with Congress beginning to show signs of frustration at being 
treated
like a Bush doormat, so maybe the United States won't turn fascist next 
year
after all and I won't need to go underground, etc.


''We've got a dictatorial president and a Justice Department that does 
not want
Congress involved. ... Your guy's acting like he's king.''

The Boston Globe December 14, 2001

Bush halts inquiry of FBI and stirs up a firestorm

by Glen Johnson

Washington - President Bush yesterday invoked executive privilege to 
block a congressional
subpoena exploring abuses in the Boston FBI office, prompting the 
chairman of a House
committee to lambaste his fellow Republicans and triggering what one 
congressman said
is the start of ''a constitutional confrontation.''

''You tell the president there's going to be war between the president 
and this committee,
'' Dan Burton, the Indiana Republican who heads the House Government 
Reform Committee,
told a Justice Department official during what was supposed to be a 
routine prehearing
handshake.

''His dad was at a 90 percent approval rating and he lost, and the same 
thing can happen
to him,'' Burton added, jabbing his finger and glaring at Carl Thorsen, 
a deputy assistant
attorney general who was attempting to introduce a superior who was 
testifying.

''We've got a dictatorial president and a Justice Department that does 
not want Congress
involved. ... Your guy's acting like he's king.''

The searing tone continued for more than four hours from Republicans and 
Democrats,
liberals and conservatives. All objected to the order Bush signed 
Wednesday and made
public yesterday. It claimed executive privilege in refusing to hand 
over prosecutors'
memos in criminal cases, including an investigation of campaign-finance 
abuses, saying
doing so ''would be contrary to the national interest.''

Committee members said the order's sweeping language created a shift in 
presidential
policy and practices dating back to the Harding administration. They 
complained also that
it followed a pattern in which the Bush administration has limited 
access to presidential
historical records, refused to give Congress documents about the vice 
president's energy
task force, and unilaterally announced plans for military commissions 
that would try
suspected terrorists in secret.

Representative William D. Delahunt, a Quincy Democrat and former 
district attorney, said:
''This is the beginning of a constitutional confrontation. In a short 
period of time, this
Department of Justice has manifested tendencies that were of concern to 
Senate members
during the confirmation hearings for John Ashcroft as attorney general.''

The Government Reform Committee is investigating the FBI's use of 
confidential informants
while the bureau investigated New England organized crime activities.

The committee seeks information on deals FBI officials struck with 
suspected murderers
Stephen ''the Rifleman'' Flemmi and James ''Whitey'' Bulger.

It is also exploring what FBI officials, including former director J. 
Edgar Hoover, knew about
the innocence of Joseph Salvati of Massachusetts. Salvati spent 30 years 
in prison for the
1965 murder of Edward ''Teddy'' Deegan in Chelsea, but the Governor's 
Council commuted
his sentence in 1997. His conviction was overturned in January after a 
judge concluded that
  FBI agents hid testimony that would have cleared Salvati because they 
wanted to protect
an informant.

''The federal government wanted Joe Salvati to die in jail because dead 
men don't tell tales,''
said Salvati's lawyer, Victor J. Garo, at the hearing yesterday.

In buttressing the executive order, Michael E. Horowitz, chief of staff 
for the Justice
Department's criminal division, told the committee that providing 
documents about
prosecutorial decision-making could have a ''chilling effect'' on the 
advice that lower-level
attorneys may be willing to provide to top prosecutors.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Ronald Reagan invoked such a 
privilege three times,
while Bill Clinton did so on four occasions. Forms of privilege were 
also claimed in the Nixon administration during the Watergate 
investigation. Fleischer said the Justice Department has
already turned over 3,500 pages to Burton's committee, although members 
complained that
many were heavily redacted.

The Justice Department offered to provide summaries of 20 documents it 
believes would be
covered by the subpoena.

Representative Barney Frank, a Democrat from Newton, said he and Burton, 
a conservative,
had sometimes disagreed on the committee's inquiries into the Clinton 
administration. He said
the chairman's strong words for his fellow Republicans showed he had not 
merely been partisan.

Turning to Horowitz, Frank asked why the Bush administration might cover 
up mistakes made
in a previous administration. ''I don't know what bureaucratic reflex 
drives people to do this,''
the congressman said.

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<fontfamily><param>Geneva</param>Wow, 

          Charlie Loving has a fantastic party last night in a big
nice place 

near campus (with like oceans of fine wine in corked bottles and real 

wine glasses and a first class spread of food) and hundreds of
distinguished guests

(from even the Texas legislature and city council) and lots of folks
on this list

(including for example telebob and John Clay with banjo) and live
bands and Charlie in 

his silly tall hat, and tons of other neat stuff and good vibes and
conversation. 

Groovy and lots of gold stars in the party record book, assuming there
were such 

a thing.


              ***********************************************



More serious good news:


After a long drought. I finally heard some good political news,

as follows with Congress beginning to show signs of frustration at
being treated

like a Bush doormat, so maybe the United States won't turn fascist
next year 

after all and I won't need to go underground, etc.



''We've got a dictatorial president and a Justice Department that does
not want 

Congress involved. ... Your guy's acting like he's king.''


The Boston Globe December 14, 2001


Bush halts inquiry of FBI and stirs up a firestorm


by Glen Johnson


Washington - President Bush yesterday invoked executive privilege to
block a congressional 

subpoena exploring abuses in the Boston FBI office, prompting the
chairman of a House 

committee to lambaste his fellow Republicans and triggering what one
congressman said 

is the start of ''a constitutional confrontation.''


''You tell the president there's going to be war between the president
and this committee,

'' Dan Burton, the Indiana Republican who heads the House Government
Reform Committee, 

told a Justice Department official during what was supposed to be a
routine prehearing 

handshake.


''His dad was at a 90 percent approval rating and he lost, and the
same thing can happen 

to him,'' Burton added, jabbing his finger and glaring at Carl
Thorsen, a deputy assistant 

attorney general who was attempting to introduce a superior who was
testifying.


''We've got a dictatorial president and a Justice Department that does
not want Congress 

involved. ... Your guy's acting like he's king.''


The searing tone continued for more than four hours from Republicans
and Democrats, 

liberals and conservatives. All objected to the order Bush signed
Wednesday and made 

public yesterday. It claimed executive privilege in refusing to hand
over prosecutors' 

memos in criminal cases, including an investigation of
campaign-finance abuses, saying 

doing so ''would be contrary to the national interest.''


Committee members said the order's sweeping language created a shift
in presidential 

policy and practices dating back to the Harding administration. They
complained also that 

it followed a pattern in which the Bush administration has limited
access to presidential 

historical records, refused to give Congress documents about the vice
president's energy 

task force, and unilaterally announced plans for military commissions
that would try 

suspected terrorists in secret.


Representative William D. Delahunt, a Quincy Democrat and former
district attorney, said: 

''This is the beginning of a constitutional confrontation. In a short
period of time, this 

Department of Justice has manifested tendencies that were of concern
to Senate members 

during the confirmation hearings for John Ashcroft as attorney
general.''


The Government Reform Committee is investigating the FBI's use of
confidential informants 

while the bureau investigated New England organized crime activities.


The committee seeks information on deals FBI officials struck with
suspected murderers 

Stephen ''the Rifleman'' Flemmi and James ''Whitey'' Bulger.


It is also exploring what FBI officials, including former director J.
Edgar Hoover, knew about 

the innocence of Joseph Salvati of Massachusetts. Salvati spent 30
years in prison for the 

1965 murder of Edward ''Teddy'' Deegan in Chelsea, but the Governor's
Council commuted 

his sentence in 1997. His conviction was overturned in January after a
judge concluded that

 FBI agents hid testimony that would have cleared Salvati because they
wanted to protect 

an informant.


''The federal government wanted Joe Salvati to die in jail because
dead men don't tell tales,'' 

said Salvati's lawyer, Victor J. Garo, at the hearing yesterday.


In buttressing the executive order, Michael E. Horowitz, chief of
staff for the Justice 

Department's criminal division, told the committee that providing
documents about 

prosecutorial decision-making could have a ''chilling effect'' on the
advice that lower-level 

attorneys may be willing to provide to top prosecutors.


White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Ronald Reagan invoked such a
privilege three times, 

while Bill Clinton did so on four occasions. Forms of privilege were
also claimed in the Nixon administration during the Watergate
investigation. Fleischer said the Justice Department has 

already turned over 3,500 pages to Burton's committee, although
members complained that 

many were heavily redacted.


The Justice Department offered to provide summaries of 20 documents it
believes would be 

covered by the subpoena.


Representative Barney Frank, a Democrat from Newton, said he and
Burton, a conservative, 

had sometimes disagreed on the committee's inquiries into the Clinton
administration. He said 

the chairman's strong words for his fellow Republicans showed he had
not merely been partisan.


Turning to Horowitz, Frank asked why the Bush administration might
cover up mistakes made

in a previous administration. ''I don't know what bureaucratic reflex
drives people to do this,'' 

the congressman said.</fontfamily>
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