Common Cause Blog

FCC Investigating Pentagon Propaganda Campaign

We have a new update on the Pentagon Propaganda story we previously reported on here and here.

Congressional Quarterly is reporting today that the Federal Communications Commission is investigating this matter. The story says, "The FCC is looking into whether TV networks and certain on-air analysts broke the law by failing to disclose to viewers that the apparently independent analysts were in fact part of a Pentagon-funded information campaign, a spokesman for the commission said."

Snubbery

Karl Rove, long time senior advisor to George W. Bush, is speaking later today at a Sacramento forum. He maintains a high profile presence on Fox News Channel as a commentator. Sometimes, he even takes questions.

Yet Rove refuses to answer a congressional subpoena or answer questions under oath about his role in the firing of U.S. Attorneys and the politicization of the Department of Justice, despite a recent court ruling that dismissed the premise of his claim to "absolute immunity."

It's absurd both that Rove continues to thumb his nose at Congress with no legal grounding whatsoever and that Congress has yet to fully assert its authority, as a coequal branch of government, by compelling Rove to testify. We've called for a full vote of contempt by the House, we've called for inherent contempt, but the bottom line is: if Congress wants to learn how the Department of Justice was turned into a political weapon for the White House, if it wants to restore the core values of our democracy, if it wants to join us in Recapturing the Flag, Congress. Must. Do. Something.

We know that some folks want to see it happen -- they want accountability -- but with a week before Congress leaves town for the season, will enough of them step up?

Two hundred twenty one years later, a moment of distress

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), September 12, 2008:

It is a sad fact, as we approach Constitution Day next week, that for the past seven and a half years, and especially since 9/11, the Bush administration has treated the Constitution and the rule of law with a disrespect that I think we've never seen before in the history of this country. By now the public can be excused for being almost numb to new revelations to government wrongdoing and overreaching.

Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), September 12, 2008:

I certainly was there for so many of the abuses, and was frustrated by the lack of congressional spine to stand up to this administration, particularly some of the veteran members of Congress who'd been there for years and years, and worked so hard to build this country to the status that we enjoyed at the turn of the century. I don't have a good answer for why that is; I guess we're all culpable - media, Congress, citizens alike - for not expressing more outrage.

It has been a tough few years for "We the People," as Sen. Russell Feingold (D-WI) and former Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) noted Friday on a teleconference held by Common Cause. The Bush administration has sidestepped the rule of law, thumbed its nose at congressional oversight and attempted to overwhelm the separation of powers, leaving our Constitution - as well as our democracy and our standing in the world - on a precipice.

September 17 is Constitution Day, the anniversary of the first signing of that sacred founding document 221 years ago, a critical moment not only to relearn the content of the Constitution, but to fight for it - to make sure that its laws and values do not continue to erode.

Fired U.S. attorneys, warrantless wiretaps, government-sanctioned torture, "executive privilege" - how did we get here?

Day 1 - RNC

September 1- Hurricane Gustav may have blown away the Republican National Convention's tightly constructed agenda, limiting opening day to all but the essentials, but Common Cause was still very much in St. Paul to bring our message of reform.

Today, we ran a full page ad on the "Recapture the Flag" campaign in the Minneapolis Star Tribune's special Republican National Convention section. Check it out here. The "Democracy in Distress" ad, with the upside down flag and demand for a return to constitutional principles and the rule of law, certainly was a bold complement to the Target ad with their awfully cute dog reminding everyone to register to vote. There's little doubt the ad made its nonpartisan and timely point to thousands of Republican delegates and curious Minnesotans.

Wexler hits inherent contempt, abuse of power

This morning, we ran a full page ad on the back of the Denver Post convention section called "Democracy in Distress." Check it out here.

This same morning, Rep. Robert Wexler spoke at the Progressive Central forum in Denver and if I hadn't known better, I'd have thought he was reading from the ad and from our Recapture the Flag campaign agenda to restore the rule of law and the Constitution. Apologies for the shoddy video quality, but it's worth watching just to hear Wexler hitting the bulls eye on torture, executive privilege, inherent contempt for Karl Rove, and other examples of executive abuses of power that should not stand as precedent for future administrations.

I handed Wexler a copy of the ad after he spoke, and he was pretty excited by it. Here's hoping we find a few more like Wexler in Congress ready to join us and take back our democracy.

On a tangential note, Denver has been enlightening, worthwhile and sometimes fun, but I am ready for a full night's sleep again.

Now, Rove

A big question of late is whether Karl Rove will be compelled to testify before Congress on his role in the politicization of the Department of Justice, specifically in the investigation of Don Siegelman. Rove has claimed an expanded version of executive privilege: "absolute immunity" from congressional subpoena.

Today a big decision undercuts Rove's entire argument. U.S. District Court judge John Bates (a Republican appointee, notably) ruled against Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten in their claim of executive privilege. It determines that Bolten and Miers must comply with the subpoenas and appear before Congress.

But the bigger impact may be on Rove. Bates eviscerates Rove's entire justification for ignoring the congressional subpoena, citing that "absolute immunity" has no basis in case law and was rejected in the case of--you guessed it--U.S. v. [Richard] Nixon. emptywheel explains further:

But with respect to Rove, this decision makes it very clear that Rove must show up to testify--and (unless the White House invokes executive privilege with respect to the HJC subpoena of Rove, which they haven't done) he must answer all questions. That's because the sole basis the White House gave to justify Rove blowing off HJC's subpoena was "absolute immunity"--the White House did not invoke executive privilege with regards to this subpoena.

And here's the key line and quote from Bates' decision:

The Executive cannot identify a single judicial opinion that recognizes absolute immunity for senior presidential advisors in this or any other context. That simple yet critical fact bears repeating: the asserted absolute immunity claim here is entirely unsupported by existing case law. In fact, there is Supreme Court authority that is all but conclusive on this question and that powerfully suggests that such advisors do not enjoy absolute immunity. The Court therefore rejects the Executive�s claim of absolute immunity for senior presidential aides.

In other words, the oversight role and strength of Congress has been vindicated, and now they must apply it. Karl Rove must appear before Congress to testify immediately. He has offered no justification for his absence that stands up to the rule of law. And Miers and Bolten must appear immediately, too.*

Congress goes on recess for the whole month of August. They leave this weekend. I say: let's do the hearings tomorrow. The rush home to raise reelection money can wait a day so that we can restore the rule of law here in our democracy, or so one would hope.

We'll have a statement out soon.

*UPDATE (or NOTE): I should note that, frankly, this White House has shown itself masterful at stalling tactics to drag out oversight proceedings. I'd expect nothing less this time. But it's all the more important that Congress show some real urgency in holding these hearings, and fast-track any judicial proceedings and hurdles that the White House throws up. Time is short but the institutional impact of an executive branch that abuses its power and defies the Constitution will be long.

State Secrets hearing today

Our intern Grace Campion put together this brief on today's House hearing on state secrets.

At 12:30pm today, the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will be holding a hearing on HR 5607, the State Secret Protection Act of 2008.

Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and the Judiciary committee members, of late, have kept busy defining and redefining the role they should play in keeping tabs on the Executive Branch. This is the latest effort put forth by Rep. Nadler (D-NY) along with his three co-sponsors, Rep. Petri (R-WI), Conyers, and Rep. Delahunt (D-MA) to curb the powers the President has abused in the name of national security.

The legal precedent was set by President Jefferson during Aaron Burr's trial for treason. In contention was a letter between the President and General Wilkinson said to include sensitive information that would be a risk to national security if divulged.