Letter: White House abuses executive privilege

Monday, Aug. 6, 2007 | 7:08 a.m.

There may be a justification for some confidentiality within government offices to allow advisers and legal experts to express ideas, information and opinions privately that have to do with certain sensitive or technical topics outside the scope of public purview, without the requirement that every word be divulged for all the world to see.

But "executive privilege" is not a blanket protection for any and all communication that takes place within the offices of the executive. It is a limited concept for certain special kinds of circumstances that should never be used to shield culpable individuals from investigation or prosecution, in the event that suspicious or highly questionable acts call for the revelation of facts and transcripts.

The privileges of the executive are always and completely given by "we the people" and do not extend to the sort of secrecy and mendacity that has prevailed in this administration. "National security" is not to be confused with coverups and keeping the voters in the dark for their supposed own good.

Anyone who has been paying the least bit of attention to the sordid affairs of this Justice Department and of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales knows that there is a rank odor emanating from that area because foul play has been their byword from day one. It is clear from congressional testimony that prosecutors were dismissed for reasons that were strictly political.

Now the only issue is getting adequate information to pin the tail on the right elephant(s). There should be a public outcry of unprecedented magnitude at this point, demanding that Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolton tell the truth, under oath, regardless of who is implicated in the violation of laws and statutes. And, Mr. Gonzales must be required to fess up and bow out, post haste.

Robert B. Elliott, Las Vegas