Bush may be able to block subpoenas even after leaving office John Byrne

Published: Thursday November 13, 2008





Print This Email This President-Elect Obama seems tepid on investigating Bush President George W. Bush appears likely to claim executive privilege in blocking subpoenas after he leaves office, according to a report Wednesday.



Three Congressional investigations into the President and his administration remain open. They include the role of Bush advisers Karl Rove and Harriet Miers in the firing of eight US attorneys, the prosecution of former Democratic Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and the torture of detainees held by US forces.



But if Congress filed fresh subpoenas, Bush could file a court petition seeking exemption under executive privilege. President Harry Truman claimed privilege in 1953, a year after he left the Oval Office, and Congress eventually backed down.



Moreover, President-Elect Barack Obama may actually stand in the way of Bush probes. All presidents generally try to preserve the powers of the presidency, and allowing release of information about his predecessor could subject Obama to unwelcome scrutiny after his own departure.



Obama has been tepid about the prospect of investigating President Bush. He told The Philadelphia Daily News that individuals needed to distinguish "between really dumb policies and policies that rise to the level of criminal activity."



"If crimes have been committed, they should be investigated," Obama said, adding, "I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt, because I think we've got too many problems we've got to solve."



Any attempt by an ex-President Bush to block release of his papers or testimony from his aides would likely go to the Supreme Court, a legal expert told the New York Times.



"The Bush administration overstepped in its exertion of executive privilege, and may very well try to continue to shield information from the American people after it leaves office," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse told the Times Wednesday.



House Democrat John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is still holding out hope.



"I intend to ensure that our outstanding subpoenas and document requests relating to the U.S. attorneys matter are enforced," Conyers told the paper. "I am hopeful that progress can be made with the coming of the new administration."



Two groups, the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First, have prepared detailed reports for Obama's team calling for a probe into abuse of detainees, the paper said.



If Bush invokes executive privilege after leaving office, no one knows what will transpire: the Supreme Court has never ruled on how far a president can block the release of his papers and testimony after leaving office.



"There is no relevant precedent on the books," an Ohio State law professor told the Times.



