The WH email scandal

Posted by: Sister Toldjah on April 13, 2007 at 10:22 am

Captain Ed has spot-on analysis and commentary on the latest WH scandal involving some emails that reportedly were sent from WH aides using RNC email addresses, emails that contained official government business.

Most of the commentary about this issue has come from the perpetually outraged left in the blogosphere, but I think as far as ‘our side’ goes, Ed sums up the controversy nicely and I can’t say I disagree with anything he said. Out of all the ’scandals’ that the media and other usual suspects have tried to drum up against the admin, this one seems to have the most legs but even at that, the Dems should be very careful they don’t overstep. As the Captain explains:

First, let’s acknowledge one danger presented by the investigation into the termination of the prosecutors. Congress, led by Henry Waxman, now threatens to subpoena the internal communications of the minority party. That would not just expose whatever the Democrats claim the messages contain about the firings, but the political strategies of high-level Republican Party activists. The government has no business snooping in those deliberations; in fact, it would be the Congressional equivalent of the Watergate break-in.

If the federal government can force political parties to divulge those deliberations for anything less that an explicit criminal investigation, then Big Brother has arrived — and we still have no underlying crime for this investigation. All we have is a very questionable decision to fire US Attorneys and a Keystone Kops follow-up to the ensuing criticism. The internal deliberations of political parties should remain shielded from the subpoena power of Congress or the executive branch for issues as petty as what we have here, lest we do permanent damage to our freedom of political action.

[...]

Congress should tread carefully, regardless. It should create a process which vets the provided material for just messages that pertain to the already-lame issues at hand in the investigation, and screen the rest from unnecessary exposure. In the long run, the independence of political activity for all parties outweighs the petty principles in play over the termination of the US Attorneys.

Stay tuned …

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5 Responses to “The WH email scandal”

Comments

  1. sanity says:

    Ok they are up in outrage about emails with RNC email addresses….

    But hardly ever a blip when a Democrat Senator presidential candidate uses Congressional offices to hold campaign meetings – which I believe is against the rules also.

    OBAMA PHOTO CAUSES CONTROVERSY
    Mon Apr 09 2007 14:39:38 ET

    It’s being called the equivalent of a paparazzi gotcha of Lindsay Lohan walking sideways:

    A snapshot of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and his chief political/media adviser David Axelrod — taken in the Senator’s Capitol Hill office! ROLL CALL reports: Congressional ethics rules forbid the use of federal office space for political and campaign activity.

    A spokeswoman for the Obama camp declined to comment.

    Appearance matters, agreed one Democratic strategist who isn’t affiliated with a presidential contender.

    Obama and Axelrod are old buddies whose relationship dates back years and they could have been having an innocuous conversation, the strategist noted. But it does raise some flags, he added, which is the last thing a contender in a competitive race with a polished, practiced vet such as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) wants to do. It could be seen as a rookie mistake, the consultant said.

    And as any Hollywood star or starlet could tell you, if you’re going to make a mistake, make sure there aren’t any cameras around.

    Developing…

    Link

  2. Big Mo says:

    How would this be any different from what Al “No controlling legal authority” Gore did?

    :d

  3. benning says:

    I still see no scandal here. The U.S. Attorneys serve at the President’s pleasure. He can fire their asses whenever he wishes. Bush should simply tell the Dems to bug off.

    That’s my two-cents’ worth.

  4. Drewsmom says:

    In the DIMWITS

  5. Drewsmom says:

    In the DIMWITS minds everything this President does is outrageous, wrong, against the law, an act of treason, ect, ect, ect. …… Give it a rest already.:((