Wednesday, March 21, 2007

White House Counsel Fred Fielding is a Clever Bastard!"

In responding to the uproar in Congress about the blatant politicization of the Justice Department, President Bush has relied on an advisor who is truly experienced in managing a White House crisis. Fred Fielding served as deputy to White House counsel John W. Dean III under President Richard Nixon and was the first to tell Dean about the Watergate break-in. Yet Fielding was one of the few to emerge untainted by Watergate. In fact, he was suspected, wrongly, of being “Deep Throat,” the inside source who helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the scandal.

The President is going to “hang tough.” He has refused to allow any White House official to voluntarily testify under oath and he says that they will defy all subpoenas. This White House is re-fighting Watergate with a new strategy. Fielding learned from his early experience that it is better to give up all the documents (tapes) and then claim there is no need for testimony under oath. Even the most naive person can recognize that without sworn testimony there is no way to hold a witness accountable. The Republican talking points have been distributed: “IT’S JUST POLITICS!” This is the Nixon strategy reborn. The administration will delay, obfuscate and then use the courts to evade producing the requested witnesses. Fielding’s strategy just might work. When the case gets to the U.S. Supreme Court, it is very likely that the majority of Justices will find in favor of the executive branch. Remember, since the time of Bush v. Gore the Court has moved further right. Still, the Democrats are doing the right thing. The more pressure Congress can assert against the White House, the less time the White House gremlins have for mischief. Perhaps they can be kept so busy they will have less time to work on destroying America and the rest of the world.

Best,

Savant