"Stunning" SCOTUS decision on Cheney papers increases White House power

[enough]

At the Court, Inflating the White House's Power

By Joan A. Lukey
Sunday, July 4, 2004; Page B02 Washington Post

On this Fourth of July, it is somehow fitting that we are awash in a sea of important Supreme Court decisions addressing fundamental constitutional issues. Yet, the ruling that may prove to be the most critical of all seems to be garnering the least attention.

I'm referring to Cheney v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the case in which two public interest groups are striving to gain access to the records of President Bush's energy task force, chaired by Vice President Cheney. Ten days ago, the high court sent the case back to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia with instructions that essentially rewrote 50 years of judicial history.

You're probably thinking: What on earth is she talking about? In the last week and a half, we've had decisions on U.S. citizens who are considered enemy combatants and on the rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees. How could an opinion with which the justices put off making a final decision until after the presidential election possibly be so important? Well, think again. With this decision, the Supreme Court has just re-landscaped the constitutional terrain between the White House and the judiciary in a manner that seems to hand off a portion of the judiciary's power to the executive branch.

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Make no mistake: The White House's assertion of executive powers in the Cheney case is novel. No previous president, when confronted with a judicial demand for documents related to a domestic issue, has ever responded with a claim of executive power. That the Supreme Court has accepted that assertion is stunning. The majority has excused the administration from complying with the only process that assures the courts the right of review when an administration refuses to honor a subpoena and has accepted the argument that the vice president was acting under his executive powers, a realm into which the judiciary cannot intrude. Against the backdrop of this decision, the question now is this: If the vice president is ordered by the lower courts to reveal documents, will the administration honor such orders?

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[struggle4progress]

1. link please?

[papau]

2. link below

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25004-2004Jul3.html

[enough]

3. Thank you, papau. (nt)