So the Justice Department can withhold information from Congress?

[spanone]

Is this the way this country was set up? Don't we have a system of checks and balances.

[Bluebear]

1. Checks and balances, you traitor! This is War! Remember 9/11?

And so on and so on and so on.....

[Q]

2. They can if...

...the opposition party doesn't demand accountability. Checks and balances work ONLY in a two-party system of government.

[jackstraw45]

3. Not with a rubberstamp congress....

Which is what we have had this generation.

Sad but true.

Strong words, no action (pay raises aside).

[Just Me]

4. No. The Justice Department can NOT withhold information from Congress.

http://www.house.gov/rules/95-464.htm#4

And, the Justice Department can NOT do any kind of "executive privilege" thingy. Nixon proved that.

[Spazito]

6. It will be interesting to see if bush claims executive priviledge...

because that will kick it up to the USSC in the end.

[spanone]

8. Kennedy is nailing him on the Executive Priviledge

Ashcroft obviously is guilty or he would answer the question. The non-answer is an answer. So to speak. p.s. I' watching this going on on c-span2.

[Spazito]

5. The checks and balances are supposed to be Congress and the

USSC. From the behavior of Ashcroft in front of the Senate panel today, he was telling Congress to go suck an egg and it will be interesting to see what the USSC does. The final determination on the rule of law will be the Supreme Court and they will, in essence, determine if the US is still a nation that believes in rule of law or is, de facto, a dictatorship.

[Jacobin]

7. In a fascist system of government, there is only one effective branch

which is the executive branch. The three branches of government we once had, which acted as checks and balances, no longer exist, except as a facade.

The executive branch does whatever it wants, and the other "branches" merely rubber stamp it, or, a few hold-outs whine and threaten "contempt of congress" and such. Pathetic isn't it.

[Disturbed]

9. Constitutional Crisis!!!!

The Prison Torture situation is leading toward a this.

As signers of the Geneva Convention the US Govt. is bound to it. I don't see any way around that. War Crimes were commited and sanctioned by BushCo. This is the biggest issue that I feel that Dems and Republicans have to stand up to! Congress has a sworn duty to uphold the Constitution of the USA. If they don't pursue this they are commiting treason! If the Supreme Court upholds the Pres. in this matter there may be another civil war in the USA.

[mmonk]

10. Reminds me

of Iraq under Hussein. He made the rules and had a rubber stamp type of legislative body. The only difference was in the area of hold-outs. They were eliminated.

[Senior citizen]

11. The Justice Department believes that withholding information

is a legitimate (albeit illegal) tactic in an adversarial system. They can prove it, in that that've only been caught in a tiny fraction of the cases in which they've withheld information, therefore it is, for them, a successful, winning strategy.

They have a lot of religious nuts at the top of the Justice Department, who are apparently counting on their being able to withhold information from God also. Or at least be forgiven, since it was what they had to do to win.

The just-us department has about as much credibility as SCOTUS these days.

[spanone]

12. Biden just told Ashcroft he's not allowed to NOT answer the question

If so, he would be in contempt of congress.

[Sugarbleus]

13. I'm watching the re run also...

I'm not especially savy on the workings of all the branches of our government. I get the gist and I can see that we don't have a two party system anymore, rather something akin to 1 1/2 parties.

In this hearing today, what would any of you do if you were on the panel? I for one would come out of my suit--damn the decorum.

What should these senators be doing? Why isn't there more passion involved in these proceedings? Would insisting be appropriate? How about threats?

What's left here if these senators don't succeed in getting what the panel was set up for??? It's like I'm watching a sinking ship!

Any ideas?

On edit: PS: Biden is getting hot under the collar....GO JOE!

[mmonk]

14. Vote in an additional 1/2 party?

[Disturbed]

15. Duty Under Oath!

All Congress Persons have a sworn duty to uphold, follow, defend and protect the Constitution of the USA. Many are not doing so. Some are in fact defying it. If Congress does not pursue the War Crimes of BushCo then the USA is not longer a Representative Republic but a Right Wing Dictarship and under the Constitution the people have a right to overthrow a tyranical Govt.!!!

[Sugarbleus]

16. I hear that! Geez, did you see

Ashcrofts FACE at the close of the hearings when Leahy was speaking to him about the constitution? How terrorists will come and go, but the constitution should remain long after all of them are gone.....

ASHCROFT LOOKED POSITIVELY INSANE!! What a contemptuous bass tard!!

I could actually imagine what ashcroft was thinking while being lectured to by Leahy. He probably thought, what's the difference, we are all going to be raptured soon anyway.....

OMG!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a believer in God, but Ashcroft strikes me, in "religious" terms, as being pure evil..........I'm serious. Dang! What a look. :scared: