http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/17212.htmlClashes between White House, Congress could get bumpy
By Michael Doyle | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — President Bush and the Democratic-led Congress are on a collision course over White House secrets, a sensitive conflict that's as old as the country itself.
Bush has invoked his war on terrorism to claim unprecedented and virtually unlimited executive powers, unchecked by Congress, the courts and at times even the Constitution.
He's declared that he's free to interpret or ignore laws as he chooses. He's refused to hand over his aides' e-mails to congressional investigators and has declined to let administration officials testify to congressional committees. He nearly provoked a mutiny in his Justice Department by asserting a right to spy on Americans without first getting warrants.
On Thursday, lawmakers revealed that Vice President Dick Cheney has refused to let the government's own Information Security Oversight Office inspect his office for a security audit. Cheney, a champion of vast executive authority, said his office is "not an entity within the executive branch." When the oversight office persisted, said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Cheney's staffers tried to eliminate its funding.
Even the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguably the nation's most conservative, balked last week at Bush's claim that he has the "inherent constitutional authority" to declare suspected terrorists "enemy combatants" and imprison them indefinitely. "The president," the court said, "claims power that far exceeds that granted him by the Constitution."
Now, in this stormy environment, the White House faces a June 28 deadline for responding to congressional subpoenas concerning the firings of nine U.S. attorneys last year. On Thursday, congressional investigators approved new subpoenas over the president's warrantless spying program. Also on Thursday, Congress ratcheted up pressure on Cheney over his claim that he isn't subject to the rules that protect classified information.
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