White House invokes executive privilege on EPA investigation regarding California's vehicle emission standards

"I don't think we've had a situation like this since Richard Nixon was president," Rep. Henry A. Waxman said yesterday after the Bush administration invoked executive privilege to refuse to turn over subpoenaed documents in an investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to deny California permission to implement its own vehicle emission standards.

Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) was referring to the fact that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was deciding on whether to bring contempt-of-Congress proceedings against EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and Susan Dudley, administrator of regulatory affairs in the White House Office of Management and Budget, for refusing to honor the subpoena.

In asserting executive privilege in the EPA inquiry, the administration made public a copy of a letter sent to the president by Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey saying that releasing internal documents "could inhibit the candor of future deliberations among the president's staff."

EPA spokesman Tim Lyons said the agency had provided the committee with more than 7,000 documents and devoted 2,200 hours of staff time to responding to requests for information, and he called it "disappointing" that the committee had decided to "politicize environmental regulations."

"We don't know whether this privilege that's being asserted is valid or not," Waxman said yesterday, and he is deciding what the committee's next move will be.

-- Tony Pierce

Photo: Getty Images

Comments

[John Bailo]

Henry Waxman? Oh yeah, the guy who has been blocking mass transit in Beverly Hills for decades. And by the way, what is the average "energy efficiency" of homes in 98210? And how many cars per person does Waxman's constituency have? And how big are each of them? And...can you say "Libocrite"?

[Liquidity]

1. Any decision that says California is subject to the same Federal laws and regulation as the rest of the country is a good one.

2. Waxman is a partisan jacka$$ with the assigned mission of fabricating the appearance of scandal to Democrat advantage during an election year. It would be nice if your erstwhile reporter, rather than merely quoting Waxman's brayish sound bite, were to do some actual work on the "story" in the tradition of professional journalism. For example, he might of determined what documents were requested in Waxman's subpoena, which have and have not been delivered. Having done so, he might have evaluated the legitimacy of Waxman's demand for those that have not been delivered and provided some evaluative opinion of whether Waxman's efforts are legitimate Congressional oversight or more in the category of political harrassment. Such an effort would be called journalism. This piece barely qualifies as spin.

3. Notes of discussions and correspondence between the President's staff are and should be covered by executive privilege and Congress once respected this boundary by seldom asking for that which they were not entitled. Now, all a grandstanding Congressman like Waxman has to do is to demand information to which he or she knows he is not entitled, and when the information is refused, call his neighborhood spinmaster.

4. Had your "reporter" actually done journalism rather than spin, I might not have like to hear what he had to say, but I would have respected it. But by combining being partisan with being lazy, he has denied the public an opportunity to be informed. He has similary denied his constituents an opportunity to read a piece titled "California Congressman wastes taxpayer money harassing lame duck President." Puff pieces like this are an embarassment.

5. The ultimate embarassment is that the closing quotation from Waxman passes unchallenged. The fact that Waxman "does not know" is why it is called Executive Privilege. The second Waxman himself is in a position to pass judgment on "validity", executive privilege no longer exists.

[Paul Stewart]

This is just to hide the truth, which is that the White House directed this whole thing. I can't imagine it otherwise. Environmental issues a secret? Yea right.....

[BobB]

I'm glad to see that the President is standing up to those morons in Congress.

[Rich]

Whatever :roll: Read what you will about this, it's just more Democratic politics, I guess the writer didnt read the statemt "The agency had provided the committee with more than 7,000 documents and devoted 2,200 hours of staff time to responding to requests for information". Uh yeah.

Heny Waxman is a piece of garbage demagogue, and this is just more typical "I hate George Bush" politics. Get a life.

[cody mccall]

This type of contemptuous and contemptible behavior won't stop until next January. I doubt there's anything really effective Waxman or anybody else can do to force the loyal Bushies to comply with Congressional demands. By the same token, I don't know what THEY can do to California if it decides to go ahead with their emissions standards. If I were The Gubornator, I'd do what was best for California--and this country--and screw the Bushies.

[gbc]

"The Atomic War Baby say President Bush has a small brian yet AWB does not even know when to use capital letters.
Ignorance on display by a liberal yet once again.
Posted by: Jim H | June 22, 2008 at 10:13 AM"

Jim, the word is spelled B - R - A - I - N.
Pot, meet Kettle. Kettle, Pot.

[Bob Davey]

Angry as hell! Bush has turned the EPA into the exact opposite of it's original purpose. It is now the "Anti-Environment Protection Agency".He is "dictating" to OUR state that WE cannot have cleaner air. It is an "order" from OUR president. I think California should see this for the "oppression" this so obviously is, tell him where he can stick it, and continue on with the process of making OUR state a cleaner place to live for all of us. Also,our governor needs to step in and speak out, RATHER LOUDLY, about this issue.
There needs to be an organized and unified movement to remove this arrogant political "pirate" from his high horse but as of yet, there is none. That's the only way he's ever going to pay for the damage he's inflicted upon OUR "justice system", OUR country and OUR environment. Individually, we can only be angry and that's just not enough.

[John H Kennedy]

Why doesn’t Obama CALL FOR IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS?

“Obama said there is “little doubt” that the Bush Administration, with the cooperation of major telecommunications companies, “has abused [its] authority and undermined the Constitution”

OK… SO WHY THE HELL HASN’t OBAMA Called for the Democratic Congress to live up to their Oath to Protect Our Constitution
AND AT LEAST HOLD IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS BEFORE THE ELECTION?

I am a 43 yr Democratic Voter and Obama delegate

BUT I AM STARTING TO GET ANGRY……………………………………..
Currently my anger is directed to our Congress……………………

CONGRESS NEEDS TO
HOLD IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS
NOW!!!!

[Terry Hughes]

"You know that one guy at work who always tells the same joke? If the executive privilege thing were a joke, the White House would be that guy. But it's not funny anymore. Never was."

Executive privilege is an essential and valid constitutional doctine asserted by every single president and recognized repeatedly by the Supreme Court - just like the First Amendment protection of free speech. Is the media's repeated assertion of First Amendment protection also "a joke" that is not funny anymore and never was? Only a simple minded idiot thinks (and only a charlatan knowingly asserts) that the presidency or the federal government as a whole could continue functioning without broad executive privilege. Which is Waxman: Idiot or charlatan? Does it matter?

you really should figure out where you stand. you complain when people talk about states' rights and complain when states' rights are abridged. pick a side.

[Bob Davey]

We spend thousands of taxpayer dollars and countless manhours to acquire knowledge about how pollution is affecting our health and our environment. Then our president attempts to lock it away in a vault somewhere so nobody can ever find it. He really is quite a patriot, isn't he?
Don't blame Henry Waxman, he's just doing what any other public official would and should do. He asked for the information so his committee could make some intelligent decisions based on the facts contained in these documents. (ALL of these documents). These are environmental issues that affects 36 million people in our state, not a Henry Waxman issue.
And I agree with the guy angry at congress for not starting impeachment proceedings. You hit the nail on the head.
Obama has a golden opportunity to step up to the plate and rally lackluster democrats into action. He talks "change", he needs to "act" cange.

[Big Daddy]

"Heny Waxman is a piece of garbage demagogue, and this is just more typical "I hate George Bush" politics. Get a life."

Come out to California and tell us about it. Given your level of intelligence, I doubt if you could find it on a map.

[Alyssa]

Tactical genius, the White House has load of methods of dealing with bad news that are bordering on the brilliant: http://www.236.com/news/2008/06/25/the_white_house_is_rubber_ever_7365.php

The US Congress, (made up mostly of bleeding heart liberals) has the worst approval rating in history and it hasn't reached bottom yet and here they are attempting to be the answer for all that ails America. Every time the libs open their mouth the ratings plummet even more. Wake up libs the answer is not bigger government and bigger government is attached to all that you propose.

[James]

I read a couple of comments and it seems to be that all you people want the air to be cleaner, but I am willing to bet that none of you are willing to foot the bill for such an action. Are you willing to pay even higher fuel prices than you currently pay? Are you willing to pay to have the poorer families, who are driving these polluting cars, provided with new cleaner cars? If the people of California want to make these changes allow them to do it without federal money. See if the tone doesn't change then.

[Rod]

My greatest concern for our country is something that my college undergrad World History teacher said, "there is one guarantee in the cycle of governments and that is that every civilization has followed the same cycle. A democracy always falls from within itself through corruption taxes and loss of leadership concern." He really said this and I have never forgotten it. All over the internet there are forums with comments about Democrats - liberals who offer freebies for all and grab up any special interest group's banner; and the Republicans who cater to big business and their needs. Sadly that is the picture but the REAL truth is that THEY BOTH are our government and they pat each other on the back and work together and one administration feeds the next etc. Just look at the No Child Left Behind Act. Everyone blames Bush but if you put the bigger puzzle together you will see that nearly every part of the plan comes from the Improving Americas Schools Act of 1991/2 that mandated a plan of implementation be for the next administration. It included the AYP and so many of what people hate Bush for yet the root plan came from Clinton and Kennedy endorsement. This is what I mean. It is THE GOVERNMENT that is implementing these things not one side or party. Everyone is divided carrying on about this party's stupidity while our leaders retire in their own pension plan and benefits package apart from the people they serve. Does this sound like France before their Liberte? The government has lost touch of its people and the people are insensitive and fighting over whose party is better when neither one is true. I care about our country. The corruption of leadership makes it difficult to have any real hope for change. People say that what leaders(people) do in private is irrelevant- even a child's guilt knows that is a lie. We have accepted relativism as our philosophy so there is no standard for right or wrong. To each his own belief, no commonality. We have foreigners in our country breaking our laws - illegals and religious people murdering their daughters if they date white infidels and and some Americans standing up for them in their wrong saying its ok? What my teacher said many years ago is true and it is frightening to see.