DOJ Cites Exec. Privilege; Rejects Clinton Precedent in Revealing Documents

DOJ Cites Exec. Privilege; Rejects Clinton Precedent in Revealing Documents
By kklonick - June 30, 2008, 6:20PM
As we mentioned earlier today, House Oversight's subpoenas for Bush and Cheney's interview records from DOJ Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's inquiry into the Valerie Plame leak case were rebuffed by the Justice Department.

Since then, we've obtained a copy of the letter dated June 24 that the Justice Department sent to Congress, declining to comply with the subpoena.

Their reasons? The ever-ready assertion of executive privilege because the write ups of the FBI interviews with White House officials during the Plame leak investigation contain accounts of of internal White House deliberations, including those involving how to respond to the fallout from the infamous 16 words on Niger yellowcake in the President's 2003 State of the Union address:

However, these reports also contain considerable information detailing the internal White House deliberations and communications of senior White House staff concerning how they should respond on behalf of the President to public assertions challenging the accuracy of a statement made in the President's State of the Union Address.

more:http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/doj_cites_exec_privilege_rejec.php