What Happens Here, Stays Here

It seems that the White House is the Las Vegas of the east.

Is there anything that happens in this White House that is not subject to Executive Privilege? I realize that the President would argue that, since everything changed after 9/11 (the only truthful words he ever said), the need for secrecy in the WH has changed, so the old Executive Privilege rules are not operative in today's environment.

However, for those of us who may be out of the loop, has the WH adopted a interpretation of Executive Privilege that could be released, so we could know what's secret and what's not? Or, is that privileged as well? Cynics would argue (e.g., moi) that the all encompassing cloak of secrecy in the WH is merely yet another means for the Mayberry Machiavellis to cover up claims of corruption, malfeasance, misfeasance, and plain old incompetence.

The latest outrageous claim, of course, is the release related to the Tillman matter. In White House Denies Request for Documents in Ex-NFL Player's Death, the Washington Post reports:

"The White House has refused to give Congress documents about the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman, with White House counsel Fred F. Fielding saying that certain papers relating to discussion of the friendly-fire shooting 'implicate Executive Branch confidentiality interests.'"

It seems more than obvious that, in cases like the Tillman cover-up, the White has something to hide, see The right place to fight, since its role in covering up the true facts surrounding the death of Sgt. Tillman was purely policitical, to ensure the right "spin" was put on the incident.

See Crooks & Liars for the video of the Olbermann Countdown segment on this: Harriet Miers, Inherent Contempt, Pat Tillman & Executive Privilege.

Tags: Bush, Commentary, Law, Countdown, Executive Privilege