Restoring the Lost Constitution
posted by Frank Pasquale
Uber-blogger Andrew Sullivan has recently lamented that we have a “constitution staggering after one serious terror attack.” If we are to restore the rule of law, we’ll need a lot more judges like John D. Bates. As Marty Lederman notes, Bates held, in an “an extraordinarily thorough, scholarly and thoughtful opinion,” that “there is no basis for the DOJ argument that close presidential advisers are absolutely immune from compelled congressional testimony.” Glenn Greenwald notes the radicalism of some pleadings in the case:
In unusually strong language, the court pointed out that the President’s claim that his aides enjoyed absolute immunity from Congressional investigations was “unprecedented” and “without any support in case law” (p. 3). Like so many perverse claims of absolute presidential authority, this claim was plainly contrary to the core principles of how our country has long functioned. . . .
Admin law profs may be interested in including this ruling in their separation of powers lessons.
[Apologies to Randy Barnett for pilfering his title.]
August 2, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Posted in: Constitutional Law
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Responses (1)
C Smith - August 2, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Maybe we could pay more attention to the 10th Amendment, and lose these federal entitlement programs that are crushing the budget.
That would be a restoration indeed.
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