Monday House Judiciary Committee Hearing Delayed

More still coming in down below, in the comments…

Just four days before he left office, President Bush instructed former White House aide Karl Rove to refuse to cooperate with future congressional inquiries into alleged misconduct during his administration, according to a story just out on Newsweek’s Website.

Key excerpts:

- On Jan. 16, 2009, then White House Counsel Fred Fielding sent a letter to Rove’s lawyer, Robert Luskin, (linked as a pdf on the site) saying if his client were to receive any future subpoenas, Rove “should not appear before Congress” or turn over any documents relating to his time in the White House. The letter told Rove that President Bush was continuing to assert executive privilege over any testimony by Rove — even after he leaves office.

- The letters set the stage for what is likely to be a highly contentious legal and political battle over an unresolved issue: whether a former president can assert “executive privilege,”and therefore prevent his aides from testifying before Congress — even after his term has expired.

“To my knowledge, these [letters] are unprecedented,” said Peter Shane, an Ohio State University law professor who specializes in executive-privilege issues. “I’m aware of no sitting president that has tried to give an insurance policy to a former employee in regard to post-administration testimony.” Shane likened the letter to Rove as an attempt to give his former aide a ‘get-out-of-contempt-free card’.”

- The issue arose this week after House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers announced that he had subpoenaed Rove to be deposed under oath next Monday to answer questions about his alleged role in the firing of U.S. attorneys and the prosecution of the former Democratic governor of Alabama, Don Siegelman. Conyers, whose panel extensively investigated both matters last year, signaled that he has no intention of dropping them now just because Bush has left office.

- Luskin said that he forwarded a copy of Fielding’s letter, as well as the subpoena he got from Conyers, to Obama’s White House counsel, Greg Craig, and essentially asked for the new president’s position on these matters, according to Newsweek.

So far Craig hasn’t responded. He could have a conflict of interest on his hands due his friendship with Siegelman, and his past representation of Rove, which is not dealt with in the Newsweek article. Stay tuned…

Luskin also says he has asked the House Judiciary Committee to postpone its deposition of Rove until he hears back. The committee has agreed to put off the deposition — but only for a few weeks.

Bill O’Reilly of the Fox Fake Patriotic Republican network (a.k.a. the Fuck You PR network), offers Rove a tunnel to hide in…anytime?

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Folsom Says Exercise More

Lt. Governor Jim Folsom Jr. is launching a program to encourage all Alabamians — including himself — to eat healthier and exercise more, according to the AP.

Folsom announced something called the “Lt. Governors’ Challenge” on Thursday along with several other organizations that are helping sponsor it. The Alabama program is part of a nationwide effort by the National Lieutenant Governors Association.

Participants can use this Web site to sign up for a 12-week program aimed at healthier living.

“I accept this challenge myself,” Folsom said at a news conference in the Statehouse. He said he already exercises regularly — “but I’m going to up it some.”

Now that Bush is out of the White House, we are planning a “Spring Season” around here, back on the golf course.

And hiking in the Smokies : )

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Turnham Calls on Riley to Appoint a Minority to the Court

Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham today called on Alabama Governor Bob Riley to appoint a minority to the vacancy on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. The vacancy was created by the election of Justice Greg Shaw to the Alabama Supreme Court. None of Alabama’s 19 Appellate Court Seats are held by minorities, Turnham noted.

“Gov. Riley could show a commitment to diversity on the court by appointing a qualified African-American jurist to this vacancy,” Turnham said.

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The Locust Fork News-Journal Joins Call for Action

On the heels of a massive spill of toxic coal ash waste in Tennessee and another similar incident in Alabama, 32 local and regional environmental organizations and other concerned public interest groups have called on leaders to take immediate action to ensure that our citizens, wildlife, and natural resources are better protected from these unregulated coal combustion waste storage facilities.

The Locust Fork News-Journal hereby joins this call and demands that it be heeded ASAP.

In a letter to leaders, the groups wrote:

“It is not acceptable to expose our citizens and important ecosystems to these hazards. These potential threats are no longer hidden from the public eye. The recent spills could be the proverbial canary in the coal mine for more spills across Alabama as well as for other environmental hazards related to coal-fired power production.”

“The negative impacts of coal run far and deep across our state,” the letter continues. “While there are many important solutions to consider long-term, creating a more protective and effective regulatory system for CCW storage facilities is an essential first step.”

“There is a major threat of water impacts since all of Alabama’s coal-fired power plants are located on or near a waterway,” said Cindy Lowry, Executive Director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. “The hazardous materials contained in these collection ponds are detrimental to aquatic life as well as to human health when they leak out into our waterways.”

Neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor Alabama Department of Environmental Management has increased regulations on toxic materials going into landfills at coal-fired power plants despite after an EPA recommendation in 2000. At a minimum, these agencies should require these toxic collections be regulated to the standards of other hazardous waste facilities.

“One of many ironies surrounding this situation is that these CCW storage facilities have less regulation than our landfills that collect household garbage,” said Michael Churchman, Executive Director of the Alabama Environmental Council. “These industrial sources of pollution should be held accountable for the potentially dangerous chemicals they are collecting and meet stricter regulations.”

The following letter was sent to Alabama state and federal elected officials as well as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Fredo and Rummy in deep doodoo?

Now we’re getting somewhere…

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