Rove and executive privilege
Posted: Monday, August 13, 2007 2:14 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
White House, Congress
From NBC's Pete Williams
What effect will
Rove's departure have on the argument by the White House that executive privilege shields him from having to testify before Congress? In one critical way, not much.
Rove was obviously a part of many Oval Office discussions that would be subject to a claim of executive privilege even after he is gone from the White House. So the president could use executive privilege regarding past discussions, says George Mason University professor Mark Rozell, an expert on the privilege. And many legal experts agree.
The Bush Administration has already taken just this position with Harriet Miers, the former White House legal counsel. Of course, the bottom-line question of which is more important -- the president's need for confidential advice or Congress' need to get information in investigations -- is largely unresolved by the courts.