Miers Down, Almost Out
The President has declared that
he won't release any memos of Harriet Miers' advice to him, on the grounds that he must protect executive privilege.
This isn't the first time Bush has made this case; the first related to Dick Cheney's energy policy task force. The White House fought a successful legal battle to ensure that it did not have to release the names of the oil company/Halliburton executives from whom Cheney took his marching orders.
A couple of thoughts.
First, didn't Bush think of this potential snag before he nominated Miers? Or was he expecting that the Senate would just roll over and confirm her, without asking for her White House paper trail?
Second, this feels like an exit strategy. Bush can withdraw the nomination and simultaneously take the high ground, saying that he's fighting to preserve executive privilege for his successors.
Here's a general rule that I believe about Washington: When you can imagine how a scandal will end, the very act of imagining a denouement hastens its realization.
