Executive privilege over docs constitutional?

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-- -- overarching question here is -- use of the executive privilege.

Is it constitutional.

Bruce Fein is a former associate attorney generally served under president Ronald Reagan restrict C it's been awhile.

Think he is the application here appropriate of executive privilege or not.

Know when it comes to congressional oversight it's almost plenary.

I can call and I was working in the Nixon administration -- the House Judiciary Committee voted an article of impeachment against President Nixon.

For invoking executive privilege in refusing to comply with the subpoena.

The most recent occasion when the battle between congressional oversight and the the White House.

Was undertaken it was when President Bush invoked privilege to protect Karl Rove and Harriet Miers -- -- White House personnel.

From testifying for the house judiciary committee on the firing of US attorney's.

The Judiciary Committee went to court to enforce a contempt citation.

And they ultimately prevailed in the US district court before a judge who was appointed by President Bush John Bates who is what you'd call a conservative right.

There really is a presumption in our constitution.

That congress is entitled to virtually every scrap of page or make our government transparent.

And that's basically what the law he is -- of this case went to court I'm Clinton quite confident the.

For the president and mr.

holder would lose what we're here for the White House Bruce is well there were some discussions.

Among top aides at the White House about how to handle the fast and furious.

Political fall out.

-- that is completely on related apparently to the documents being sought over at the Department of Justice.

Doesn't there have to be a nexus between the two in order to evoke.

Executive privilege.

I'm not -- the privilege itself automatically requires that the president be involved of the White House be involved but certainly the strength of the privileged weakens.

The -- noted comes from the White House here.

And you also have this odd situation where the Department of Justice is already turned over thousands of documents relating to the deliberative process within the department.

And it seems a little bit unseemly for them to say -- but will withhold the ones that we don't want you to see.

Because that enables then the department to manipulate what the congress knows -- what the people know.

Buy a disclosing what they think is helpful in withholding what they think is incriminating.

That's something that simply not tolerated in the law if you have a privilege and you start to disclose information even the privilege against self incrimination.

Then you waive any right to withhold anything else to avoid being able to manufacture a false scenery.

Bruce sign a former associate deputy attorney general -- great to see you thanks very much thank you Chris --

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Executive privilege over docs constitutional?

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