Not An Alternate Universe
As I've done in the past with terrorism, I decided to go hunting up quotes that prominent Republicans made about executive privilege when it was a Democrat, Bill Clinton, who was invoking it against them.
We start with White House mouthpiece Tony Snow, who wrote in an op-ed piece titled "Executive Privilege is a Dodge" that appeared on March 29, 1998:
"Evidently, Mr. Clinton wants to shield virtually any communications that take place within the White House compound on the theory that all such talk contributes in some way, shape or form to the continuing success and harmony of an administration. Taken to its logical extreme, that position would make it impossible for citizens to hold a chief executive accountable for anything. He would have a constitutional right to cover up.
"Chances are that the courts will hurl such a claim out, but it will take time.
"One gets the impression that Team Clinton values its survival more than most people want justice and thus will delay without qualm. But as the clock ticks, the public’s faith in Mr. Clinton will ebb away for a simple reason: Most of us want no part of a president who is cynical enough to use the majesty of his office to evade the one thing he is sworn to uphold - the rule of law."
Rep. Dan Burton, who was the GOP Committee Chair at the time:
"You know, the president could solve a lot of this problem if he wouldn't hide behind executive privilege, if he'd just come out and tell the American people the truth."
In May of 1998, Tom Delay and John Ashcroft introduced legislation to require the President to notify Congress when he uses executive privilege to withhold information in court proceedings, claiming the bill allowed "direct appeal to the Supreme Court to reduce the amount of obstruction that can be caused by frivolous privilege claims". But heck, how could they have ever thought they could possibly trust those darn Activist Judges?
The pre-fall from grace Trent Lott had quite a lot to say about the subject in 1998:
Clinton Should Give Up Executive Privilege; Fight "Give Us More Information, Not Less."
"Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said Clinton should stop the fight over executive privilege. 'I think he should give up that contest,' Lott told reporters Monday. 'And I think he should be forthcoming. He should give us more information, not less.'" (CNN, 6/1/98)
Clinton Decision to Invoke Executive Privilege "Improper," Echoes Watergate.
"Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said yesterday that President Clinton's decision to invoke executive privilege in connection with independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's investigation was 'improper' and will damage the president's credibility because of parallels with the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard M. Nixon's downfall. 'It looks like they are hiding something,' Lott said on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' one of several Sunday television interview programs dominated by discussions of the sexual misconduct allegations that are swirling around Clinton." (Washington Post, 3/23/98)
Called for "The Whole Truth." "[C]ome forward. Tell the American people what has happened in these cases...What does he know? What is the truth? What is the whole truth?" (News Conference, 3/9/98)
Sen. Lott Said Actions "Smack of Watergate;" Looks Like There's Something to Hide. "[T]hey've taken a step that really smacks of Watergate. It certainly looks bad -- like there's something there that they're trying to hide." (Washington Times, 3/23/1998)
On March 5th of 1998, one J. Jackson Barlow, Adjunct Fellow at the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University, wrote "But in our system no one may use the power of high office to deny justice to another. If Mr. Clinton has used his office-and his aides-to obstruct justice, the Constitution will not protect him":
President Clinton and Executive Privilege
And on May 6, 1998, the Washington Post reported that a federal judge "ruled that President Clinton cannot use the power of his office to block prosecutors from questioning his senior aides":
President Is Denied Executive Privilege
Mmmm, I love the smell of hypocrisy on a sunny summer afternoon.
"Evidently, Mr. Clinton wants to shield virtually any communications that take place within the White House compound on the theory that all such talk contributes in some way, shape or form to the continuing success and harmony of an administration. Taken to its logical extreme, that position would make it impossible for citizens to hold a chief executive accountable for anything. He would have a constitutional right to cover up.
"Chances are that the courts will hurl such a claim out, but it will take time.
"One gets the impression that Team Clinton values its survival more than most people want justice and thus will delay without qualm. But as the clock ticks, the public’s faith in Mr. Clinton will ebb away for a simple reason: Most of us want no part of a president who is cynical enough to use the majesty of his office to evade the one thing he is sworn to uphold - the rule of law."
"You know, the president could solve a lot of this problem if he wouldn't hide behind executive privilege, if he'd just come out and tell the American people the truth."
Clinton Should Give Up Executive Privilege; Fight "Give Us More Information, Not Less."
"Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said Clinton should stop the fight over executive privilege. 'I think he should give up that contest,' Lott told reporters Monday. 'And I think he should be forthcoming. He should give us more information, not less.'" (CNN, 6/1/98)
Clinton Decision to Invoke Executive Privilege "Improper," Echoes Watergate.
"Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said yesterday that President Clinton's decision to invoke executive privilege in connection with independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's investigation was 'improper' and will damage the president's credibility because of parallels with the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard M. Nixon's downfall. 'It looks like they are hiding something,' Lott said on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' one of several Sunday television interview programs dominated by discussions of the sexual misconduct allegations that are swirling around Clinton." (Washington Post, 3/23/98)
Called for "The Whole Truth." "[C]ome forward. Tell the American people what has happened in these cases...What does he know? What is the truth? What is the whole truth?" (News Conference, 3/9/98)
Sen. Lott Said Actions "Smack of Watergate;" Looks Like There's Something to Hide. "[T]hey've taken a step that really smacks of Watergate. It certainly looks bad -- like there's something there that they're trying to hide." (Washington Times, 3/23/1998)
President Clinton and Executive Privilege
President Is Denied Executive Privilege
Mmmm, I love the smell of hypocrisy on a sunny summer afternoon.