Monday, July 09, 2007

Phony Privileges

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall July 8, 2007 10:46 PM: "I'm not usually one for wanting to see people hauled off to the slammer for refusing to do this or that. But please, please haul Sara Taylor off to the slammer.

Taylor, you may know, is the former White House political director. She has been subpoenaed to testify on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. And she claims she's quite willing to do so as she's done nothing wrong. But the White House is urging her to ignore the subpoena. And since, in the words of Taylor's lawyer, the president is 'a person whom [Taylor] admires and for whom she has worked tirelessly for years', she doesn't want to testify and thinks she shouldn't have to.

Pleading the fifth is on the books. Various privileges, though most are bogus, can be asserted and litigated. But being a member of the Bush personality cult just isn't a reason to refuse to testify.

Not yet at least."

So I'm walking to the mailbox and I see my neighbor shoot the postman. The cops tell me I have testify to what I saw. I claim Neighbor Privilege and say "No. I've lived next door to Mr. X for 30 years and he's a fine fella and I like him a lot." The cops, of course, using the Bush standard say "No problem. We'll just let this one go."

Welcome to Bizarro Bushworld.

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