bush gave me new rights!
in an amazing precedent set by the president of the united states, i apparently now have the right to screen the material that the attorney general might use against me in a criminal case.
apparently, the white house counsel’s office is reviewing the documents collected in the cia leak investigation before they are handed over to the department of justice.
this is a huge reversal, considering the erosion of civil and criminal rights in this country over the term of president bush. and if you think i’m kidding, it’s all in the press briefing
“Q Under what circumstances would information not go over there [to the department of justice]? Why don’t you just send it all?
MR. McCLELLAN: If it’s not responsive or relevant to the request from the Department of Justice — one reason you wouldn’t want to do that is because you don’t want to overburden the Department of Justice with documents that have no relevance or are not responsive to their request. You want to make sure that they have the information they need to get to the bottom of this. That’s why we’re assisting them.
so, for the record, mister ashcroft (and all other potential prosecutors):
i hereby declare my intent to cooperate with any criminal investigation conducted against me. i’ll have my counsel review everything i have, and if my lawyers decide it’s “relevant” and “responsive” then i’ll get it to you right away. i know you’re really busy protecting me from terrorists, so i don’t want to overburden you guys. thanks a lot. keep up the good work.
this is a HUGE expansion of the 5th amendment. rock on!