Ah, executive privilege. It’s not just for ... well ... the executive anymore. Apparently it covers a political party as well, at least according to White House Counsel Fred Fielding:
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Fielding also appears to be trying to head off an attempt by Conyers to obtain e-mails and documents from the Republican National Committee regarding the firings. ...Fielding also said that "it was and remains our intention to collect e-mails and documents from those [RNC-controlled]accounts as well as the official White House e-mail and document retention systems" as part of a broader deal with the two committees on staffer testimony.
John Conyers gave a stern harrumph:
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Conyers immediately countered Fielding's letter, dismissing it as an attempt by Fielding to extend executive-privilege protection to e-mails sent by White House officials on RNC servers, which Conyers suggested was legally suspect.
"As I stated in my earlier letter to the Republican National Committee today, the Judiciary Committee intends to obtain the relevant emails directly from the RNC," Conyers said in reaction to the Fielding letter. "The White House position seems to be that executive privilege not only applies in the Oval Office, but to the RNC as well. There is absolutely no basis in law or fact for such a claim."
"As I stated in my earlier letter to the Republican National Committee today, the Judiciary Committee intends to obtain the relevant emails directly from the RNC," Conyers said in reaction to the Fielding letter. "The White House position seems to be that executive privilege not only applies in the Oval Office, but to the RNC as well. There is absolutely no basis in law or fact for such a claim."
Law? Fact? Since when did that stop The Gang That Couldn’t Govern Straight?
And oh, yeah. Fielding says the White House isn’t going to let aides – including Rove – testify either. Looks like a showdown at the Constitutional Corral is headed our way.