So when will the Republicans pounce on President Barack Obama for asserting his executive privilege?
STORY: Barack Says No! The Prez Executes Executive Privilege On Fast And Furious
For the first time in his presidency, Obama applied the presidential power to withhold documents a House committee is seeking in an investigation of a flawed gun-smuggling probe called ‘Operation Fast and Furious.’
This is Obama’s first time executing this power; while his predecessor George W. Bush used it six times, his dad, George Bush Sr., used only used it once, Bill Clinton used it a whopping 14 times, and Ronald Reagan used it 3 times.
When it comes to executive privilege, presidents have the right to invoke these powers to preserve the confidentiality of information and documents in the face of legislative inquiries.
So in light of Obama saying, HELL NO! (He didn’t really say that), and asserting his executive privilege, take a look at what other Presidents said hell no to on the following pages…
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Dubba Is A Six Timer:
In August of 2007, Bush invoked the privilege for the fourth time in little over a month. He wanted to protect his homie and Senior Advisor Karl Rove when he rejected a subpoena with his name on it.
The subpoena would have required Rove to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in a probe over fired federal prosecutors.
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Bubba Used It 14 Times:
Clinton used one of his 14 executive privileges when the heat came down on him during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
In 1998, Clinton became the first President since Nixon to use his executive privilege and lost when a Federal judge ruled that Clinton aides could be called to testify in the Lewinsky scandal.
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One Timer:
President George H.W. Bush’s national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, cited executive privilege when declining to testify before the Senate banking committee in 1992 about exports of American technology to Iraq prior to the first Gulf War.
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Three Timer:
Ronald Reagan put his stamp on executive privilege as he and his administration issued an executive privilege memorandum to heads of executive departments and agencies. The Reagan procedures were generally similar to those in a 1969 Nixon executive privilege memorandum.
