Breaking Down the Whistleblower Frenzy
Excerpt: First, our constitutional system is based on friction between competing branches vested with separate but closely related powers. The Framers understood that the two political branches would periodically try to usurp each other’s authorities. Congress often does this by enactments that seek to subject executive power to congressional (or judicial) supervision. Presidential pushback on such laws is not criminal obstruction; it is the Constitution in action. Second, we’ve become so law-obsessed that we miss the forest for the trees. Often, the least important aspect of a controversy — viz., whether a law has been violated — becomes the dominant consideration. Short shrift is given to the more consequential aspects, such as whether we are being competently governed or whether power is being abused. These problems are now playing out in the Trump controversy du jour (or should I say de l’heure?): the intelligence community whistleblower. [Andy McCarthy is consistently one of the best and most accurate writers when it comes to Capital Hill legal wrangling. He doesn’t appear to have any more hard data on details of this issue than anyone else, but his reasoning is clear, simple, and to the point. I recommend reading this column for a better idea about what is going on in this controversy. When the facts come out–assuming they do come out–we’ll have a much better understanding of the what, the why, and what to do about it. Ron P.]
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment