No Show Trials

President Bush is finally showing a little backbone on the U.S. Attorney non-scandal by first expressing support for the Attorney General, and then by issuing a no-nonsense statement basically throwing down the gauntlet to the Dems:

WASHINGTON (AP) - A defiant President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.

Democrats' response to his proposal was swift and firm: They said they would start authorizing subpoenas as soon as Wednesday for the White House aides.

"Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bush, in a late-afternoon statement at the White House, said, "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants. ... I have proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse."

He added that federal prosecutors work for him and it is natural to consider replacing them. "There is no indication that anybody did anything improper," the president said.

Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, a boost during an early morning call and ended the day with a public statement repeating it. "He's got support with me," Bush said.

Bush is finally starting to do the right thing by going on offense, but he still doesn't have it quite right. He was correct to support Gonzales and refuse to allow his subordinates to testify under oath and on the record, but he should have flat out refused to allow Karl Rove or Harriet Miers to answer questions at all. The Congress does not have the right to compel testimony from the President's aides. It's a separation of powers issue, not to mention the doctrine of executive privilege. By allowing any testimony at all he set Shumer and others up for their predictable responses about "what are they hiding".

There is no scandal or story here, and it's time to slap down the Dems stop this partisan witch hunt.

To all you people who voted for Bush and Republicans in 2004 and then decided to punish them in 2006 by staying home or voting for Dems, congratulations! This is what you get - an endless supply of meaningless hearings and investigations in non-scandals designed only to weaken the presidency.