• Home
  • Blog
  • Contact
The Screaming Moderate

Constitutional Crisis Alert

5/9/2019

0 Comments

 
The White House is instituting a new policy which will allow it to grant press passes based on criteria the White House establishes. The White House has adopted a "no witnesses, no documents" policy when it comes to responding to Congressional requests.

If allowed to stand, this is a further chopping by the President at those he considers his enemies. He is pulling passes from reporters or columnists who he doesn’t agree with. 
You know how the President likes to point out what he sees as the strength of dictators in other countries? Well, this is one way the “press” operates in those countries – at the whim of the dictator who also banishes those who are critical.

This at the same time that there is a building Constitutional crisis between the White House and the Congress, another example of this White House controlling information.
Both are offenses against our Constitution. The Congress has an oversight responsibility which it carries out through its power to solicit witnesses for hearings to explain their actions and for documents to review. The White House has issued a blanket “we’re not providing anything to the Congress” policy.

At the same time it is saying, “The White House will determine who gets access to the White House” when it comes to the media.

Whether you support or oppose the policies of President Trump, only the most partisan can support these actions by the Trump White House. Trump has proclaimed that his is the “most transparent White House in history.” That just isn’t true and it doesn’t take much digging to see why: they are withholding information from the Congress and picking the reporters who give them what they consider the “nicest” coverage.

Attorney General  William Barr testified at his confirmation hearings that he, in effect, had F. U. money – he didn’t need the job (he already had it on his resume from the Bush Administration) and he could be depended on to do the right things (because he already had quite successful political and private sector careers). We are seeing him now violate his under oath pledges to the Congress.

Constitutional Crisis? If not now, soon. We must support our institutions to do the right things – and one of those things is to be a check on the other branches of government.
The Trump White House is hacking away at those institutions at the same time claiming transparency.

Whether you support or oppose Trump’s presidency isn’t the issue, as Americans we must support our system of government which is in tremendous peril right now.


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

     
    Follow @bjaycooper

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    B. Jay Cooper

    B. Jay is a former deputy White House press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also headed the communications offices at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He is a former reporter and is the retired deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide's Washington, D.C., office.
    He is the father of three daughters and grandfather of five boys and one girl. He lives in Marion, Mass.

powered by bjaycooper.com