The Separation of Powers Circle Jerk
Most of you probably saw that the judge who allowed Smilin' Dick Cheyney to keep the meetings with his corporate cronies in the energy biz secret from Congressional investigators in the General Accounting Office was a judge appointed by Bush last year. Given all the other things going on, it probably rates about a 3 (out of 10) on the outrage meter, and has been properly drowned out in the media cycle by Trent Lott's fidelity to the racists who raised havoc (and black bodies, from tree limbs) during the heyday of the Dixiecrats.
But a story in Tuesday's New York Times (registration required), helpfully placed next to the jump in the Cheyney task force piece, ups the rancor freedom-lovin' citizens should feel toward the Bush Administration just a tad. It seems the GAO is also investigating the federal Department of Health and Human Services, because a special assistant to the department's inspector general has been shredding documents, while the inspector general herself has dismissed or reassigned 19 of her senior executives. Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican who authored the federal whistle-blower protection statute, says he fears these moves will cripple the government's ability to root out waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, the safety net for the health of 70 million elderly, disabled and poor people. The GAO is also investigating whether the inspector general ordered delays in a federal audit of the Florida state employees' pension fund so as not to embarrass the Prez's bro, Governor Jeb Bush.
And who is the inspector general? Why it's Janet Rehnquist, the daughter of William Rehnquist, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
So, let's see if we can get this straight. George Bush owes his Presidency to a 5-4 decision in Rehnquist's Supreme Court regarding disputed vote totals in Florida, where Jeb Bush is Governor. George Bush then appoints Rehnquist's daughter to an agency that is supposed to protect the health of 70 million vulnerable people. Now the GAO is investigating allegations that Rehnquist's daughter is impeding agency work, in part so as not to make Jeb Bush look bad.
The impasse between the GAO and Cheyney's office over the energy task force documents is almost certain to be appealed. Because it involves fundamental questions over the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of federal government, it is also almost certain that the issue will ultimately be decided by Rehnquist's Supreme Court. How do you think Rehnquist is going to vote on the GAO's ability to fully investigate Bush appointees like the Vice President and his daughter?
Here are the last two paragraphs of the Times story:
Ms. Rehnquist said in October that she would cooperate with the inquiry requested by Congress. But Congressional investigators said they had encountered some difficulties. On several occasions, they said, when they identified an employee whom they wanted to interview, an aide to Ms. Rehnquist intervened and questioned the employee, to find out what the person would be telling the accounting office.
The latest turmoil has caused distress among internal investigators at other agencies, who said that for years they viewed the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services as a model.
11:22:54 PM 
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