1115.org

Another of Tony’s greatest hits:

What kinds of conversations does executive privilege protect?…What are the limits on privilege? Evidently, Mr. Clinton wants to shield virtually any communications that take place within the White House compound on the theory that all such talk contributes in some way, shape or form to the continuing success and harmony of an administration. Taken to its logical extreme, that position would make it impossible for citizens to hold a chief executive accountable for anything.

The link will take you to the full text of the article Tony wrote for the Detroit News in March 1998.

The Chicago Tribune says the column was read out to Snow at yesterday’s morning press giggle-gaggle.

“Sounds like you’re reading an old column of mine,” Tony Snow, the Bush administration’s press secretary, said today, readily recognizing his nine-year-old words read back to him at a morning press gaggle in which Snow was arguing for Bush’s right to protect the internal deliberations of his White House staff.

Unfortunately it doesn’t report Tony’s response, or follow-up questions, if any. For some reason, the White House web site does not have a transcript of yesterday’s morning press gaggle, although the transcript of the afternoon press briefing is up. The issue came up again at the afternoon press briefing, but the questioning was pretty tame.