royal privilege

So on Wednesday former White House political director Sara Taylor deigned to testify before the Senate, but refused to take questions that basically had anything to do with the White House. And Harriet Miers lawyer told the Senate that she wouldn't testify, because she'd been ordered not to by the de facto Bush Administration.

Taylor's mis-statement (repeated until Senator Patrick Leahy finally got her to recant) that she swore an oath to Bush rather than the Constitution was no mistake; that's clearly how this crowd sees it. Loyalty to the Republican Party and to the Decider in Chief. The country, the constitution, us citizens be damned. "If they ain't with us, they're against us, right?"

Taylor's friend, another White House type, said "I just feel like it's incredibly unfair that she's being caught in what's really a struggle between Congress and the White House." True. But it is solely because of this White House's mania for complete control, extending even to former staffers, and utter secrecy, and its to-the-death defense of its royal prerogative. Excuse me, I mean "executive privilege."

As for ordering Miers not to testify - hey since when can the President give orders to a private citizen? Isn't this still a free country? I mean, if he had a legal leg to stand on maybe he could get a court to issue some sort of gag order on her. But this is pure crap.