Just the Truth? Why the Republicans Have Changed Their Tune

Over the years, Republicans have held hearings on Bill Clinton’s Christmas card list and called for answers on Socks the Cat’s fan mail. Yet they continue to stonewall attempts to question key players in the scandal surrounding the apparently politically-motivated firing of eight U.S. Attorneys. Despite emails showing that top White House advisers such as Harriet Miers and Karl Rove were involved in the decision, the White House has cited executive privilege and placed restrictions on their cooperation with Congress such as demanding closed-door hearings with no transcripts and even refused to place the advisers under oath.

The same Republicans that previously spoke out strongly on the importance of candor in our government officials are strangely silent now.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS AN UNPRECEDENTED RECORD OF CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS

Democratic White Houses Have Historically Cooperated: A Congressional Research Service report identified 62 instances of Democratic presidential advisors testifying before Congress in recent decades, 54 of them during the Clinton administration. [CRS Report RL31351]

• 30 Clinton aides testified 54 times [CRS Report RL31351]

Republican Advisors Appear Less: In contrast, the CRS report found zero instances of such testimony during the Reagan or Bush I administrations, and nine in the first term of Bush II, all of which involved Thomas Ridge and homeland security before the formation of a cabinet department. The only three instances in the last 30 years of an advisor refusing to testify were since 2002, under George W. Bush. [CRS Report RL31351 (emphasis added)]

Attorney General Reno Stopped the Politicization of Prosecution -- This Administration is Stonewalling to Guarantee It. "I simply have to draw the line and stand up for what I believe to be a very important principle," the former Dade County prosecutor and lifelong Democrat said. "Prosecutions in America must be free of political influence." [Miami Herald, 8/7/98]

REPUBLICANS PUT SANTA CLAUS AND SOCKS THE CAT ON THE HOT SEAT – BUT NOT KARL ROVE

FELINE FAN CLUB SCANDAL

Republicans Called For Answers on The First Cat’s Fan Mail. Dan Burton publicly questioned the use of White House personnel to answer letters addressed to the Clinton family pet. [Washington Post, 3/19/97]

• Dan Burton’s Letter to The Clintons: As a member of the new Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, I would like to inquire what the standard practice is for the White House to respond to mail directed to 'Socks,' your cat… How many of these inquiries were responded to over the past two years? Who pays for the postage? If it comes out of the White House mail budget, why are the taxpayers being made to pay for your feline's fan club? [Chicago Tribune, 1/8/1995]

INVESTIGATING SANTA CLAUS

Republican House Members Held Congressional Hearings Pertaining to Clinton’s White House Christmas Card List. Republicans Members of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee started a Congressional Investigation into the White House Database. The Database was a list of Clinton Supporters, including the White House Christmas Card List. Members of the Committee asked for the information three months before the 1996 Presidential Election. They were charging the Clinton Administration with theft of government property, because they believed the database was occasionally shard with The Democratic National Committee. Republican Congressmen David McIntosh asked the Justice Department for a criminal probe. [Washington Post, 9/9/98]

TRAVEL-GATE

Congressional Hearings Were Held On The Trivial Travel-Gate Scandal. “Travel-gate, as it has been dubbed, is…trivial. It is…only about seven low-ranking White House employees. They -- or at least some of them -- have been accused of gross mismanagement and shoddy accounting practices with more than a hint dropped that along the way some funds had just plain disappeared.” [Washington Post, 5/ 27/93]

CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS DEMANDED COMPLIANCE DURING DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATIONS

Current WH Spokesperson Tony Snow Criticized Using Office to Evade the Law: "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. He would have a constitutional right to cover up. … Most of us want no part of a president who is cynical enough to use the majesty of his office to evade the one thing he is sworn to uphold -- the rule of law." [Tony Snow, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/29/1998]

Rep. Dan Burton Said President was Telling American People Its None of Their Business: "By claiming executive privilege he is, in essence, telling the American people that it's none of their business." [Associated Press, 9/17/1999]

• Burton “Troubled Greatly:” "It troubles me greatly to see your office reportedly involved in keeping secrets from Congress or a grand jury," [Rep. Dan ] Burton wrote. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/12/1998]

Sen. Orrin Hatch Refused to Let Judiciary Committee Be Stiffed: Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would present a subpoena for the documents at a committee meeting next Thursday. "The issue is whether or not we're going to let the committee be stiffed," he said. [Associated Press, 9/17/1999]

Sen. Ashcroft Warns of “Sin by Silence.” In a 1998 speech, Ashcroft said, “I would simply remind them that to sin by silence makes cowards of all men … It is time for us to worry less about politics and more about our country.” [Scripps Howard News Service, 1/31/98]

Senator Trent Lott Calls for “The Whole Truth.” “…[C]ome forward. Tell the American people what has happened in these cases…What does he know? What is the truth? What is the whole truth?” [News Conference, 3/9/98]

• Sen. Lott Said Actions “Smack of Watergate:” [T]hey've taken a step that really smacks of Watergate. It certainly looks bad -- like there's something there that they're trying to hide." [Washington Times, 3/23/1998]