Morning Jolt: Why Do We Have Executive Privilege?

June 13 2017

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Why Do We Have Executive Privilege? Jim Geraghty When Attorney General Jeff Sessions appears before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today, he may cite executive privilege to avoid answering certain questions. You can expect congressional Democrats and their allies in the media to scream bloody murder about this, and contend this is an inappropriate claim to this power. Why do we have executive privilege? It's been invoked going all the way back to George Washington; President Dwight Eisenhower summarized it pretty simply: "Any man who testifies as to the advice he gave me won't be working for me that night." The theory behind this unique presidential power is simple: the president needs the best advice possible, and this means both the president and his advisers need to be able to speak to each other and discuss matters of state with confidentiality. Sometimes the right course of action is not the popular one; those who speak to the president may not want their actual perspective revealed to the public. READ MORE Teen Contraception Programs Are Counterproductive Michael J. New The pro-life movement receives a significant amount of criticism from pundits and commentators for not being more supportive of contraception and sex-education programs. Most pro-lifers respond... The Danger of Selective Outrage Katherine Timpf The Danger of Selective Outrage ADVERTISEMENT 'They Reject Christ, They Stand Condemned': What Sanders Probably Heard Nicholas Frankovich "Jews do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned." I suspect that's what Bernie Sanders heard when he... The Endless Ironies of Donald J. Trump Victor Davis Hanson Here are the ironies of Donald Trump as president. 1) For the Left (both Political and Media) The Left was mostly untroubled for eight years about the often unconstitutional abuses of... Populism Stumbles on Both Sides of the Atlantic Fred Bauer In 2016, Brexit and the election of Donald Trump signaled a populist disruption that could have led to a political realignment in the Anglo-American world. Under this realignment, conservatives... Georgia House Race Isn't Really a Bellwether for the GOP Alexandra DeSanctis The upcoming special congressional election in Georgia's sixth district has attracted so much national attention — and spending — that it now ranks as the most expensive House race in history,... ADVERTISEMENT Interesting Images Cartoon of the Day ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 215 Lexington Ave., New York, NY, 10016, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.