Oh oh, it looks as though Ashcroft is struggling.
<Senator Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat, challenged Ashcroft to say whether he was invoking executive privilege in refusing to give Congress the Justice Department memos. Ashcroft said he wasn't invoking executive privilege.
``You might be in contempt of Congress, then,'' Biden replied. ``You have to have a reason. You better come up with a good rationale.''
Later, Senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said Ashcroft had to cite a federal statute to justify not sharing the requested information. Ashcroft replied that his refusal was ``protected by the doctrine of separation of powers in the Constitution.'' Durbin shot back, ``You are not citing a law.''
Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and chairman of the committee, asked Ashcroft whether the memos in question are classified. After consulting with staff members, Ashcroft replied, ``Some of these memos might be classified in some ways, and for some purposes.''
Durbin called that answer ``an evasion.''>
Vote Libertarian and find out what real Freedom is, not the Freedom to be terrorized by Presidential Decree.
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