Can Executive Privilege Prevent Bolton’s Testimony?
Executive privilege is not an absolute power, and it often must yield to other claims, such as Congress’s duty to properly conduct an investigation.
Mark J. Rozell Subscribe
Mark Rozell is dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University where he holds the Ruth D. and John T. Hazel Chair in public policy. He is author of the book Executive Privilege (4th edition, forthcoming 2020).
Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2014. (Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com)The Lonely Executive
Like movie sequels, second editions of notable scholarly books often disappoint. Phillip J. Cooper’s By Order of the President: The Use and Abuse of Executive Direct Action (University Press of Kansas, second edition) is an exception.
From Idealism to Power: The Presidency in the Age of Obama
As a presidential candidate in 2007 and 2008, Barack Obama made stirring pledges to respect the rule of law and to abide by constitutional limitations on certain presidential powers. He left no doubt that he intended to put an end to George W. Bush-era governing practices that many argued had resulted in a dangerous unleashing of unconstrained presidential powers. On such topics as initiating war, military detention, interrogation practices, rendition, domestic surveillance, candidate Obama strongly criticized the Bush administration for having violated longstanding U.S. constitutional and even moral principles. He went so far as to argue that the U.S. had…
The White House, Washington, D.C., (Nico Grinham/Shutterstock.com)