A Strong Executive: Presidential Power and People Power

The nation’s Founders were concerned about presidential power outweighing the people’s power, so they created a system of checks and balances in which no leader or group of leaders could tyrannize the others or, more importantly, the citizens.

Constitutional scholars argue over the scope of presidential power and some contend that during times of great tension, like a depression or a war, the executive must push his or her powers to the limit to get things done and keep the country safe.

Presidential Power, wartime, and spying

During war times, a president assumes the role of commander-in-chief of the armed services as well as political leader of the nation.

But even in war, the Constitution divides and separates the powers between the Congress and the president. The president must always get backing from Congress, which also controls war funds or “has the power of the purse”.

Like wartime presidents before him, George W. Bush has stretched previous limits of executive power –sometimes at the expense of the other branches- in the name of fulfilling his constitutional role and securing the safety of the nation. For example, The National Security Agency was found to be eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without the proper warrants.

Representatives investigate for us

Part of Congress’ job is to oversee the executive branch, sometimes investigating its possible misuse of power.

Our constitutional system is set up so that our representatives in Congress are most directly accountable to the people - if they do not represent our preferences in national politics, they will be penalized in local elections, while presidents possess a unique claim to represent the entire American people, by virtue of being elected by the nation as a whole.

To investigate the wiretapping issue, the Senate ordered to appear in court or, issued subpoenas to Vice President Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and others. White House counsel Fred Fielding argued that the subpoenas called for “extraordinarily sensitive national security information,” which could be subject to executive privilege.

Gonzales and Cheney’s claims to executive privilege demonstrate their belief that the executive’s confidentiality takes precedence over Congressional investigation. Nevertheless, on August 16, 2007, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked the Justice Department's Inspector General Glenn Fine to probe whether Alberto Gonzales has made false or misleading statements regarding the wiretapping issue. Gonzales resigned on August 27, 2007.

The White House maintained, with the help of Gonzales, scores of court filings, policy papers, and press statements, that the president has the inherent power to conduct wiretaps without a court warrant even though a 1978 law put intelligence surveillance under judicial review. However, Congress did pass the Patriot Act in 2001, which allows for the interception of domestic email and phone calls, the seizure of voice mail, and/or physical or electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists. U.S. Attorney Dismissals

Jack L. Goldsmith, previous advisor to the president on the limits of executive power, says that Gonzales’ leadership encouraged an expansive view of executive power, leading to the wiretaps and the firings of U.S. attorneys.

When eight United States Attorneys were dismissed by the United States Department of Justice, the Bush administration gave no explanations.

Technically, U.S. Prosecutors serve “at the pleasure of the President,” but that does not mean the president can replace them for political purposes. Critics claim that the firings were prompted by the desire to install “loyal Bushies,” in the words of D. Kyle Sampson, Mr. Gonzales’ former chief of staff. Six of the eight attorneys fired had positive Justice Department performance reports.

When Congress investigated the situation, Gonzales claimed he had no knowledge of the motivations behind the firings. Gonzales’ participation is still under investigation.

What do you think?

Must the executive branch have such broad power to be effective? How do you understand the president’s duties? How do you understand the balance of power?

For a detailed analysis of Executive Power and People Power, click here.

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Posted on: 09/06/07