[UPDATED below]The headline from Reuters says "White House will cooperate with investigations", but the article below it doesn't leave the same impression. Not to me, anyway.
Here's the relevant part:
"Of course, we will cooperate with any investigations that the Congress wants to pursue. We believe in vigorous and legitimate oversight by the Congress," White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten said in an interview on National Public Radio.Au conraire, mon ami: If there's one principle of governance this administration believes in, it's secrecy!
It's been clear ever since January of 2001 that the Bush administration does not believe in vigorous and legitimate oversight -- not by Congress, not by the American people, not by anybody.
They have classified documents at a faster rate, and released documents at a slower rate, than any administration since the Freedom Of Information Act came into existence, by far.
So Joshua Bolten's promise of cooperation rings hollow, on track record alone. But it rings hollower still when he follows it with a veiled threat.
He added, "I don't think political witch hunts are going to be particularly productive or well received here in Washington."With this statement Bolten has laid bare the strategy by which the Shrub administration hopes to avoid being held accountable for any of the horror it has inflicted during the past six years!
According to Dictionary dot com, a "witch hunt" is "an investigation carried out ostensibly to uncover subversive activities but actually used to harass and undermine those with differing views."
According to my notes about contemporary Republican usage, the word "political" is used to describe all kinds of dissent or opposition. The unspoken implication here is "We're in power; They're just jealous." And then they ignore the subject with religious fervor. Once an objection is labelled "political", they never acknowledge it again. It's almost as if the word "political" meant "beneath contempt". How ironic.
In any case, Joshua Bolten has just spelled out the White House strategy for handling the investigations which the Democrats will soon start running and with which the White House says it "will cooperate":
The White House will call such investigations "political witch hunts", implying that the administration has done nothing wrong and that the Democrats are merely harrassing them for partisan political reasons -- reasons beneath contempt.
The investigations will hardly ever get access to documents, and they will have incredible trouble getting access to witnesses, and anyone who is actually required to testify under oath will develop sudden and acute amnesia. But the White House will claim every step of the way that they are cooperating as much as they can, consistent with their sacred duty to protect our national security.
They'll also claim that the Democrats are lucky to get any "cooperation" at all, considering that their so-called investigations are little more than "political witch hunts".
Since the investigations are "political witch hunts", they will clearly not be "legitimate", and therefore even if they wind up being "vigorous", the Republicans will still treat them as "beneath contempt".
If you don't believe me, wait and see. I don't usually make predictions, but this one is easy! File it under "Obstruction of Justice 101".
UPDATE
Quivers of Flaming Darts to Reuters for the Headline
Imagine repeating a statement from this administration as if it were true!
What would have been wrong with ...
Bolten: White House will cooperate with investigations
or
White House will cooperate with investigations -- spokesman
or
White House says it will cooperate with investigations
or
White House promises to cooperate with investigations
...