George Is Matt’s Role Model

G.W. is back in the signing statement business.  After the Dems took over Congress, he laid off of those entirely–until last month, when he quietly sneaked a signing statement into the Federal Register.  He reserved the right, under executive privilege, to ignore 11 provisions of a recent military appropriations bill.  Talking Points Memo quotes investigative reporter Charlie Savage, who broke the original signing statements story:

For example, one law Bush targeted requires him to give oversight committees notice before transferring US military equipment to United Nations peacekeepers.

Bush also challenged a new law that limits his ability to transfer funds lawmakers approved for one purpose to start a different program, as well as a law requiring him to keep in place an existing command structure for the Navy’s Pacific fleet.

TPM comments:

Bush thought enough of the bill to sign it into law, but not quite enough of it to obey all of the bill’s provisions. He’s picky that way.

Yes, and Baby Blunt has been taking lessons from his elder.  He, too, is picky about which laws he chooses to abide by.  While he is busy railing against Nixon for having the gall to investigate his illegal activities, it looks as if he’s continuing to … do things the law forbids.  Tony Messenger, in Springfield, broke the e-mail story and has been all over it for a couple of months.  Here’s more:

The attorney general has written complaints from multiple whistleblowers that there have been potential violations of both the Sunshine Law and the statute that establishes e-mail retention policies. Further, that in the time since this story first became widespread statewide news, after former Blunt deputy counsel Eckersley was fired, Nixon’s office has received information from “one of the whistleblowers” that there might have been “a significant problem” in the area of retaining records in the form of backup tapes. This is a serious matter.

All the while that Blunt might be destroying evidence, he wails that Nixon is on a political witch hunt.  Look, Nixon has gone above and beyond  all the normal requirements to avoid playing politics.  He appointed an investigative team outside his office, and two of its three members are Republicans.  He can’t sort of not notice all the allegations that are being made.  He’s the Attorney General.  We pay him to investigate such matters.

Despite Nixon’s exemplary behavior, Blunt points his finger and plays victim.  How very Republican of him.