Dahlia Lithwick; Getting away with Torture

[mburbank]

And that it turns out there isn't any speedy way built into the constitution to deal with one branch simply refusing to cooperate.

I mean, there are ways, certainly, but they take time, momentum and cooperation. I don't think the founding faters thought a lot about whole branches of government simply refusing to play by the rules.

If Dick Chenney won't go before congress. If he won't go, you subpoena him, if you have the votes on comittee to do it. If you do that and he won't obey, you have to ask the cops to drag him in or you find him in contempt of congress. If you ask the cops, that's Department of Justice, which is the executive branch, which isn't cooperating. If you find him in contempt, and you have the votes on committee to do that, and he won't go to show up in court or go to jail, again, you need the department of Justice. It can take years to get this stuff before the Supreme court, which as it's currently comprised seems to be of the opinion that the constitution favors the executive branch over the others during times of 'war'.

This is literally the stuff we fought a revolution over.

[Colonel Flagg]

Revolution ..... hmmmm, now there's an idea.