http://www.jimbotalk.net/programhighlights
(edit: when you go to the above link, you have to click on the calendar and select the show from May 24, 2013, in order to listen).
"President Obama is an incredibly sophisticated president when it comes to executive power...this is a president who very much redefined the game of power in America"--Dan Epstein.
Here's a great interview of a lawyer named Dan Epstein, who heads a non-profit called
Cause of Action. He used to work as lead counsel on the House Oversight committee under chair Darrell Issa. It's about an hour long but worth a listen, for those interested in the IRS situation
Most of the conversation has to do with the IRS situation. Some interesting points that are brought out: the host says that he can't imagine a bunch of low level civil service people sitting around concocting a scheme like this. Their first instinct is always to protect the career, and this was activity that put that in jeopardy, and even carried the risk of jail time. Remember that this kind of thing is illegal per the Hatch act. Motive becomes much easier to explain if a politico of some kind was behind it.
Moreover, the host points out that the reaction of the admin. does not seem to make sense unless there were connections of the scheme reaching into the admin. Eric Holder could appoint an independent counsel to investigate, which would be the surest way to uncover the facts and clear the air. According to Epstein, the option of having the FBI investigate, which Holder has chosen, is a much weaker form of investigation. And Epstein also says near the end of the interview that there are at least three tea party lawsuits moving forward. In any of these three cases, the judge may decide that an independent counsel is needed to investigate.
Epstein seems to be very knowledgeable on the more overarching issue of executive branch power and authority. Some quotes from Epstein:
"he has used executive and deliberative process privilege more than any other president."
"President Obama is an incredibly sophisticated president when it comes to executive power. This is a president who is not going to use the normal channels to get information... What people who study presidential power are going to learn from this--this is a president who very much redefined the game of power in America."
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
