Dark Avenger of the Senate Skies?

Here's a news flash! The White House has refused to turn over documents subpoenaed by the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning the NSA eavesdropping program that did an end run around FISA. Oh, wait. That's not a surprise at all. The subpoena's original deadline was July 18, and it's been moved twice after the White House said it needed more time (because finding documents is hard!). The vice-president's office is apparently up to its old tricks of claiming that it's exempt from orders to the executive branch because it's not really part of the executive branch. (And if you remember the veep's office backing off that claim because even they couldn't make it with a straight face, you're right. So?)

Although Leahy doesn't seem to be doing much more to pressure the White House than to say, "Come on! These are real subpoenas. You can't just blow them off," at least he's pointing out that at least his committee issued subpoenas. When the Senate was run by the Republicans and Arlen Specter sat as Judiciary chair, they were intending to do some investigating, but according to Leahy, Dick Cheney told the Republicans on the committee that "they were not allowed to issue subpoenas." Talk about putting a crimp into your plans! If you've been thinking all along that the Republican Congress wanted to get to the bottom of administration wrongdoing but the mean, old White House wouldn't let them, you get a box of gold stars and a copy of the Constitution. (Feel free to fasten the stars directly onto the Constitution. We're not using many of the provisions of the separation of powers, anyway.

Leahy needs to take a tougher tack on the White House than impatiently waiting for the administration to honor the Senate subpoena. If nothing changes, it ain't gonna happen. This is definitely not the way Batman would handle it. Take a page from the Darknight Detective, Pat, and realize that the investigation is not going to happen unless your committee makes it happen.

That last paragraph isn't the non sequitur it seems to be, by the way. Patrick Leahy is a huge Batman fan, and he recently finished up shooting some material for the new Batman sequel. He's already lent his voice to the Batman animated series, and he reportedly appeared in the two previous Batman movies. Batman is known for his tremendous sense of right and wrong, and if it's wrong, he won't stand for it as far as he can help it. Leahy needs to take a lesson.