ABA to investigate Bush's use of "signing statments"

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Article: ABA to investigate Bush signing statements [UPDATED]



Charlie Savage reports today in the Boston Globe that:



Savage originally broke the story last month about Bush's 750 signing statements, more than all previous presidents combined, that allow him to do such things as ignore McCain's anti-torture law, avoid congressional oversight of the USAPatriot Act, and harass whistle blowers in the executive branch. After Savage's story broke, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairmen Arlen Specter (R-PA) announced hearings on the president's use of signing statements.

People serving on the ABA's commission to investigate the constitutionality of Bush's signing statements include Mickey Edwards, former Republican Congressman from Oklahoma, Bruce Fein, a libertarian who had served under Reagan in the Justice Department, and William Sessions, a former federal judge and former director of the FBI.

ABA president Michael Greco is quoted in the article saying:



Sessions said he thought the signing statements represent a "serious problem," which might create the impression the "president is ... going around the law."

Several other commission members are Democrats and Independents, and some of them expressed their opinion that signing statements are in themselves constitutional, but that Bush's use of them might be problematic. Many members stated they are approaching the commission's work with an open mind, and simply want to resolve the potentially serious issues being raised.

They will work over the summer, and expect to have a final report ready for approval by the ABA's House of Delegates meeting in August.