No, they’re not all considered presidential advisers. The White House staff is, though, and so was Hillary Clinton during the relevant time.
Note that this only covers the presidential communications part of executive privilege. National security is an entirely separate part, with an entirely separate body of case law, and CIA assets are likely to be covered therein.
The point is that this inquiry will never be over as long as there is political capital to be made by prolonging it. (I do predict that if the inquiry becomes overly partisan and starts doing damage to the Republican brand, the “need to know” will evaporate like dew on a hot summer morning.)
Hehe… that’s a very small “if.” Like Yosemite Sam, the Republicans have already walked off the cliff with the Benghazi thing, only they haven’t yet looked down to realize it.
As usual, a response that completely ignores the point someone is trying to make. But let me ask you directly: is the Select Committee that is now investigating Benhazi more about finding out the truth, or more about one party trying to gain politcally, especially with an eye toward the upcoming elections in November, and the next presidential election? What is more important to, say, Darrell Issa?
Republicans arranged for four separate Congressional “investigations” to determine whether FDR conspired in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the last one occurring after the war had ended and FDR was long dead.
(I am sure that Democrats have pulled similar pranks, of course. However, the notion that an investigation was “needed” just because some politician with enough power in Congress was able to get a committee to initiate it is blatant nonsense.)
Actually, only two Congressional investigations were carried out. (They included the usual partisan sniping, but they were intended as bi-partisan.) I was conflating them with four other calls for investigations by Republicans that did not make it to committee, but i am still looking for the source for that.
I don’t know whether they were warranted or not, but I don’t see how either the war being over or FDR being dead should have anything to do with whether they investigate any aspect of the attack, including his preknowledge or lack thereof.
If new, credible information about Pearl Harbor came to light tomorrow, I would want an investigation. No need for the blatantly partisan Fox/Issa circus for any investigation, though.
See, this is what I love… and hate… it’s complicated… about the Dope. You cannot outpedant anyone, ever. There will always be someone who knows even more trivial details than you do :).