Political scandals have always demonstrated the capacity of our
executive officials for self-inflicted injuries, and the Clinton
administration was no exception. Unilateral warmaking, claims of
executive privilege and immunity, and last-minute pardons all
tested the limits of presidential power, while the excesses of the
Special Prosecutor cast doubts on available remedies. For eight
years, Republicans and Democrats engaged in guerrilla warfare aimed
at destroying the careers and lives of their adversaries while
tests of presidential power were resolved by the courts, resulting
in a reshaping of the scope and power of the presidency itself.
This book examines the many controversial and important battles
that led to the shrinking of the presidency under the law during
the Clinton administration. Located at the intersection of law and
politics, it helps readers understand the dramatic changes that
took place in the relationship of presidential power to the law
during the Clinton years and shows how one president's actions--and
congressional and legal reactions to them--have altered
presidential prerogatives in ways that his successors cannot
ignore.
"The Presidency and the Law" offers an assessment of changes in
constitutional and legal understanding of the American presidency,
exploring such topics as war power, executive privilege, pardon
power, impeachment, executive immunity, independent counsel, and
campaign finance. In examining these collisions between president
and the law, its distinguished contributors bring the lessons of
Watergate and Iran-Contra into the Clinton era and contribute to a
Madisonian view that presidents should not operate outside
statutory and constitutional constraints.
While the essays offer several criticisms of that
administration's exercise of power and its interpretation of
constitutional provisions and law, many of the authors have been
supportive of Clinton and his policy pursuits, and all seek to
examine the potential impact of the Clinton administration without
being predictive or legalistic. They offer instead commentary,
analysis, and criticism that examine the legality and
constitutionality of President Clinton's actions within a broader
political and historical context.
The presidency is constitutionally weaker and politically more
vulnerable than the office Bill Clinton assumed in 1993, and it
remains to be seen what impact these changes will have on the
presidency in the 21st century. This book points the way to
assessing that impact, and is essential reading for anyone
concerned with the future of our democracy.
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