Patrick Leahy who continuously leaked intel . To news outlets like the Washington Compost in the 1980s has little room to talk about no one being above the law.
* Leahy "inadvertently" disclosed a top-secret communications intercept during a 1985 television interview. The intercept had made possible the capture of the Arab terrorists who had hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro and murdered American citizen. But Leahy's leak he cost the life of at least one Egyptian "asset" involved in the operation.
* In July 1987, it was reported that Leahy leaked secret information about a 1986 covert operation planned by the Reagan administration to topple Libya's Moammar Gaddhafi. US intelligence officials stated that Leahy sent a written threat to expose the operation directly to then-CIA Director William Casey. Weeks later, news of the secret plan turned up in the Washington Post, causing it to be aborted.
* A year later, as the Senate was preparing to hold hearings on the Iran-Contra scandal, Leahy had to resign his Intelligence Committee post after he was caught leaking secret information to a reporter. The Vermont Democrat's Iran-Contra leak was considered to be one of the most serious breaches of secrecy in the committee's 28-year history. After Leahy's resignation, the Senate Intelligence Committee decided to restrict access to committee documents to a security-enhanced meeting room.
Presidents have traditionally invoked Executive Privilege when confronted with similar demands by Congress. Were they all acting “above the law “ ? In
UNITED STATES V. NIXON (1974) SCOTUS decided against the President .But that involved a subpoena from the special prosecutor ;working for the Att. General (an Executive Dept member ),in a criminal matter.The Court allowed an in camera inspection of the materials, not a blanket subpoena. That means the judge would review the documents to determine what was necessary for the criminal investigation before any information was released. You know as well as I do that given Leahy’s propensity to leak to the press that whatever he secures will be on the front page of the Compost by the next morning.
The Presidents have traditionally used ‘executive privilege ‘ so they can seek advice and opinion from their subordinates freely without the fear that their advice and council will become public knowledge . How could they possibly have open and frank discussions/debates etc. under that cloud ? Let’s say Defense Sec.Robert Gates councils that now is the best time to attack Iran . They discuss it and reject the proposal but keep the option open .If that ever became public knowledge then the plans could be compromised if they were needed in the future .
It is similar to attorney-client privilege and in this case specifically so since they plan on issuing subpoenas to Harriet Miers ;his counsellor .
Congress has no standing on this issue . They have the right to subpoena until the cows come home and the President has the right to invoke executive privilege . There is nowhere in the Constitution that says that the Congress can subpoena the President of the U.S. or his people. All it gives them is general subpoena powers .
Who's right?
Although claims of executive privilege have been made since the administration of George Washington, the law remains remarkably unclear, partly because the relevant actors have usually tried to avoid a direct confrontation if possible. Thus, who prevails in the current controversy may turn out to be less a matter of what the law is, than of who blinks first: Congress (acting through Comptroller General Walker), the Administration, or the courts.
FindLaw's Writ - Dorf: A Brief History Of Executive Privilege, From George Washington Through Cheney
As far as impeaching Gonzales goes ; Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution specifies that :
“The President, Vice President
and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The Congress has only used this power against a Cabinet member once . William W. Belknap, secretary of war, was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate in 1876 — but the power unquestionably exists.