Selective assertions of executive privilege raises concerns by ex-Bush speechwriter.

From Raw Story:


A former top White House staff member published an article in The Atlantic Monthly's September edition that provided a rare glimpse into the internal deliberations of President George W. Bush's speechwriting team. At the same time, the extensive details that Matthew Scully revealed appear comparable to the internal communications that the White House has sought to protect from view through assertions of 'executive privilege' as it is investigated by Congressional committees for the firing of a group of US Attorneys.


"The administration's 'internal deliberations' claims are so all-encompassing that they could surely cover conversations or written notes made in the course of speech-writing," observes Heidi Kitrosser, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Law who has written on disputes over 'executive privilege.'
Scully, a former special assistant to the president and deputy director of presidential speechwriting, served under Michael Gerson, Bush's former chief speechwriter who now writes a column for the Washington Post. In his September 2007 article 'Present at the Creation,' Scully assails Gerson for claiming individual credit for work that Scully claims was produced collectively

Ex-Bush appointee reveals internal deliberations


Beyond Scully's criticism of Gerson, his article offered an unusual window into the thoughts of the speechwriters who put words in the mouth of the current President during the entirety of his first term.
For instance, Scully reveals the involvement of top White House officials like Karl Rove and Dan Bartlett in the speechwriting process.


"It was a rare day when Karl Rove, Josh Bolten, Dan Bartlett, or someone else didn’t open the door to see what we were all howling about," Scully writes. "As John [McConnell, who still serves in the White House] observed in late 2003, around draft 20 in the typically chaotic revising of an education speech, 'We’ve taken the country to war with less hassle than this.'"


The ex-Bush speechwriter, now a writer based in California, also reveals how the speechwriters in the White House needed to be mindful of committing acts of plagiarism.