And it may well be necessary, which could force our lefty friends to choose between Obama and the ACLU:
House-Senate negotiators reached agreement late Thursday on a $105.9 billion wartime spending bill after last-minute assurances from President Barack Obama that he will use all his powers to prevent the disclosure of controversial photographs depicting the treatment of detainees held by the U.S. military.
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel rushed to the Capitol in the evening to personally deliver this message after the talks began to unravel. The president participated via the speaker on Emanuel's cell phone as senators gathered around in the first floor offices of the Senate Appropriations Committee. And Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) later read aloud a letter from Obama pledging to use every "legal and administrative remedy" available to prevent the disclosure of the pictures.
That means that President Obama will, if necessary, issue an executive order that would void any court decision to release these photos. The Second Circuit court that had ordered the release of the photos has since ordered a stay at the request of the Obama administration, but the case has not been tossed out and the administration will have to contest the issue in court. A senior Democratic aide tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that although the bills sponsors are pleased "the President indicated that he will prevent release of the photos - however, we still need a commitment from the Senate leadership that there will be a vote on our bill - only a law can ultimately guarantee that the photos are not released." Without that then, the fight will go on.
