To "expand presidential power in any way we can" was the theme of the first meeting of President Bush's legal team, led by Dick Cheney in January, 2001. In the months before September 11, the Vice President was looking for a moment to "seize" more power for the White House. Cheney made no secret of his drive to concentrate authority in the White House, reducing the power of both the courts and the Congress, and creating a zone of secrecy around the executive branch. That's according to the Boston Globe's Charlie Savage, whose latest book is Takeover: the Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy.
KCRW
