I was just reading one of the recommended diaries. It says that a judge has ordered Bush to obey the law by not destroying records. Destroying such records would be a clear violation of multiple federal laws. Unfortunately, we are fooling ourselves if we think that the courts ultimately will force Bush to obey the law. If the district court rules against Bush, then either the appeals court or the corrupted Supreme Court will rule that Bush can break the law after all. We are delusional if we continue to deny the obvious, that the last 26 years of republican rule has corrupted the federal judiciary.
Yes there are SOME judges that may actually enforce the law. No matter how successful the ultra-right and the Federalist Society are, they will never be able to corrupt every last judge. But this is why they have made such an issue of the Supreme Court. If they corrupt the Supreme Court, they effectively turn the entire federal judiciary into right-wing rubberstamps.
The courts no doubt will cook up some legal rationale justifying law breaking by Bush. They will talk about the absolute power of the presidency or how the president can't be held to the law for his actions. But one way or the other, they will get what they want. Bush will be able to destroy as many records as he wants before leaving office. And even if a democratic president attempts to prosecute Bush and his confederates for their blatant law breaking, the corrupted federal courts will continue insisting that (republican) presidents can't be held to the law for their actions in office.
This corrupting of the courts started with Richard Nixon. Nixon blackmailed Supreme Court justice Abe Fortas into resigning by threatening him and his family with a bogus corruption investigation. He also appointed William Rehnquist, despite his history of electoral intimidation against blacks and his segregationist views. It is likely that when Rehnquist denied these accusations during his two confirmation hearings, he perjured himself.
But this has been a goal of the ultra right for a very long time. They can accomplish things through the courts that they would need super-majorities to do through either of the political branches. They simply want absolute power for themselves. If they can turn the courts into a corrupted rubber stamp, then their vision of a right wing fascist state is that much closer.