1. Because the proposed privilege lacks any historical basis, the Secret Service vigorously asserts public policy considerations in support of the protective function privilege. 2. A subordinate Administration official, without objection from the President, claimed a previously unheard-of privilege that was called the protective function privilege. 3. No state has ever recognized a protective function privilege or its equivalent. 4. Nevertheless, Congress did not create a protective function privilege. 5. Only two statutes are even relevant to the asserted protective function privilege. 6. The court finds no constitutional basis for recognizing a protective function privilege. 7. The district court refused to recognize the protective function privilege and granted the motion to compel. 8. The president has not himself invoked the protective function privilege nor has he instructed the witnesses to invoke it. 9. The Secret Service claims that insuring the physical safety of the President is the transcendent public good that justifies the protective function privilege. 10. These witnesses have refused to answer questions before a grand jury, asserting the protective function privilege. |