JONATHAN TURLEY: The Rise Of The Fourth Branch Of Government. Rise? It’s more like a takeover. But that’s also being deployed as an excuse:

There were times this past week when it seemed like the 19th-century Know-Nothing Party had returned to Washington. President Obama insisted he knew nothing about major decisions in the State Department, or the Justice Department, or the Internal Revenue Service. The heads of those agencies, in turn, insisted they knew nothing about major decisions by their subordinates. It was as if the government functioned by some hidden hand.

Clearly, there was a degree of willful blindness in these claims. However, the suggestion that someone, even the president, is in control of today’s government may be an illusion.

There’s more to Turley’s piece, though folks on the right are likely to find it kinda familiar, so read the whole thing. I will note, though, that I predicted the rise of this “ungovernable” argument years ago.