Sunday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said that he will try to cite President Bush for contempt of Congress if the Bush keeps refusing to comply with subpoenas demanding information on the fired U.S. Attorneys (Washington Post). Friday, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees took the first step toward enforcing those subpoenas:
"The committee chairmen told the White House to provide a signed letter from Bush asserting executive privilege, as well as a description of each withheld document, a list of who has seen the documents, and the legal basis for arguing that they may be shielded from public view.
"That demand, with a July 9 deadline, is the beginning of several steps lawmakers are empowered to take to try to overcome the executive privilege claim. Those steps could culminate in Congress voting to find the president in criminal contempt and to refer the matter to a federal prosecutor with a recommendation to issue an indictment." (Washington Post)
Committee chairmen Rep. John Conyers and Sen. Patrick Leahy, put their demands in a detailed letter that blasts the Bush Administration for creating a "veil of secrecy." (See letter.)
White House press-official Tony Fratto said. "They are not interested in facts. They are interested in sending off letters with vitriolic language" (WaPo). After six years of doing it, Administration officials still don't grasp that responding with non-substantive nastiness merely makes them look like they're up to something and desperately trying to hide it.
Actually, Congress is asking for facts, simple ones: who decided to fire the U.S. Attorneys and why. The White House keeps saying it'll let aides testify -- but only if they aren't under oath. Translation: only if Congress can't hold aides accountable if they lie.
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