The House Judiciary Committee scheduled a vote for Wednesday on whether to charge Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten with contempt of Congress for their failure to comply with subpoenas re: the investigation into the fired U.S. Attorneys.
Under President Bush's orders, Miers (former White House Counsel) pulled a no-show at a Committee hearing last week, leaving members to lecture to an empty chair, and Bolten refused to hand over documents.
If the Committee charges Miers and Bolten with contempt, it would need the Justice Department to pursue the charges. Thinking ahead with chess-player skill, President Bush has already said that he would prohibit Justice from pursuing such charges based on an untested argument that once Bush claims executive privilege, the Justice Department cannot enforce contempt of Congress charges.
If the contempt vote goes through, Congress may end up heading to the O.K. corral -- or worse, the U.S. Supreme Court.
Despite the ruckus over the apparently political firings of U.S. Attorneys (and the conflicting public statements of Administration officials), Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he will stick around and try to fix our severely damaged Justice Department (Washington Post). Ironically, Gonzales seems to believe that this is a favor to the Bush Administration, the Justice Department and the taxpayers.
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