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House prepares to file contempt charges against Bush aides
01/16/2008 @ 11:43 am
Filed by Nick Juliano
Well-rested and back at work after a monthlong vacation, Congressional
Democrats are preparing for a move in the House to approve criminal contempt
citations against two Bush administration figures.
Democratic aides tell RAW STORY that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing
to bring the contempt citations passed by the Judiciary Committee to the
full House for a vote.
Pelosi has not determined a date for a vote but is "pretty certain" to push
forward the contempt charges against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten
and former counsel Harriet Miers, a leadership aide said. Bolten and Miers
refused to respond to Congressional subpoenas last year requesting their
testimony and documents related to the federal prosecutor purge scandal that
resulted in Alberto Gonzales stepping down as Attorney General.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the contempt charges in July and
Pelosi and Committee Chairman John Conyers believed there were enough votes
for the measure to pass the House in October.
Activists who have been following the case are wary about whether the
contempt citations would compel White House compliance with the
congressional probe. The Justice Department, under Gonzales, indicated it
would not prosecute contempt charges against administration figures.
President Bush has invoked executive privilege in justifying his
administration's lack of cooperation.
"I would be surprised if [new Attorney General Michael] Mukasey would take a
different position ... since the Bush White House seems to be directing
this," Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington, told RAW STORY.
Sloan said the latest step from Congress may just be an opportunity to force
current White House counsel Fred Fielding to moderate the administration's
position.
"When these things have happened in the past, people have eventually caved,"
Sloan said, "and they've worked it out."
Democratic aides have previously said they don't expect any Republicans to
cross the aisle in voting for the contempt charges to be filed.
Sloan lamented that this issue seems to have become more focused on partisan
politics than institutional prerogatives. Regardless of political party,
Congress need to be able to exercise its constitutional oversight, she said,
and that includes calling on administration figures to testify.
"This is why everyone in Congress is so short-sighted. ... What if it is a
president of a different party?" she said. "You really think if we had
Hillary Clinton as president and this was the situation, Republicans
wouldn't be screaming? Of course they would."
01/16/2008 @ 11:43 am
Filed by Nick Juliano
Well-rested and back at work after a monthlong vacation, Congressional
Democrats are preparing for a move in the House to approve criminal contempt
citations against two Bush administration figures.
Democratic aides tell RAW STORY that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing
to bring the contempt citations passed by the Judiciary Committee to the
full House for a vote.
Pelosi has not determined a date for a vote but is "pretty certain" to push
forward the contempt charges against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten
and former counsel Harriet Miers, a leadership aide said. Bolten and Miers
refused to respond to Congressional subpoenas last year requesting their
testimony and documents related to the federal prosecutor purge scandal that
resulted in Alberto Gonzales stepping down as Attorney General.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the contempt charges in July and
Pelosi and Committee Chairman John Conyers believed there were enough votes
for the measure to pass the House in October.
Activists who have been following the case are wary about whether the
contempt citations would compel White House compliance with the
congressional probe. The Justice Department, under Gonzales, indicated it
would not prosecute contempt charges against administration figures.
President Bush has invoked executive privilege in justifying his
administration's lack of cooperation.
"I would be surprised if [new Attorney General Michael] Mukasey would take a
different position ... since the Bush White House seems to be directing
this," Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington, told RAW STORY.
Sloan said the latest step from Congress may just be an opportunity to force
current White House counsel Fred Fielding to moderate the administration's
position.
"When these things have happened in the past, people have eventually caved,"
Sloan said, "and they've worked it out."
Democratic aides have previously said they don't expect any Republicans to
cross the aisle in voting for the contempt charges to be filed.
Sloan lamented that this issue seems to have become more focused on partisan
politics than institutional prerogatives. Regardless of political party,
Congress need to be able to exercise its constitutional oversight, she said,
and that includes calling on administration figures to testify.
"This is why everyone in Congress is so short-sighted. ... What if it is a
president of a different party?" she said. "You really think if we had
Hillary Clinton as president and this was the situation, Republicans
wouldn't be screaming? Of course they would."
