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July 25, 2008 12:12:13 PM CDT

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White House Stonewalls on Subpoenas

Posted Jun 28, 07 5:35 PM CDT in US,  Politics 

(Newser) – The White House shot down attempts to subpoena internal documents concerning the US attorney firings today by invoking executive privilege. Though not a surprise, the refusal moved the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to accuse the administration of "Nixonian stonewalling." If the committee doesn't back down, the Times reports, the next step is a Congressional resolution on contempt citations.

The White House counsel said the administration was "forced down this unfortunate path"—refusing to turn over documents from the ex-counsel and political affairs director, or allow them to testify. “The president and vice president feel they are above the law," committee chairman Patrick Leahy fumed. Counsel Fred Fielding defended the move, saying 8,500 pages of documents have been released.

Source New York Times

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Presidential advisor Karl Rove, right, and White House Counsel Fred Fielding, center, leave the Capitol after meeting with senators Thursday, May 24, 2007 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren...   (Associated Press)
Vice President Dick Cheney addresses the National Association of Manufacturers breakfast in Washington in this, Feb. 14, 2007, file photo. The Senate subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick...   (Associated Press)
*Vice President Dick Cheney and President Bush stand in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington in this Nov. 9, 2006, file photo. The Senate subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick...   (Associated Press)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., right, accompanied by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., discusses the committee's issuance of subpoenas for the legal basis of the Bush administration's...   (Associated Press)
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George W. Bush  • Congress  • White House  • scandals  • House of Representatives  • investigation  • US attorney  • Patrick Leahy  • Senate Judiciary Committee  • Senate Democrats  • Harriet Miers  • executive privilege  • subpoena  • Fred Fielding  • Sara M. Taylor


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