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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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Miers May Face Contempt

House panel finds former attorney to Bush was out of order in stiffing subpoena

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(Newser) – In a 7-5 vote, a House panel found that former White House counsel Harriet Miers was out of order when she rebuffed a subpoena calling for her to testify about her involvement in the US attorney firings last year. Miers declined to appear before the Judiciary Committee  under orders from President Bush. The panel also found that the President's claim of executive privilege was inappropriate.

Today's decision is part of a broader face-off between Congress and the White House over the limits of executive privilege that may well end up in court. The vote is viewed as the first step by ongressional Democrats to pursue contempt charges in the widening US attorneys scandal.

A witness chair sits empty on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 12, 2007, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the firing of eight U. S. attorneys. The House panel began clearing the way Thursday for contempt proceedings against former White House counsel Harriet Miers after she obeyed President...
A witness chair sits empty on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 12, 2007, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the firing of eight U. S. attorneys. The House panel began clearing the...   (Associated Press)
A witness chair sits empty on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 12, 2007, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the firing of eight U. S. attorneys. The House panel began clearing the way Thursday for contempt proceedings against former White House counsel Harriet Miers after she obeyed President...
A witness chair sits empty on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 12, 2007, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the firing of eight U. S. attorneys. The House panel began clearing the...   (Associated Press)
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., standing, left, Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, right, and Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., seated, are seen during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday July 12, 2007, on the firing of eight U. S. attorneys. Former White House Counsel Harriet Miers refused to...
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., standing, left, Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, right, and Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., seated, are seen during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington,...   (Associated Press)
Former White House counsel Harriet Miers begins her courtesy calls on the Senate, in this Oct. 3, 2005, file photo, in Washington. President George W. Bush ordered Miers to defy a congressional subpoena and refuse to testify Thursday, July 11, 2007, before a House panel investigating U.S. attorney firings....
Former White House counsel Harriet Miers begins her courtesy calls on the Senate, in this Oct. 3, 2005, file photo, in Washington. President George W. Bush ordered Miers to defy a congressional subpoena...   (Associated Press)
Former White House counsel Harriet Miers begins her courtesy calls on the Senate, in this Oct. 3, 2005, file photo, in Washington. President George W. Bush ordered Miers to defy a congressional subpoena and refuse to testify Thursday, July 11, 2007, before a House panel investigating U.S. attorney firings....
Former White House counsel Harriet Miers begins her courtesy calls on the Senate, in this Oct. 3, 2005, file photo, in Washington. President George W. Bush ordered Miers to defy a congressional subpoena...   (Associated Press)
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