Miers May Face Contempt

Last warning on mum aides in probe of fired attorneys

(NEWSER) - Democrats have threatened a vote holding White House aides in contempt of Congress if they don't cooperate with an investigation into last year's firing of federal attorneys, the AP reports. A citation, approved this summer by a House judiciary committee, was filed yesterday. If approved by the entire House, a US attorney might prosecute the case. More»

On torture, wiretapping, and more, Bush legacy rests with successor

(NEWSER) - Good government groups spent years suing and lobbying to expose the Bush administration’s secrets. Will President Obama spill the beans on his predecessor? Politico outlines major secrets Obama can choose to air or keep:

• US attorney firings: Claiming executive privilege, Karl Rove refused to testify. But Rove has been re-subpoenaed, and Obama may get to make the final choice.

Soon-to-be ex-prez has Truman, Nixon precedents for keeping executive privilege

(NEWSER) - President Bush may be able to maintain his executive privilege to block investigations even after he leaves office, the New York Times reports. Harry Truman successfully claimed he had the right not to testify in 1953, nearly a year after he left office, and Richard Nixon later used Truman's case as a precedent. Experts believe Bush will revive the claim if subpoenaed by any of the congressional committees probing alleged misdeeds during his administration. More»

Conn. official Dannehy could force likes of Rove to testify

(NEWSER) - Michael Mukasey appointed a special prosecutor today to look into the attorney firing scandal today, Reuters reports, after an internal investigation came up empty-handed. Many top witnesses, such as Karl Rove, didn’t cooperate, but could now be subpoenaed by Connecticut prosecutor Nora Dannehy. More»

Judge rejects administration's interpretation of executive privilege

(NEWSER) - Turning aside White House arguments that top aides are protected from subpoenas by executive privilege, a judge ruled today that Harriet Miers must testify before a congressional committee on the firings of nine federal prosecutors, the Washington Post reports. Miers and fellow aide Joshua Bolten can, however, invoke executive privilege in declining to respond to specific questions. More»