Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite Mack Wolford believed faith compelled him to face the risk »

Dems Score With Subpoenas

They can't pass bills, but they can sure hold hearings

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 20, 2007 9:03 AM CDT

(Newser) – Democrats haven't managed to score with a single one of the bills drafted in their giddy first 100 hours, but playing hardball with hearings has proved more fruitful. In cranking up the congressional oversight machinery, write Richard Simon and Noam Levey, they've dominated headlines and... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

There are no comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite

Miami Face-Eater Identified

Los Angeles Times (Source Grid »)

Bush administration • ethics • Congress • Valerie Plame • investigation • Democrats • Congressional oversight • Democratic Congress • Congressional hearings • subpoena • Walter Reed Army Medical Center • George W. Bush

More Newser Stories

Democrats Dole Out Subpoenas

Congress gets tough on U.S. attorneys players—and calls Condi in to talk Iraq

(NEWSER) - The Democratic Congress flexed its oversight muscle today, with both houses dishing out subpoenas all the way up to Condi Rice. A House committee subpoenaed the Secretary of State to discuss the lead-up to the Iraq War, while both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees summoned aides involved in the U.S. attorney firings. More»

Bush Could Block Probes Even After He Steps Down

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»

House Committee Charges Bush Aides With Contempt

Judiciary Committee votes along party lines to issue contempt citations to Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten

(NEWSER) - The House Judiciary Committee voted to issue contempt citations to two of President Bush's top aides for defying subpoenas related to the US attorney firings scandal, edging Congress closer to a Constitutional showdown with the White House over its claims of executive privilege. The committee voted along party lines 22-17 to charge Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers. More»

White House Stonewalls on Subpoenas

Bush invokes executive privilege in Senate probe of US attorney firings

(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. More»

Democrats Don't Live Up to Hype

New majority's accomplishments are few, and mostly symbolic

(NEWSER) - Seven months after wresting control of Congress from Republicans, Democrats have failed to make good on their promises, writes the Economist. Almost none of the bills introduced in the first "100 hours" has become law, AG Alberto Gonzalez still has a job, and an Iraq pullout is nowhere in sight. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Dems Score With Subpoenas

They can't pass bills, but they can sure hold hearings

Bush administration • ethics • Congress • Valerie Plame • investigation • Democrats • Congressional oversight • Democratic Congress • Congressional hearings • subpoena • Walter Reed Army Medical Center • George W. Bush

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Democrats Dole Out Subpoenas

Congress gets tough on U.S. attorneys players—and calls Condi in to talk Iraq

Bush Could Block Probes Even After He Steps Down

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

House Committee Charges Bush Aides With Contempt

Judiciary Committee votes along party lines to issue contempt citations to Harriet Miers and Joshua Bolten

White House Stonewalls on Subpoenas

Bush invokes executive privilege in Senate probe of US attorney firings

Democrats Don't Live Up to Hype

New majority's accomplishments are few, and mostly symbolic

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?