Dems Threaten White House With Contempt

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.

The White House insists the aides are protected by executive privilege. The aides, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton and former counsel Harriet Myers, refused to testify in hearings on the White House firings of at least nine federal prosecutors. The White House has offered to allow off-the-record discussions. (More executive privilege stories.)